Gqeberha debuts starts in April Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series

Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series set for Gqeberha debut in April

The Elite Field at the start of an Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series event in 2022.
Photo – Josh Reid Custom edits: ShowMe South Africa

South Africa’s award-winning road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series will celebrate the start of its 2023 season with the debut of the much-anticipated Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on Sunday 02 April.

The Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series has been revolutionizing the road running space since 2015.  Elevated from a three-event series (Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg) to five in 2023 (now including Gqeberha and Tshwane), the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series encourages walkers, lifestyle enthusiasts, friends and families to participate in the most experiential mass participation road running events in SA. At the sharp end of the field the elites will be looking to run exceptional times on a route designed for performance.

Speaking at the official Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K launch function that was hosted at the Gqeberha City Hall today (Wednesday 25 January 2023), Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Founder of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, said that 2023 is a groundbreaking year for the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series.

“We are thrilled to take the experience of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series to five major cities in 2023, giving more South Africans the opportunity to be part of a world-class event,” says Meyer. “Starting in Gqeberha an emphasis will be placed on hosting an event that highlights iconic city landmarks, includes magnificent views, and features lively performances from some of the city’s leading performing arts groups.”

“We are thankful to the City of Gqeberha and Eastern Province Athletics (EPA) for the warm welcome that we have received,” continues Meyer. “Both the City and EPA’s enthusiasm to host the event has been inspiring and we are confident that as a host city, Gqeberha will be a fresh and exciting addition to the series for runners and walkers alike. Together with the City, EPA, Title Sponsor, Absa and key sponsors such as PUMA, DHL and Chery to mention just a few, we are proud to celebrate the event’s debut by bringing world class performances to the streets of Gqeberha, a city in which records are known to be broken.”

“We are excited to announce that the Eastern Cape’s very own Melikhaya Frans will be seen in action at the inaugural Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on Sunday 02 April,” confirms Meyer. “No stranger to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, Melikhaya placed 6^th overall at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K in 2022 with a time of 30 minutes 13 second.

With the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K boasting a faster route than the Joburg event, we hope to witness new records being set on SA soil.”

As an added incentive in 2023 the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series will boast an overall combined prize purse of R1 260 000.00, with each city being allocated R252 000.00. This means that the Top 10 men’s and Top 10 women’s overall categories will each receive R126 000.00. The overall winners of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K

(first male and first female) will each take home R30 000.00, with R25 000.00 going to the runners up and R20 000.00 to the third place finishers.

In closing Meyer adds: “Our goal is to become the leading 10km road running series in the world and it all starts here. We are excited and ready to start the 2023 season with the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K. Are you ready to #RunYourCity!”

Absa Regional Executive, Everyday Banking Eastern and Southern Cape Pholushi Malesa, said, “When Absa took over as title sponsor of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, our biggest goal was not only to grow this platform but to galvanise people and use it as a vehicle to get closer to our customers, colleagues and most importantly communities. We are happy that through the Absa

Force for Good initiative we will be able to change lives in this city. For every 1km that will be ran/walked by Team Absa members on Strava, Absa will donate R1 towards a worthy course in the community of Gqeberha.

“We look forward to welcoming thousands of participants on the 2^nd of April to create a meaningful impact in a fun way.”

EVENT INFORMATION: 2023 Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES

Melikhaya Frans in action during the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K – Photo: Action Photo

Runners enjoying the on-route action of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series – Photo: Anthony Grote

“Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is proud to host the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K and is looking forward to strong support from local athletes and corporates. Boosting sports tourism is high on the city’s agenda and partnering with high-profile events like the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, promotes mass participation and exposure, which is well suited to our tourism goals and positioning ourselves as a preferred sports destination. We will undoubtedly witness world-class talent at this outstanding race, and we hope our local athletes will keep the Eastern Cape Athletics flag flying high!” says Charmaine Williams, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Director: Sport & Recreation.

“EPA is ecstatic to have been included in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series and to bring yet another world class event to Gqeberha,” says Genevieve Laycock, EPA Road Running Chairperson. “We trust that the local athletes and corporates will support the event to show that Gqeberha is a sport-loving City, and we are excited to see how our local athletes compete against the elite athletes who are invited to participate. EPA has embarked on a ‘Development’ initiative and funding from the event will assist with this program. We are looking forward to working closely with Stillwater Sports and the opportunity to learn from their experience and professionalism, which will be carried forward to our other events.”