Graphic designer Sarah Ayres
is a busy mother of two small
children. She has also been
named the 2019 Face of the
Race for the SPAR Women’s
Challenge Joburg at Marks Park
Sports Club on October 6.
That saw
Sarah start
a WhatsApp
group to encourage
other young mothers
to get out and about.
“Initially, it was just a couple of
other moms from the school, but the
group has grown and we now have 50 members.
We exchange tips and encourage each other to keep going. They are not all young
mothers – we welcome anyone who is just starting to get regular exercise,” she says.
The five finalists in the Face of the Race competition
were, from left, Chwayita Gugwini (Soweto), Alicia
Chelsea (Joburg East), Busisiwe Nobela (Joburg South),
Holly Gxubane (Joburg North) and Sarah Ayres (Joburg
West)
S
arah was one of five finalists in the Face of the
Race competition in Get It magazine. This was not
a beauty competition, take note. Instead, entrants
were asked to provide information about what they were
doing for their community. The Greater Johannesburg area
was divided into five areas – north, south, east, west and
Soweto, and a winner was selected from each of these
areas, with Sarah, who represented Joburg West, winning
the overall competition.
Sarah says she initially ran about a kilometre twice a week, but is now doing four to
six kilometres three times a week. “I recently ran my first 10km trail run at the school,
and I am really looking forward to doing the SPAR Challenge. My dad will run with me,
and my mom is going to walk the 5km Fun Run. Quite a few of my friends will also be
taking part.”
Giving Back to the Community
As well as working for their community initiatives, the five area winners have all
undertaken to support the Drop a Pair and Show you Care campaign, whereby
runners are asked to bring an old pair of trainers to the race to be handed on to women
and girls who have no running shoes, or cannot afford new ones. Since the campaign
was first launched in 2015, hundreds of pairs of shoes have been donated to needy
runners. “I have been promoting it via social media and I have also put up posters at
the school. I have even offered to collect the shoes to take along on race day, because
I think it’s a great initiative, and I am very happy to be part of it,” says Sarah.
The other finalists were Joburg North: Holly Gxubane;
Joburg South: Busisiwe Nobela; Joburg East: Alicia
Chelsea; Soweto: Chwayita Gugwini. All five will be at the
race on 6 October, and each of the five finalists will bring
along a member of their community, with all 10 due to be
given VIP treatment throughout the day.
Going Longer
Sarah says she started running because she and her
husband had acquired a very active German short-haired
pointer, which needed plenty of exercise. “I started off
by going for walks with him, and then eventually I started
running,” she explains. “At first I was just going round the
block, but as time went on I was able to go further and for
longer times. When I was at school, I had problems with
my knees and ankles, which prevented me from doing
much sport, but now, because I started slowly and built
up gradually, my body is strong and so are my knees and
ankles.”
From the Left; Personality Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp, SPAR Human Resources Executive
Nonelela Xaba Butjie, SPAR Grand Prix Patron Mapaseka Makhanya, Face of the Race
2019/2020 winner Sarah Ayres, SPAR Women’s Challenge Joburg Patron Rene Kalmer,
Central Gauteng Athletics Board Member Karabo Mabilo and Sonja Laxton, who will
be running her 100th race at the 2019 SPAR Women’s Challenge Joburg at Marks Park
Sports Club on the 6th October 2019.The race was officially launched at Broadacres
north of Johannesburg on Thursday 22 August 2019.
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