Rutendo Nyahora and Mapaseka Makhanya ahead of the pack (Diana-Lebo Phalula, Christine Kalmer and Rene Kalmer) during Sunday’s race.
It appears that the SPAR Grand Prix title is heading for a new winner – Mapaseka Makhanye.
Makhanya was victorious in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge in Durban on Sunday. The battle for the title appears to be the closest in the Grand Prix’s history.
After running neck and neck with Rutendo Nyahora, who won the first two Challenges this year, Makhanya made her break at 5km on Sunday and showed the rest of the field a clean pair of heels.
Her victory, in a personal best time of 32.49 minutes, earned her 30 Grand Prix points and boosted her to 67 points.
The Grand Prix has become a major element on South Africa’s road-running calendar, with South Africa’s best runners battling it out for top honours in the five Challenge races, which are held in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The winner this year will receive a personalised Nissan Micra car and the runner-up will take home R30 000.
Runners earn Grand Prix points according to their positions in the five Challenge races. The top 20 runners in each race earn Grand Prix points, with the winner receiving 20 and the 20th-placed runner one point.
Since its introduction in 2007, the Grand Prix title has been shared between teammates, Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl, with Poppy Mlambo named the winner in 2008.
But this time it is Kalmer’s younger sister, Christine, who is challenging Makhanya.
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