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Cape Town Celebrates 30 Years of The SPAR Women ’ s Challenge
The 2023 SPAR Grand Prix series kicks off in the Mother City ! For the first time since 2019 , the SPAR Women ’ s Challenge series will be back to its well-loved format , with thousands of women of all ages and abilities pounding the streets in six cities across South Africa in the 5km Fun Run and 10km Challenge .
The first event in the 2023 series takes place at Greenpoint Precinct in Cape Town on Sunday , April 23 . Cape Town is excited to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the SPAR Women ’ s Challenge in the city and the organisers are pulling out all the stops to ensure a festive atmosphere .
Road running legend Elana Meyer , who won the first SPAR 10km Challenge in Cape Town in 1993 , will fire the gun to start the race . Meyer is one of South Africa ’ s most celebrated long-distance runners and holds the record for the fastest 10km by a South African woman , 31:13 , which she ran in Budapest , Hungary , in 2001 . In 1992 , when South Africa returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1960 after being banned for 32 years , Meyer won the hearts of the nation in Barcelona when she collected a silver medal in the 10 000m , finishing just behind Ethiopian Derartu Tulu .
The Cape Town race is also the first in the sixrace SPAR Grand Prix 10km series and most of South Africa ’ s elite road runners will be there , trying to earn valuable SPAR Grand Prix points and cash in on the huge prizes on offer .
Namibian , Helalia Johannes , the 2019 SPAR Grand Prix champion will unfortunately not be in Cape Town on Sunday due to injury .
However , in a boost for the race , Maxed Elite confirmed that raising Lesotho star , Mokulubete Blandina Makatisi will be racing . Makatisi , last Sunday finished 3rd in the Women ’ s Two Oceans Half Marathon . Last year ’ s overall SPAR Grand Prix race winner , Ethiopian Tadu Nare , will not be taking part on Sunday , but the runner-up in Cape Town last year , fellow Ethiopian Selam Gebre , will be trying to emulate her Nedbank teammate by winning the overall SPAR Grand Prix , which offers a first prize of R200 000 . Two other Ethiopians , Genet Habela and Hiyane Lama will be competing in this year ’ s series .
Top South Africans who will be running on Sunday include former SPAR Grand Prix winners Glenrose Xaba , Lebo and Lebogang Phalula ( Boxer ), Kesa Molotsane ( Murray & Roberts ) and Mapaseka Makhanya .
There have been some key changes to the SPAR Grand Prix format this year , designed to make it more exciting . The four best performances in the six races will count for SPAR Grand Prix points , so that runners who miss up to two races because of injury or international commitments are not disadvantaged .
There are also special incentives this year for South African runners . In each of the six races the first South African across the line will receive R10 000 , while the second South African will take home R5 000 in addition to the regular prize money . There ’ s more , in the overall SPAR Grand Prix , the South African with the most points will collect an additional R75 000 over and above the regular position prize .
8 Spar Women ’ s Challenge Grand Prix Series | Cape Town , 23 April 2023