JOHANNESBURG – Mapaseka Makhanya has been around the athletics scene for some time, but 2013 has been a stellar year for her, culminating in her victory in the SPAR Grand Prix.
Mapaseka took up road running this year because she wanted to build up her stamina and get used to running longer distances. Although she has never made a secret of her preference for running on the track, she took to road running like a duck to water, and as a result, the bubbly single mother gathered enough Grand Prix points to finish the year well on top of the Grand Prix ladder.
She started the year by coming second in the Cape Town SPAR Women’s Challenge race and third in Port Elizabeth. She romped to victory in Durban, and had a record-breaking victory in Pretoria. By this stage, she had built up enough points to make it virtually impossible for anyone to overtake her, and although she finished out of the top ten in the final race in Johannesburg in October, the Bonitas (formerly Transnet) runner had done enough to ensure that the keys to the first prize of a new Nissan Micra would be handed over to her.
Mapaseka was overjoyed when she took possession of the car at the Wanderers Club on Tuesday November 5. “I have a car, but it is quite old and needs money spent on it, so it is a huge thrill to be driving away in a brand new car,” she enthused.
“I have really enjoyed running in the SPAR races – the vibe is always great, and I have started getting used to having to think in kilometres instead of metres. This has been a great year – I won the Grand Prix, and I ran and won my first marathon. Next year I plan on winning another car, and have asked for leather interiors,” she said.
Three-times Grand Prix winner, Rene Kalmer, finished second on the log, with 92 points – 13 behind Makhanya. Kalmer’s sister Christine was third with 77. Rene will receive R30 000 and Christine will pocket R17 500.
Their Nedbank Gauteng Central teammate Irvette van Zyl, who was unable to run in Johannesburg because of a knee injury, came fourth, with 68 points. The two-times Grand Prix winner will receive R15 000.
Annie Bothma of Helderberg Harriers won the Junior Grand Prix, with 20 points. Boxer KZN’s Janene Carey won the Veterans category, with 26 points, teammate Grace de Oliviera the Masters category with 48 points, and the evergreen Sonja Laxton the Grandmasters, with 30 points. They will each receive R3 500.
With five of the top 10 on the SPAR Grand Prix ladder wearing the Nedbank Central Gauteng colours, the club easily won the club competition, with 343 points – nearly double those of their nearest rivals, Boxer KZN, who had 177. Transnet were third, with 138 points.
