Comrades champ Kusche to challenge Kibet at Absa Run Your City Tshwane

Refusing to be pigeonholed as an ultra-marathon specialist, reigning Comrades Marathon champion George Kusche is setting his sights on a fast time at the Absa RUN Your City Tshwane 10K on Sunday, August 23, while Kenya’s Salem Kibet arrives ready to challenge for victory.

Returning to South Africa in 2023 armed with a sub-four-minute mile and a 13:28.95 5000m personal best following a productive college track career on the highly competitive US NCAA circuit, Kusche set about making steady progress as a road runner.

A 28:56 at the Gqebera leg in 2024 was followed by a 2:20:12 42.2km debut at the Cape Town Marathon six months later, and fourth position at last year’s Soweto Marathon signalled that his transition from track to road athlete was complete. On June 14 Kusche celebrated a record-breaking run at the 99th edition of the Comrades Marathon, when he clocked 5:15:56 to smash the previous Up Run record by more than eight minutes.

Importantly, the 28-year-old reveals that 10km running remains the basis of his ultra-marathon success, which is why he is eager to test himself against the speed merchants at the Tshwane race later this month.

“It’s very important for me to run a fast 10km because I train as a marathon athlete year-round and then I just switch to Comrades-specific training in March. And if you want to be a good marathoner, you must be able to run a good 10km. So I’m hoping to be able to run a good race in Tshwane Absa Run Your City. I’d love to see if I can run sub-30 minutes, which should be a good time at altitude. I’m curious to see how well I can do. I’m in decent shape, and I’m really looking forward to this.”

My target is to improve on my performance from Durban and compete for the win. Finishing second in Durban was not easy, especially running alongside a great athlete like Joshua Cheptegei. That experience taught me a lot—  Salem Kibet

If Kusche can break 30 minutes, then he could find himself in the lead bunch running alongside the likes of Kenya’s Salem Kibet. Last year, for example, only 10 men were able to break the 30-minute barrier at the notoriously hilly Tshwane leg, where Kibet will line up as one of the pre-race favourites.

After taking second place behind the iconic Joshua Cheptegei last month in Durban in a lifetime best of 27:29, Kibet is hopeful of securing victory this time around.

“My target is to improve on my performance from Durban and compete for the win,” says Kibet.

“Finishing second in Durban was not easy, especially running alongside a great athlete like Joshua Cheptegei. That experience taught me a lot. I thank God for the opportunity, and I am looking forward to giving my best in Tshwane.”

Stillwater Sports managing director Michael Meyer believes the stage is set for an exciting contest:

“George Kusche’s decision to test himself over 10km against a field of established specialists adds another fascinating dimension to what is shaping up to be a highly competitive race in Tshwane,” says Meyer.