Safety first: Social runners sidelined from Grand Prix series

Some changes have been made which will give South Africa’s most lucrative women’s road running campaign a new look this year, but while the Spar Grand Prix series is again expected to attract the country’s top athletes, live events will remain closed to social runners.

The series, which attracted huge mass fields before the pandemic locked it down, has been closed to amateur runners since 2020.

And while government has lifted many of the restrictions event organisers have faced over the last few years, allowing races to host thousands of participants, fears of another potential wave of Covid has kept the door shut for most.

“For the safety of the top athletes, based on the fluctuating Covid regulations and the unprecedented times we find ourselves in, Spar have restricted each of the six races to 500 invited athletes,” organisers said at the series launch on Tuesday night.

The 10km virtual challenge would be held on 3 September, with entries having already opened.

“We encourage all women to gather their friends together, work out a route in their local community and share all the fun,” organisers said.

For elite runners, the overall Grand Prix prizes have not yet been confirmed but there will be a R170 000 purse at each race including R30 000 for the winners, with a total of R1.7 million up for grabs through the campaign.

While the first race is traditionally held in Cape Town and the last in Joburg, the first leg will be held in Gqeberha later this month and the last event will be held in Cape Town in October.

The Pietermaritzburg leg has also been scratched and replaced with a new race in Nelspruit.

2022 Spar Grand Prix calendar

28 May – Gqeberha
26 June – Durban
16 July – Mbombela
6 August – Tshwane
2 October – Johannesburg
23 October – Cape Town