Van Zyl and Cronje bring friendly feud home at Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K
Former South African track stars LJ van Zyl and Johan Cronje are set to swap the track for the road when they bring their friendly rivalry home to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K on Sunday, 25 October 2026.
Both originally from Bloemfontein, the retired elite athletes will go head-to-head over 10km in what promises to be a fun-filled reunion, with bragging rights firmly on the line when the starting gun fires in the city they once called home.
With three Olympic Games, a Commonwealth Games title, a World Championship bronze medal, and the South African 400m hurdles record among the highlights of his illustrious career, LJ van Zyl brings an impressive pedigree to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K. Currently a lecturer at the University of Pretoria, van Zyl admits that Bloemfontein will always be very special to him.
“I spent important years of my schooling and athletics development at Grey College, and this is really where my athletics career started taking shape,” admits van Zyl. “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.
“It is definitely 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. “My 10km PB is 42:07, so I know roughly what I’m in for. 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. Naturally, I would love to improve on that in Mangaung.”
Van Zyl is looking forward to turning the tables on Cronje.
“Johan and I go back a long way as Olympians, so there will definitely be some friendly rivalry. 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! I’m sure there will be plenty of banter before, during and especially after the race.”
On a sprint finish, van Zyl had the following to say: “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! 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. If we hit the final straight together, though, there’s no chance I’m letting him have it without a fight!”
Having grown up in Bloemfontein, Cronje is particularly excited to see the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series bring its unique blend of elite competition and mass participation to Mangaung:
“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. 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.”
Not one to back away from a challenge, Cronje, who is also a World Championship bronze medalist, is relishing the opportunity to race LJ van Zyl at home at the inaugural Absa RUN YOUR CITY MANGAUNG 10K.
“For endurance athletes it comes naturally, for a sprinter it’s not that easy,” teases Cronje. “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.”
Comments