Xaba is hoping to break two national records, over the 21km and 42km distances, before the end of the year.
Glenrose Xaba hopes to become the first South African woman to run under two hours and 20 minutes (2:20:00) over the 42km distance when she competes at the Valencia Marathon in Spain in December.
Xaba had a memorable 2024 season, first setting a national 10km record of 31:12 in Durban, and then achieving a new national mark of 2:22:22 on her marathon debut in Cape Town.
And after another consistent campaign this season, the 30-year-old athlete will be targeting two records before the end of the year.
Xaba, who won the Joburg leg of the Spar Grand Prix 10km series in 33:07 on Sunday to retain the series title, will target the 26-year-old SA 21km record of 1:06:44 held by Elana Meyer when she turns out at a half-marathon in Lisbon at the end of this month.
Then, in December, she will attempt to break her own national marathon mark in only the second 42km race of her career in Valencia.
“It will depend on the day. You can be fit enough to run the time you want, but if your body doesn’t respond you can’t force it,” Xaba said.
“It will also depend on the weather conditions, but my aim is to run under 2:20:00 in Valencia.”
Van Zyl returns to Soweto Marathon
Meanwhile, Irvette van Zyl confirmed she would compete at the Soweto Marathon next month, after showing good form by fighting back in the closing stages of the race to take third place in 34:35 at the Spar Grand Prix contest on Sunday.
Van Zyl struggled at the recent Berlin Marathon, settling for 25th position in 2:40:01, but she hoped to bounce back by reclaiming the Soweto Marathon title she last won for the fourth time in 2023.
“Skipping the Soweto Marathon last year has put an extra carrot in front of me to go for it again,” Van Zyl said.
“But the competition is getting harder and harder. I saw that when I last ran the race in 2023, so it will be interesting and I’m looking forward to it.”
Hiccup for Steyn ahead of Cape Town Marathon
And while she hurt her knee after a fall last week, former SA marathon record holder Gerda Steyn hoped she would recover in time to be competitive at the Cape Town Marathon later this month.
Steyn took 11th place at the Spar race on Sunday in 36:28, which was below her best, but she remained confident the niggle would not derail her hopes of challenging a strong women’s field in the Mother City.
“I’m trying mentally to stay positive, and I don’t want to read too much into the race today because it wasn’t what I wanted or expected,” Steyn said.
“I’m trying to look past it and focus on the fact that my training has gone smoothly.”
