Bardene resident Samantha Coetzer shaved a massive 01:12 off her 10km PB at altitude when she won the women’s 10km race at the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon at Willowmoore Park on January 26.
With a PB of 37:15 in the distance, achieved at sea level during last year’s SPAR Women’s Challenge Durban 10km when she finished 21st, Coetzer’s performance in Benoni was a massive improvement, especially because most of her races take place inland.
“I’m super thrilled that my training is finally paying off, especially after breaking the sub-39:00 barrier. This achievement gave me more motivation to continue striving for better goals,” she said.
The Nedbank Running Club athlete clocked a dominant 37:41 to better the 38:53 when she finished 14th at the SA 10km championships, which were incorporated into the Race to Equality, at Marks Park in Emmarentia in March.
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The Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) runner arrived on the finishing straight sporting a huge smile as she beat Benonian Bronwyn Nel (winner of the junior women category) to the title by 32 seconds after the Benoni High Athletic Club (BHAC) runner crossed the line in 38:13.
Her Nedbank teammate, Tebogo Mokgosinyane, who won the veteran women (40-49) category, rounded up the podium in 40:03.
Coetzer’s victory comes on the back of an impressive performance at the Biogen Half-Marathon in Bedfordview on January 12 when she completed the 21.1km women’s race fifth in 01:27:28.
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