Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 68, March 2015 | Page 8

WHAT’S NEWS

South African Athletes making headlines all around the world
Cash Boost for Spar Series

Meb Keflezighi of the US, former
world record holder Patrick Makau
of Kenya, and 2013 Boston winner
(and 2014 World Champs marathon
silver medallist) Lelisa Desisa
of Ethiopia, amongst a stellar
field of top contenders, in the
119th running of America’s oldest
marathon.

In 2015 SA’s top female road runners will be gunning for a significantly bigger
prize purse in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge Grand Prix series. The
winner will pocket R150,000, while second and third places will earn R50,000
and R30,000 respectively. The prize money extends to 15th place on the points
table, so there is real incentive for runners to compete in all five races in the
series, and age category winners will take R4000 home. The Grand Prix series
was introduced in 2007, and has become South Africa’s biggest and most
prestigious women’s road-running series. The first race in the 2015 Grand Prix
series will be run in Cape Town on 29 March.

Tanith Shows her Speed

In the Gran Canaria Marathon
at the end of January, Tanith
Maxwell finished second in
2:39:45, her quickest marathon
since April 2012. Gran Canaria is
one of the islands of the Spanish
Canary Islands archipelago, about
Lusapho April
150km off the West coast of North
Africa, and women’s marathon
world record holder Paula Radcliffe of the UK was on hand to present the
prizes to the podium finishers, which Tanith says was a real honour. “Paula is
my hero, and such an inspiration to distance running.”

More cash up for grabs in the Spar Grand Prix

SA Record for Do