Seen Here: (from left to right) LJ van Zyl and Johan Cronje at the launch of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K earlier this year. Photo Credit: Adnaan Mohamed
BLOEMFONTEIN — Two of South Africa’s former track stars will swap spikes for road-running shoes when old friends and rivals LJ van Zyl and Johan Cronje line up for the inaugural Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10Kon Sunday, 25 October 2026.
The Bloemfontein-born Olympians will renew their long-standing rivalry over 10 kilometres, bringing an entertaining mix of competition, nostalgia and bragging rights to a city that played a formative role in both their athletic careers.
For van Zyl, a three-time Olympian, Commonwealth Games champion, World Championship bronze medallist and former South African 400m hurdles record-holder, the race represents something of a homecoming.
“I spent important years of my schooling and athletics development at Grey College, and this is really where my athletics career started taking shape,” says van Zyl, who is now a lecturer at the University of Pretoria.
“Coming back to race the inaugural Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K feels a little like coming full circle. I have many great memories here, so it will be special to experience the city again, this time as a road runner rather than a 400m hurdler.”
The transition from one lap around the track to 10km on the road, however, will present a very different challenge.
“In the 400m hurdles, everything was over in less than 50 seconds; now I have to keep going for more than 40 minutes,” he laughs.
Van Zyl’s current 10km personal best stands at 42:07, but his competitive instincts remain firmly intact.
“I’m expecting it to hurt, just in a very different way. I’m competitive by nature, though, so once the gun goes, I know I’ll want to race and hopefully get close to, or even improve on, that PB.”
And standing alongside him at the start will be an opponent who knows a thing or two about middle-distance racing.
Cronje, a former 1500m World Championship medallist and World Championship bronze medallist, is equally excited about returning to his hometown for an event he believes can make a significant impact on the local running community.
“Congratulations on the foresight to bring the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series to Mangaung,” says Cronje.
“It’s actually been lacking for such a long time. Local athletes now have the opportunity to partake in the sport that they love at home, without having to travel like in the past.”
For Cronje, the value of the event extends beyond competition.
“Whether they win or lose, they will rub shoulders with the best in the discipline. Just that experience already shifts your mind to where you can go.”
But when it comes to his showdown with van Zyl, Cronje is not giving his former Olympic rival much room for optimism.
“For endurance athletes it comes naturally, for a sprinter it’s not that easy,” he teases. “LJ needs to work a little bit harder. He’s maybe a little heavier than we are. He has different muscle fibres, and that counts against him.”
Van Zyl, unsurprisingly, is not backing down.
The former 400m hurdler believes their rivalry could make for an intriguing finish if they remain together deep into the race.
“Johan and I go back a long way as Olympians, so there will definitely be some friendly rivalry,” he says.
“On paper, I probably shouldn’t be challenging a former 1500m World Championship medallist over 10km, but I’ll remind him that we’re both a long way from 1500m by then!”
If the two former track specialists are still together with 1km to go, van Zyl says his sprint instincts will immediately take over.
“If Johan and I are still together with 1km (or 400m) to go, then absolutely, the old 400m hurdler in me will start thinking about the finish!”
He is, however, under no illusion that Cronje will be easy to outkick.
“The problem is that Johan has a pretty decent kick himself. My plan might be to make him work hard enough over the first 9km that there’s nothing left in those 1500m legs.”
The prospect of the two friends battling down the final straight adds another layer of intrigue to an event that will mark the arrival of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series in Mangaung.
“If we hit the final straight together, though, there’s no chance I’m letting him have it without a fight!” van Zyl says.
The inaugural Mangaung 10K will start at 07:00 from the Sir George Grey Street exit of Grey College, with the finish onKings Way in Bloemfontein.
Entries opened on 1 August and will close on Thursday, 8 October, or once capacity is reached. The entry fee for licensed runners is R255, with a temporary licence available for an additional R70.
Participants will receive an Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series Performance T-shirt, drawstring bag, peak cap, socks, race number and timing chip, as well as a finisher’s medal. The experience will also include sponsor activations, route entertainment, three refreshment stations, tog bag facilities and post-event entertainment.
The Mangaung event becomes the sixth race in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, joining Gqeberha, Cape Town, Durban, Tshwane and Johannesburg.
More than simply another race on the national road-running calendar, the inaugural Mangaung 10K promises to combine elite competition, mass participation and a celebration of the city’s rich athletics heritage.
And with two of Bloemfontein’s most accomplished former track athletes now preparing to settle an old score over 10km, the race could have one particularly entertaining subplot.
For van Zyl and Cronje, the road to Mangaung is about more than personal records.
It is about coming home, reconnecting with their roots — and finding out, once and for all, who gets bragging rights.
