The 2024 instalment of the TuksRace, in collaboration with Bestmed Medical Scheme, painted the streets of Pretoria red and blue on Saturday, 17 February. Runners across the country joined the multi-distance event at the University of Pretoria’s Hillcrest Sports Campus. The bussing ambience and electrifying atmosphere were a signal of one thing: the Road running in Pretoria is back on the up.

The race is synonymous with being well-organised and scenic, with this year’s rendition living up to that. It was Zimbabwean runner and Rio 2016 Olympian, Rutendo Joan Nyahora, who streaked to victory on Saturday to win the TuksRace half marathon.  

She led from the front for most of the race to win in 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 22 seconds. The two Comrades legends, Yolande Maclean and Charne Bosman duelled it out for second. When it mattered, Maclean had the "stronger" legs. Maclean finished in 1:27:14 and Bosman in 1:28:27.

The 2016 Comrades Marathon champion, Bosman, holds the distinction of having won the inaugural TuksRace Marathon, while Maclean has nine Comrades gold medals to her name.  

The feel-good story of the day was undoubtedly Philani Buthelezi's performance in the men's 21km race. Last year, he finished third. But as it is often said, if you fail at first, don't give up. Persevere. Look at failure as another step closer to success. That was Buthelezi did. His winning time is 1:09:29.

Kgosi Tsosani was second at 1:10:11, and Doctor Mathale placed third at 1:15:10.

Running is Buthelezi's thing. According to him, he has been running ever since he can remember.

"I think I am born to run. When I can't run, it gets to me emotionally. I am at my happiest when logging kilometre after kilometre on the road."

His challenge for this year is to try and qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. He admits he will have to be at his best to do so. The qualifying standard is 2:08:10. The former South African 10 000-metre champion's best marathon time is 2:13:15.

The men's 10km race was a humdinger. In the end, the top three athletes were separated by a mere 21 seconds. Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhosi won, running 30:21. Simonya Mokonyama was second in 30:26, and Collins Kgadima of TuksAthletics, was third in 30:42.

Cornelia Joubert won the women's 10km race in 38:31. Alexandra Stuart-Smith finished second, running 41:21. Leandri de Beer was third in 42:18.

First-year BSc Actuarial Sciences student, Tarika Harilal and final-year BSc Human Physiology student, Sphesihle Kubheka, took home R5 000 worth of study bursary, spoils for completing their races. The bursaries are proudly sponsored by Bestmed.