This year has been an outstanding year for 20-year-old Ethiopian athlete Tadu Nare (Nedbank) after she completed a clean sweep of the six SPAR Grand Prix 10km races to clinch the overall title with a perfect total of 150 points.
Nare, who also collected a total of R150 000 along the way in the six women’s only individual races, will receive an additional R190 000 as SPAR Grand Prix title holder, giving her a total of R340 000 for seven weeks’ work.
Although she had emphatic wins in all six races, life was not exactly easy for Nare. Because of visa restrictions, she had to fly back to Ethiopia after every race, even though the 2021 schedule was completed in just seven weeks due to lockdown rules.
“It was very tiring, all that flying and the resultant Covid-19 tests,” she said.
But the year is far from over for the hard-working runner, who now has her sights set on distances greater than 10km.
“I am training for my first marathon in Barcelona in November, so I have to keep up my training schedule, even though I would like time to rest and recover from the flights. To prepare for 42.2km, I have been doing 35km training runs during the week between the SPAR races.”
Nare, who also finished second in the 2019 SPAR Grand Prix, said she hoped to defend her title in 2022.
“I love South Africa. It’s like my second home. I am very grateful to SPAR for putting on these races to allow us to compete and to make some money. I hope to build a house for my mother,” she said.
Former titleholder Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts) finished second and received R90 000 in prize money for a total of 129 points.
There was a battle royale for the next three places, with three runners finishing within a point of one another.
Fortunate Chidzivo (Retail Capital Langa) and Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) finished joint third, with 117 points each. Cian Oldknow (Murray & Roberts) finished fifth, with 116 points, winning R35 000.
