If you're a runner who loves to challenge your personal best, join us for the Sappi TuksRace 10km on Saturday, 15 February 2025.

Race Organiser Jet Moses predicts runners can improve their times with the right training. The men’s race is expected to be won in 29 minutes, while the first woman is expected to finish in under 32 minutes.

Tuks student-athlete Karabo Mailula, who won the women's 10km race in 2023, makes no secret that she wants to win the title back. She could not participate last year because she represented South Africa at the FISU World University Championships Cross Country in Oman. Mailula won gold in the 10 km.

Last year's results indicate that Mailula was the fourth fastest local female athlete over 10 km when she ran a race in Durban, clocking 33:08. On the track, she improved her best time in the 10,000 metres by almost four minutes when she finished second at the USSA Championships in Stellenbosch. Her time was 33:58.85.

According to Mailula, the most crucial thing the legendary Caster Semenya taught her was to believe in her abilities as a runner. 

"If you don't, you are bound to fail. So, I never race to make up the numbers."

Collins Kgadima is another Tuks athlete hoping to snatch a podium place. He was third in the 10 km last year. On Saturday, he will compete in the 21 km. In 2024, he was the South African student champion over the distance.

Kgadima has set himself two goals for the season. He will aim to run for a time very close to 28 minutes in 10 km, and he wants to run for 21 km in 62 minutes. However, he is also a realist. His chances of doing it in the Sappi Tuks Half Marathon on Saturday are slim.

"The Jacaranda City is known for its challenging running routes. There is hardly a race where you, as a runner, will not be tested by one or two steep climbs. The Sappi Tuks race is no exception. Over the first 13 km, at least four steep hills await us. It's not too bad, but it will test your strength.

"Over the last few kilometres, things get easier. Predicting how you will run a race is always tricky because you never know what can happen during a race. But for now, I plan to run the first 12 km at a 3-minute and 5-second pace; then, if I feel good, I will speed up."

The one thing Kgadima has got going for him is that he is being coached by Tuks's Samuel Sepeng. What motivates Sepeng as a coach is his desire to make a difference in athletes' lives and to leave a lasting legacy.

"To see my athletes happy and achieve their goals is my reward," is the principle Sepeng abides by.