René Kalmer a strong contender in PE race

Despite a shaky start to her 2014 Spar Women’s Grand Prix campaign, Roodepoort’s René Kalmer is said to be a contender when the second leg takes place in Port Elizabeth this Saturday 3 May.

The 10km race at Pollock Beach is expected to be a cracker, with most of South Africa’s top road runners due to battle it out for that top spot. Another runner to watch is the winner of the Cape Town leg, Diana-Lebo Phalula, who changed coaches recently and appears to have a new lease of life.

Diana-Lebo also won the Two Oceans Half Marathon over the Easter Weekend just 0,23 seconds ahead of defending champion René. Both are running on Saturday and the struggle for dominance in the race could result in a fast time.

René came a disappointing seventh in the first leg in Cape Town, just a week after competing in the world half marathon championships in Copenhagen, but she will be going all out to reclaim her title as queen of the road. She did not run last year because of international commitments, but she has described the Port Elizabeth race as her favourite.

But Diana-Lebo and René also will have plenty of opposition.

Nedbank has entered a strong team, which includes Ethiopian Hunduma Gumeda, Zimbabwean Rutenda Nyahora, and former Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl.

Boxer also has a strong contingent with last year’s Grand Prix winner Mapaseka Makhanya, as well as Nolene Conrad, Christine Kalmer and Janene Carey.

While all the runners will be aiming for top spot and the generous prize money on offer, the South Africans also will be trying to earn valuable Grand Prix points. The Grand Prix rewards the top runners competing in the five Challenge races, which are held around South Africa. The winner will receive a car and the runner-up R30 000. There are also prizes on offer to the top runners in the various age categories.

René has won the Grand Prix on three occasions, and Irvette has won it twice. Diana-Lebo has made it known that she intends to maintain her lead at the top of the leaderboard and walk away with the keys to a brand new Nissan Micra, but all the top runners will be going all out to ensure that she doesn’t have it all her own way.

Diana-Lebo is currently at the top of the leaderboard with 30 points, followed by Nolene with 18. Mapaseka is in third position, with 16 points. However, with four races still to go, the Grand Prix is wide open.