Port Elizabeth, South Africa – South Africa’s top woman runners are gearing up for the second race in the 2015 SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge series, to be run from Pollock Beach in Port Elizabeth on Saturday morning.
All eyes will be on Mapaseka Makhanya, who won the first race of the year in Cape Town in record time, but the Phalula twins, Diana-Lebo and Lebogang, can be expected to provide stiff competition. Diana-Lebo, who won the coveted Grand Prix title last year, did not compete in Cape Town, because she was doing national duty at the World Cross country championships in Beijing. She will be determined to gain as many Grand Prix points as possible, to make up for missing out in the opening race of the year. Her sister, who finished third in Cape Town, will be equally determined to shine.
Another pair of sisters, Rene and Christine Kalmer, who finished fourth and fifth in Cape Town, will also make sure that Makhanya does not have things all her own way. Rene Kalmer, who has won more Challenge races than any other runner, has described the Port Elizabeth race as one of her favourites, and she will be trying to stamp her authority on the race.
“I’ve always liked the PE race,” she said.
“I like the course – it is the kind of course where you can give it all you have, and as long as the wind is not too bad, the course is a very fair one. If it is very windy, which it is sometimes, it can be tough, but I have always enjoyed running there.”
Other runners who cannot be ruled out of contention include Zintle Xiniwe, Rutendo Nyahora and Cornelia Joubert. Zimbabwean Nyahora, who was second in Cape Town, is not eligible for Grand Prix points because she is not a South African citizen, but she remains fiercely competitive in all the Challenge races.
The prize money for the Grand Prix has been boosted to a whopping R150 000, with the runner-up pocketing R50 000, and the third-placed runner R30 000, so there is plenty of incentive for the top runners to compete in as many Challenge races as possible.
The Grand Prix is won by the runner with the most points after the five Challenge races – in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town – have been completed. Bonus points are awarded for record-breaking finishes, and there are also prizes up for grabs in the various age group categories.