Tayla Kavanagh set her second South African record in the space of 15 days, finishing fifth in the women’s race in a national record of 30:50 at the tRUNsylvania 10K at the Brasov Running Festival in Brasov, Romania on Sunday, 4 October 2026.
The 25-year-old took 22 seconds off the previous national mark of 31:12, set by Glenrose Xaba at the Absa Run Your City race in Durban in July 2024, and improved her own personal best of 31:26 by 36 seconds. The record is subject to ratification by Athletics South Africa.
The run follows her fourth place at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on 19 September, where she clocked 14:51 in the women’s 5km. That performance broke Elana Meyer’s 15:10 national mark from 1994, made Kavanagh the first South African woman to dip under 15 minutes for 5km on the road and left her a single second short of a medal.
The tRUNsylvania 10K, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, produced an Ethiopian clean sweep of the women’s podium. Twenty-year-old Asefu Abreha won in 30:16, ahead of Aynadis Mebratu in 30:19, while 19-year-old Yenenesh Shimket took third in 30:21, a world under-20 best. Djibouti’s Samia Hassan Nour set a national record of 30:37 in fourth.
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Cool conditions, with the temperature at 8 degrees Celsius at the start, and a measured early pace saw seven women pass halfway together. Kavanagh ran her own race and finished seven seconds clear of Kenya’s Nelvin Jepkemboi, sixth in 30:57.
“I knew that I was not that far off the record previously. I came into the race with the mindset of running as fast as I could, so breaking the record felt extra special,” Kavanagh said in a statement released by her club, Hollywood Athletics Club.
“I’m incredibly happy with my performance, and I’m really proud of myself for racing competitively with international ladies.”
New South African 10km Record Breaker, Tayla Kavanagh
“Breaking the South African record means a lot to me. I started my road running career by doing the 10km when I was 16, and I have now broken the South African record. I’m incredibly proud, and it feels really special.”
The record caps a breakthrough year. Kavanagh won the national 5000m and 10000m titles at the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships in Stellenbosch in April. She placed eighth in the 5000m final for Team South Africa at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and set track personal bests of 8:46.86 over 3000m, 14:58.49 over 5000m and 32:05.59 over 10000m.
“This year has been a dream come true for my running career. I will now be going into the off-season, which I’m really looking forward to. It’s not just a physical, but also a mental break.”
On the same morning, Xaba won the Jozi Spar Women’s 10km Challenge at the Marks Park Sports Club in Johannesburg to become the first athlete to claim the Spar Grand Prix series title four times.
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“I am very happy for Tayla. Records are meant to be broken. I hope Tayla and I can run against each other and maybe even break 30 minutes as we push one another,” said Xaba.
Top Five Finishers at the Women’s tRUNsylvania 10K in Brasov, Romania on Sunday, 4 October 2026
1. Asefu Abreha (Ethiopia) 30:16
2. Aynadis Mebratu (Ethiopia) 30:19
3. Yenenesh Shimket (Ethiopia) 30:21 (World under-20 best)
4. Samia Hassan Nour (Djibouti) 30:37 (National record)
5. Tayla Kavanagh (South Africa) 30:50 (SA record, subject to ratification)
Original Copy: Athletics South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Tayla Kavanagh, the 25-year-old Hollywood Athletics Club distance runner, set a South African women’s 10km record of 30:50, subject to ratification, finishing fifth in a world-class field led by Ethiopia’s Asefu Abreha, at the tRUNsylvania 10K at the Brasov Running Festival in Brasov, Romania on Sunday, 4 October 2026. File Photo: Charmaine Botes Visser
