Some January Races to Kickstart the 2025 Season

Biogen Half Marathon

Some January Races to Kickstart the 2025 Season

Cuan Walker takes a look at some South African races you can tackle in the second half of January to kick-start your 2025.

The festive season is officially over and January marks the start of the 2025 running season. With races fulling the country every weekend, we take a look at some of the good ones remaining this month for all our purple stars of Hollywood Athletics Club to get the year started.

Following Neheng Khatala’s outstanding win in the Biogen Half Marathon in Bedfordview last weekend, we take a look at some races up and down the country that you can use to kick-start your 2025!

There aren’t too many night races left on the calendar, but on Friday 17 January the popular PWC Old Selbornian 10km night race takes place at the Old Selbornian Club in East London. Night races used to be very popular on the calendar, usually run over distances of 10km and 15km. The day after in Pretoria, the PWC George Claassen Memorial Half Marathon from the Faerie Glen Shopping Centre.

Runners in Gauteng looking to get a good long run in for their Comrades and Two Oceans qualifiers have the very popular Springs Striders 32km to look forward to from the Veritas College in Springs on Sunday 19 January. For those not quite ready for the distance yet, there is also a 15km option.

On the same day, runners in Cape Town and Durban have two great races to choose from. In Cape Town, the very popular TopForm Bay to Bay 15km and 30km from the Camps Bay High School. For runners from KZN, the Kearsney Striders Half Marathon and 10km takes place from Kearsney College at the top of Botha’s Hill. This race is run over an extremely tough course and in last year’s event, Hollywood Athletics Club purple star Makhosazane Mhlongo took victory.

The last two big events we look to on the calendar come on 26 January with the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon and Half Marathon taking place at Sahara Park in Benoni and the downhill PDAC 25km in Pinetown. These two popular events attract a large contingent of Hollywood Purple Stars and in last year’s PDAC 25km, Hollywood Athletics Club pulled off a double win with Mfundo Chagwe taking victory in the men’s race and Lethokuhle Letsoalo taking victory in the women’s race. The Johnson Crane Marathon was the springboard of an excellent 2024 season for purple star Cian Oldknow who won the marathon using it as a long run towards her international marathon the following month.

With a host of races around the country to choose from, we looking forward to seeing the friendly smiles of all the purple stars returning to races and sharing the war stories afterwards under our gazebos.

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