Glenrose Xaba disappointed despite dominant 10km victory in Gqeberha

Xaba produced a strong run to win in 31:17 in wet conditions and collected a bonus point, but missed her national 10km record by just five seconds. 

Her Boxer Running Club teammate and training partner Karabo More finished second in a personal best of 32:21, while Ethiopia’s Salem Gebre took third in 32:33.

Xaba has now won back-to-back races in the series, but she believes she could have gone even faster if she had known she was close to the record.

"About the race today, I am a little bit disappointed because I wasn't sure if I was in the SA record when I was running, but when there were 50m to 100m left, I saw that I was within the record. However, when I crossed the finish line, that's when I was disappointed because I just missed it," said Xaba.

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"I am very happy with the route; it is a bit challenging, but it is very fast. I think it's a route that can produce multiple records in the future. About today's race, I just led from when the gun went off because I was chasing time so that I could get a good result and points. Since I only ran two races, this was the third, so I am chasing points. I am glad that everything went according to the way I raced."

The multiple national record holder had only returned from the World Road Running Championships in Denmark on Tuesday, but she believes she could have broken the record if she had received some encouragement during the race.

Xaba says she only realised she was close to the record when it was too late to make a final push.

The former Cape Town Marathon winner knows there are only a few 10km races left this season, including the Spar Women’s race in Johannesburg next week, the Absa Run Your City Mangaung 10km in October and the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km.

Xaba is determined to give herself another chance to break the national record before the end of the year.

One of Xaba’s biggest rivals this season, Taylor Kavanagh, who won in Cape Town and Durban, remained in Europe after the World Road Running Championships for more races.

Xaba believes having a strong rival pushing her would have helped her run a faster time. 

She also praised More for producing a brave performance to finish second.

The 31-year-old now has her eyes firmly set on making history. 

She needs to win the final leg of the series in Johannesburg on 4 October and collect the bonus point to claim a record fourth Grand Prix title.

Series leader Cacisile Socibo has 99 points, while Xaba is on 89 points heading into the final race.

Xaba says winning the title would mean more than just personal success.