The Boksburg Athletic Club’s (BAC) cross country programme continues to gather momentum after several of its young athletes produced encouraging performances at the fourth CGA cross country league meeting in Daveyton on June 20.

Despite a strong cold front bringing chilly conditions, the club’s blue-and-white stripes stood out as its runners rose to the challenge of a demanding course featuring thick grass, sharp corners and a winding layout. The performances formed part of their preparations for the CGA cross-country championships in August.

Leading the charge was Klarike Brockman, who delivered a spirited performance in the U13 girls’ 3km race against a quality field that included former national champion Mahlatse Mamomonyane and the hard-running Mia Inglethorpe of Up Coming Track Stars and former Benoni Northerns’ Tumishang Seroka.

Brockman executed a composed and disciplined race plan. While the front-runners set a blistering pace from the start, she remained focused on her own strategy, covering the one-and-a-half-lap course in 13:23 to secure a commendable 15th-place finish.

Keletso Maleka also showed determination in the U10 boys’ 2km race, crossing the finish line in 09:30 for 12th place.

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In the U17 boys’ 6km race, Thabiso Mkhaliphi produced a strong effort to finish ninth in 23:13. The race was won by 2024 national champion Tyran Brooks.

Veteran runner Jeremy Hartzenberg clocked 34:05 in the veteran men’s 8km event, while Isaac Mokgola capped a memorable week by delivering another impressive performance just six days after earning a silver medal at the Comrades Marathon.

The club’s cross-country programme is overseen by coach David Gamede, who designs the training schedules. He also drives the initiative to identify and develop young talent.

“Cross-country is an opportunity to identify young talent. Our plan is to open it up to schools to sponsor the young ones who come in. We will see how far we sponsor them because we are a recreational club, but our club has a social responsibility fund set aside to assist our Comrades runners,” said Gamede.

“We want to spend some of it on cross country. We’ve identified a few athletes already, but the vision is to grow cross country until BAC becomes the leading cross country club in our region,” he added.

The runners now shift their focus to the fifth CGA cross country league meeting in Kwa-Thema on July 4.

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