Kabelo Mulaudzi runs on momentum the way a sprinter feeds on oxygen. Fresh from leaving his footprints all over Germiston’s dirt at the Central Gauteng Athletics Cross Country Championships, the 27-year-old is lacing up for a bigger prize: a record third straight Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES win at Sunday’s Tshwane 10K.
Nicknamed Mr Podium, Muluadzi has turned consistency into an art form, stringing together six straight Series medals and already banking 2025 victories in Cape Town and Durban.
Everything started with cross country when I was still young. That’s the foundation for me.
The race was tactical because this is not my event. I knew the guys are faster than I am, so I had to come out and enjoy it because I always run a 4km time trial the week before an Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES race. I’m happy.
Happy, but not satisfied. For Mulaudzi, Germiston was less about medals and more about sharpening his speed for the streets of Tshwane.
This was a time trial for me. I just came here and won the race so I can be ready for next week. Next week is the big one. I hope I can run well and win three in a row and I’ll be happy.
That quiet confidence is backed by results. The PUMA athlete, guided by coach Richard Mayer, has already etched 2025 onto his CV with a bronze in the ASA Senior Track and Field 5000m and a scorching 27:41 personal best en route to victory at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Durban 10K.
Add in his 2023 Tshwane triumph and last year’s podium, and the Union Buildings look less like a challenge and more like his personal finish line backdrop.
Michael Meyer, Series Founder and Managing Director of Stillwater Sports, can’t hide his admiration:
Kabelo Mulaudzi is enjoying a fantastic 2025 season, building on his reputation as one of South Africa’s most consistent and exciting athletes. Kabelo always brings incredible energy and determination to the series, and his presence not only raises the level of competition but also inspires the thousands of runners who line up alongside him.
In a season that has already seen Adriaan Wildschutt, Glenrose Xaba, and Clare Ndiwa blaze through their own Series victories, Tshwane is set to be another battleground of pace and pride.
Yet all eyes will inevitably fall on Mulaudzi, the man who treats podiums like pit stops, never lingering, always charging toward the next finish line.
On Sunday, the capital’s streets will echo with 10,000 pairs of shoes chasing glory.
But somewhere up front, with his stride measured and his gaze unflinching, Kabelo Mulaudzi will be running into history.
