Steyn confirms her entry for Durban 10km

SA marathon record holder Gerda Steyn has set a goal to improve on her 2019 time at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on July 10.

“I just want to run fast and run faster than in Durban in 2019,” Steyn said. 

“It is a great honour to have Gerda choose to race in Durban,” said Michael Meyer, MD of Stillwater Sports and founder of the Run Your City Series.

“Gerda is one of SA’s most popular runners and does get invited to many of the world's bigger high-profile races, so for her to choose to race in the series shows just how important the series is to both international and South African athletes alike."

Steyn broke the SA marathon record of 2:26.35 of Colleen de Reuck that had stood since 1996. She achieved the feat when she ran 2:25.28 in April last year at the Sienna Marathon in Italy and cemented her position in the SA squad to compete at the Olympic Marathon in which she finished 15th.

Steyn has also run the fastest marathon on home soil, clocking 2:26.25 in Cape Town last year.

This year, she broke the 33-year-old Two Oceans Ultra Marathon course record set by the legendary Frith van der Merwe. But as much as she is lauded for her marathon and ultra performances, Steyn is also a fierce competitor over the shorter distances. In 2020, Steyn ran 5km in 15:45 to become the fourth-fastest South African over the distance. Only Elana Meyer, De Reuck and Dominique Scott-Efurd have gone faster.