Breaking Barriers 50km

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]}

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]}

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]

Key:    Course record (in bold)

• Official website