Glenrose Xaba takes Joburg race and Grand Prix win
A fantastic season of competitive running has come to a close with Glenrose Xaba being named winner of the SPAR Grand Prix.
A delightful day of road running has come to an end with the inimitable Glenrose Xaba being crowned the winner of the Joburg leg of the SPAR Women’s Challenge.
Xaba finished in a time of 32.48 minutes, followed by Tadu Nare from Ethiopia in a time on 34 minutes and Diniya Kedir Abaraya, also from Ethiopia in a time of 34.14 minutes.
Local running legend, and Comrades Marathon winner Gerda Steyn finished in 6th place in a time of 35.11minutes.
The field of participants in the 10km challenge was strong as always, with runners from around the world participating.
South African Glenrose Xaba had already done enough this season to secure the SPAR Grand Prix title before the Joburg race, but that did not stop her from pushing to be her best in the final race of the season.
The SPAR Grand Prix has not had a South African winner since international athletes were permitted to enter in 2019.
While the SPAR Grand Prix is an esteemed athletic event, thousands take part for the fun of it. At a jam-packed Mark’s Park Sports Club in Emmarentia, roughly 10 000 runners took on either the 5km or 10km road race challenge, and the enthusiasm on the roads of Emmarentia was contagious.
Always a festive occasion, the day will filled with cheers and high spirits. Colourful outfits and vibrant tutus were the go-to attire with participants all making the best of the beautiful spring morning in the City of Gold.
This year the race is in support of Reach for Recovery, The Smile Foundation and Headstart Kids.
Today’s race marks the end of the SPAR Grand Prix series which featured races in Joburg, Cape Town, Durban, Tshwane and Gqeberha. Athletes competed for prize money, points and bonus points. The accumulated points count towards the overall ranking in the series and the final points scoring concludes a series prize purse of more than R1.68m.
There is also a separate ‘competition-within-a-competition’ for South African athletes, with the top five local runners taking home a total of R185 000 in addition to the money they could win in the overall SPAR Grand Prix Series.
To see more pictures of the event, click here.
