Durban SPAR Grand Prix 10km , 25 June 2023
And the Winners Are …
ROAD RUNNING
Four Down , Two to Go in SPAR Grand Prix
Tadu Nare won in Durban with a PB 32:25
With two more wins in the 2023 SPAR Grand Prix Series in Durban and Mbombela , two-time defending series champion Tadu Nare is well on course to make it three series wins in a row . Meanwhile , the SPAR Women ’ s Challenge races continue to attract thousands of women to the roads for either a 10km or 5km outing , with live music and the ever-popular goodie bags to round off the experience .
Nare Dominates in Durban
Durban SPAR Grand Prix 10km , 25 June 2023
After missing the first leg in Cape Town in April and then winning the second race in Gqeberha in May , Tadu Nare ( Nedbank ) had found herself in relatively unknown territory , lying outside the top five overall positions on the Grand Prix points table . However , when the Durban race rolled around in June , she was ready to continue her relentless climb back to the summit of the points log , dominating the third leg of the campaign with a gun-to-tape victory in ideal conditions .
Three athletes tried to stay with the Ethiopian star in the early stages of the race – compatriot Selam Gebre ( Nedbank ), South African favourite Glenrose Xaba ( Boxer ) and Blandina Makatisi ( Maxed Elite ) of Lesotho – but Nare soon stretched the small lead group into single file , and by the 4km mark , Xaba and Makitisi had been dropped , and then with a few kilometres remaining , Gebre could no longer hold on to the lightning fast pace .
Nare gradually drew further clear , ultimately crossing the finish line in new personal best 31:26 , the secondfastest time ever in a SPAR race in South Africa ,
Judy Bird set a new SA Record in the 60 + age category
and considerably faster than her winning time of 31:50 in the previous year ’ s Durban race . “ I felt very comfortable today . It was not like other races I ’ ve run this year , which had more hills ,” she said afterwards . “ The course was good and I enjoyed it today . I had a good race .”
Three more PBs were to follow as Gebre clocked 31:37 to take second , Xaba took third in 31:55 and Makatisi claimed fourth in 32:18 . This was the first time that Xaba dipped under 32 minutes , shattering her previous best of 32:12 . “ I was not feeling well at the start , and my body did not respond as well as I would have liked , so I ’ m glad I was able to run a good time ,” said Xaba . “ I ’ m very happy with the progress I am making with my coach , Violet Semenya , and with my result today .”
And the Winners Are …
Here are the top results of the Durban SPAR Grand Prix 10km on 25 June .
Senior Category |
1 Tadu Nare ( Nedbank / Ethiopia ) |
31:26 |
2 Selam Gebre ( Nedbank / Ethiopia ) |
31:37 |
3 Glenrose Xaba ( Boxer ) |
31:55 |
4 Blandina Makatisi ( Maxed / Lesotho ) 32:18 |
5 Kesa Molotsane ( Murray & Roberts ) 33:42 |
6 Cacisile Sosibo ( Boxer ) |
33:42 |
7 Lebo Phalula ( Boxer ) |
34:13 |
8 Tayla Kavanagh ( Hollywood ) |
34:18 |
9 Irvette van Zyl ( Hollywood ) |
34:20 |
10 Karabo More ( Distance RC ) |
35:10 |
Junior Category |
1 Kadence Ribbink ( Phantane ) |
40:39 |
2 Leah Edwards ( Kearsney ) |
41:17 |
3 Dimakatso Motloung ( Nquthu ) |
44:04 |
40-49 Category |
1 Makhosi Mhlongo ( Hillcrest ) |
35:16 |
2 Fikile Mbuthuma ( Nedbank ) |
38:05 |
3 Simone Botha ( Boxer ) |
39:07 |
50-59 Category |
1 Janene Carey ( Phantane ) |
40:22 |
2 Ronel Thomas ( Boxer ) |
40:46 |
3 Shani Sliver ( Boxer ) |
42:02 |
60-69 Category |
1 Judy Bird ( Boxer ) |
40:00 |
2 Janine Goes ( Dolphin ) |
45:28 |
3 Blanche Moila ( Savages ) |
49:35 |
Nare starts to string the leading four out |
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Meanwhile , in the grandmasters ( 60 +) division , Judy Bird produced a superb performance to break the South African record in her age group , charging to victory in 40:00 and taking 12 seconds off the national mark . Though she narrowly missed her goal of running under 40 minutes , she was delighted to have broken new ground . “ I ’ ve been sleeping , eating and thinking sub-40 all week . I visualised it , and it became nonnegotiable , but it was quite a hard run ,” said Bird . “ My main focus this year is the SPAR Grand Prix , and the other races are at altitude , but I ’ d love to go sub-40 .” |
Top three in Durban : Glenrose Xaba , Tadu Nare and Selam Gebre |
Images : Rogan Ward , Reg Caldecott |
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