Breaking Barriers 50km

Annual race in South Africa since 2021

Breaking Barriers 50km

Marine Drive along Hobie Beach in Summerstrand, part of the northwest leg of the race course

Date| February or March[1][2]
Location| Gqeberha, South Africa
Event type| Road
Distance| 50K ultramarathon
Primary sponsor| Nedbank
Established| 2021 (4 years ago) (2021)[3]
Course records|

* 2:39:04 (2023) (men)
* Tete Dijana[4]
* 3:00:30 (2023) (women)
* Emane Seifu Hayile[4]

Official site| About Us Nedbank Runified 50km
Participants|

* 92 finishers (2023)[5]
* 48 finishers (2022)[6]

The Breaking Barriers 50km (also known as the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50km for sponsorship reasons) is an annual road-based ultramarathon hosted by Gqeberha, South Africa, since 2021.[7][8] The ultramarathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.[9] As of the 2023 race, a new 50K world record has been set every year the race has been held.[3][10][11][12][13]

## History

[edit]

The inaugural race was held on Sunday 23 May 2021.[3] The 50K was won by Ethiopian runner Ketema Negasa and South African runner Irvette van Zyl, with finish times of 2:42:07 and 3:04:24, respectively.[3][11] Negasa set the 50K world record for men, while van Zyl set the 50K world record for women in a women-only race.[14][3][11]

On 6 March 2022, the second running of the race, South African runner Stephen Mokoka broke the world record with a finish time of 2:40:13 in his 50K debut, while Ethiopian runner Amelework Fekadu, with her winning time of 3:04:58, missed breaking the record van Zyl set the previous year by about half a minute.[1][15][16][17]

The third running of the race was held on 26 February 2023.[8][4] Ethiopian runner Emane Seifu Hayile set a new 50K world record for a women-only race with her finish time of 3:00:30, beating van Zyl's time by nearly four minutes.[4][13] South African runner Tete Dijana, winner of the 2022 Comrades Marathon, also set a new course record, and a new South African 50K record, with his winning time of 2:39:04.[18][19][20][a]

## Course

[edit]

External image

Course map of 50K in 2021[26]

The ultramarathon is run on a loop course along the M4 freeway in Gqeberha on Marine Drive and Beach Road.[26][27] The course runs largely along the coast.[26] The loop is 10 km (6.2 mi) long and is run five times.[26]

The race begins and ends in front of the Piet Retief Monument in Summerstrand, near Pollock Beach.[26][27] Runners first head southeast along Marine Drive for about 2 km (1.2 mi) before turning around.[26] The course then heads northwest for about 5 km (3.1 mi), reaching another turnaround point on Beach Road.[26] Runners then head back southeast to the starting point for the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of the loop.[26]

## Winners

[edit]

South African runners Irvette van Zyl (left) and Stephen Mokoka (both pictured here running the marathon course of the 2012 London Olympics), who both set 50K world records with their victories, van Zyl in 2021 and Mokoka in 2022

Key:    Course record (in bold)

Ed.  | Date  | Male Winner  | Time  | Female Winner  | Time  | Rf.

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 2021.05.23  |  Ketema Negasa (ETH) | 2:42:07 WR |  Irvette van Zyl (ZAF) | 3:04:24 WR | [3][11]
2  | 2022.03.06  |  Stephen Mokoka (ZAF) | 2:40:13 WR |  Amelework Fekadu (ETH) | 3:04:58  | [1][16][12]
3  | 2023.02.26  |  Tete Dijana (ZAF) | 2:39:04 NR |  Emane Seifu Hayile (ETH) | 3:00:30 WR | [2][18][4][13]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Some sources reported that Tete Dijana set a new world record,[21][22] while others noted that U.S. runner CJ Albertson had run a faster 50K a few months earlier, with a finish time of 2:38:43 at the Ruth Anderson Memorial Endurance Run in San Francisco, California, although Albertson's time had yet to be ratified as a world record.[23][24][20][4][25]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Nedbank Runified 50km". results.finishtime.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. ^ a b

* "Nedbank Runified 50km". results.finishtime.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

3. ^ a b c d e f Snider-McGrath, Ben (23 May 2021). "Ethiopian runner sets men's 50K world record with 2:42:07 run in South Africa – Canadian Running Magazine". Canadian Running Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. ^ a b c d e f "Hayile breaks women-only 50km world record in Gqeberha | REPORT | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
5. ^ "Nedbank Runified 50km". results.finishtime.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. ^ "Nedbank Runified 50km". results.finishtime.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
7. ^ Software, Entelect. "Nedbank Running Club – About+Us Nedbank+Runified+50km". nedbankrunningclub.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. ^ a b "Will yet another record be broken? | News24". News24. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
9. ^ "World Athletics Label Road Races | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. ^ "Stephen Mokoka not ready for move to 50km despite smashing world record". TimesLIVE. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
11. ^ a b c d "Inaugural world 50km records ratified | PRESS-RELEASES | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
12. ^ a b "Ratified: world records for Yehualaw, Knighton, Nugent and Mokoka | PRESS-RELEASES | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
13. ^ a b c "Ratified: world records for Duplantis, Bol and Seifu, world U20 records for Jackson and Sosna | PRESS-RELEASES | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
14. ^ "SA's Irvette van Zyl breaks 50km world record | Sport". Sport. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
15. ^ "Mokoka breaks world record on 50km debut". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
16. ^ a b "Amelework FEKADU | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
17. ^ "South Africa's Mokoka breaks world record in first 50km race". Reuters. 6 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
18. ^ a b "Athletics South Africa". athleticssa.org.za. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
19. ^ "Dijana eyes top podium spot in Gqeberha 50km". HeraldLIVE. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
20. ^ a b Snider-McGrath, Ben (27 February 2023). "Ethiopian runner breaks women-only world 50K record in South Africa – Canadian Running Magazine". Canadian Running Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
21. ^ Africa, AlgoaFM South. "World records shattered in Gqeberha". algoafm.co.za. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
22. ^ "World records are the theme for the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50km | News24". News24. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
23. ^ Botton, Wesley (26 February 2023). "Distance runners Mokoka and Dijana shine on the road | The Citizen". The Citizen. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
24. ^ "CJ Albertson Is Once Again World Record Holder in the 50K". Runner's World. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
25. ^ "Albertson runs world 50km record in San Francisco | REPORT | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
26. ^ a b c d e f g h "Microsoft PowerPoint – Layouts 50km 2021.ppt [Compatibility Mode] - Layouts50km2021.pdf" (PDF). eolstoragewe.blob.core.windows.net. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
27. ^ a b "Google Maps". Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

*[ETH]: Ethiopia
*[WR]: World record
*[ZAF]: South Africa
*[NR]: National record