Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES unveils R1, 6 million prize purse and groundbreaking SA athlete incentives
The series kicked off in Gqeberha in April, followed by Cape Town in May, Durban in July and Tshwane in August, before culminating in Johannesburg in September.
Stillwater Sports, the organisers of South Africa’s prestigious road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES, is excited to announce an impressive, combined prize purse of R1, 610, 000, along with groundbreaking SA athlete incentives set to inspire exceptional performances and remarkable achievements in 2025.
Since its inception in 2015, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES has redefined road running in South Africa, offering five mass participation road running events across five dynamic cities.
The series kicked off in Gqeberha in April, followed by Cape Town in May, Durban in July and Tshwane in August, before culminating in Johannesburg in September.
“We firmly believe that an impressive prize purse not only rewards hard work but also inspires athletes to push boundaries. We are proud to announce a combined prize purse of R1, 610, 000 in 2025. Each of the five events will feature a total prize allocation of R322, 000. Of this, R252, 000 will be dedicated to the open category, with R126, 000 awarded to the top 10 open men and R126, 000 to the top 10 open women. The top male and female finishers in each city will receive R30, 000 each, with R25, 000 going to second-place finishers and R20, 000 to third-place finishers,” said Michael Meyer, managing director of Stillwater Sports and the series founder.
Additionally, R70, 000 will be allocated to age categories. The age category prize pool will reward the top three finishers in the junior, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70+ age groups.
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Fantastic athlete incentives for 2025
In addition to the substantial combined prize purse, Stillwater Sports has unveiled an unprecedented ‘SA athlete prize incentive schedule’ for 2025. The incentive schedule applies to all five races and offers bonuses for exceptional performances.
In the men’s category, bonuses will start for times faster than 28 minutes, with a substantial R200, 000 bonus for breaking the 27-minute barrier. For women, bonuses begin for times faster than 32:08 minutes, with an impressive R200, 000 incentive for breaking the 30:23 mark.
To further raise the stakes, a bonus of R50, 000 will be awarded to the South African athlete who breaks the SA 10km record (at the time of the race). The current men’s record stands at 27:35, set by Precious Mashele at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K in 2023, while Glenrose Xaba holds the women’s record of 31:12, achieved at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in 2024. It’s important to note that the R50, 000 will be awarded to the fastest time.
“The standard of South African road running continues to rise at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES. This is evident from the fact that both the current men’s and women’s 10km national records were set at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES. In 2024, we paid out an impressive total of R610, 000 in SA athlete incentives – an achievement we are incredibly proud of as event organisers. Our goal is to build on this momentum by continuing to reward exceptional performances in 2025 and raising the level of competitiveness in South African middle-distance running,” Meyer added.
Exciting new talent for 2025
To help push these boundaries further, organisers have already begun recruiting top talent for the 2025 series.
Meyer concludes, “Our objective is to empower South Africa’s elite athletes to build successful careers without needing to compete abroad. We are confident that these incentives will attract the country’s top talent and inspire spectacular performances across all five events in 2025.”
To view the 2025 prize purse breakdown and SA athlete incentive schedule, visit https://runyourcityseries.com/
