Old guard not ready to pass the baton at Madibaz half-marathon

Bestmed Madibaz Half-Marathon defending champion Melikhaya Frans is not quite ready to pass on the baton to the next generation and will be in a fighting mood on Saturday

It will be two of the old guard making all the running as they bid to defend their respective titles at the Bestmed Madibaz Half-Marathon in Gqeberha this weekend.

Last year’s men’s champion Melikhaya Frans, 36, aims to make it back-to-back victories in the 21.1km event, which takes place from Mandela University’s South Campus on Saturday.

Meanwhile, women’s winner Refeloe Solomons, 45, eyes a leg-burning fourth consecutive gold on Saturday.

Both have been in great form of late and there will have to be plenty of youthful exuberance in the pack to prevent them from breaking the tape again.

The race day, which has featured a 10km run since its inception, added a 5km distance in 2025 with the goal of luring more youngsters, students and families to the sport.

Frans, a former national runner who competes in the colours of the local Ikhamva Athletics Club, won both the Philadelphia Marathon in the United States and Riga Marathon in Latvia last year.

He admits that his advanced years call for greater discipline to stay clear of the youngsters snapping at his heals but, perhaps ominously, says he is in good form and up for the challenge.

“You need to save your energy so you can unleash at the races where you want to do well,” he explained his strategy of arriving at the start feeling fresh and in the best possible shape.

Frans has been the standout performer in Eastern Province road running for a decade and believes the time has come for the next generation to start coming through.

“I would like to see that,” he said.

If Solomons crosses the line first it will mean that she has won every single Madibaz half-marathon, but the friendly athlete from the Bay knows she will have her work cut out to achieve the feat.

The sport has grown massively and if her more junior rivals “run with their minds not just their legs” the Nedbank star believes they have every chance of unseating her.

Solomons welcomes the challenge as she finds tough competition motivates her.

She has noticed a trend where many up-and-coming runners jump straight into marathons and ultra-marathons instead of first honing their bodies and speed in 21.1km races.

Her belief is that the shorter, more intense efforts have taught her to understand her body and how to pace herself – skills she links to her longevity in the sport.

Devoting all their time to marathon and longer distances “is risky” and would likely translate to a loss of speed by the time they reached her age, she said.

Solomons loves the route, portions of which are incorporated into several of the Metro’s marquee events. It is so familiar that she almost feels like she has “home-ground advantage”.

She, too, appears to be in the zone this year after winning the Volkswagen HealthCare 21.1km and claiming a top-15 finish at the SA half-marathon championships.

Prospective participants can still enter the 21.1km (R180), 10km (R120) or 5km (R50) online. Temporary licences for private runners in the first two distances cost R50.

A R20 admin fee applies to late entries, which will be accepted at the Madibaz Indoor Centre on Friday (4pm to 7pm) and Saturday (5.30am to 6.45am).

The first runners get underway at 7am.

Visit the entry portal.

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