Grand Prix Promises Big Cash

For the past 10 years, the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge has been one of the most significant events on the South African athletics calendar. Thousands of women from all walks of life take to the streets in the five Challenge races, which are held in Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

But from now on, this already great event is about to get even better, with the introduction of the SPAR Grand Prix, which gives the top runners the opportunity to score points and stand a chance of winning up to R50 000.

Runners will be able to score points in various ways:
*         Overall position.
Runners who finish in the top 30 will receive an automatic three points each.  In addition, the winner will receive 20 points, the runner-up 19 points, the third placed runner 18, and so on down to one point for the 20th position.
*         Age Group categories.
Runners competing in the various categories (junior, veteran, master and grandmaster) will receive points for their position in their category, with five points for number one, down to one for number five.
*         Time incentive points.

Runners will score additional points in 2007 if they beat the overall and age category winning times posted in the same Challenge race in 2006.

The points will be accumulated over the five Challenge races, and everyone who scores points will be placed on the SPAR Grand Prix leaderboard.  After the final race, in Johannesburg on October14, the top 20 runners will receive cash prizes, with the winner taking home R50 000.

In addition to the cash prizes, any runner who won any points at all, will receive a special commemorative certificate from SPAR.

SPAR Group Marketing Director Roelf Venter said the Grand Prix was an exciting innovation, which would add great value to the already popular Challenge series.

"We are committed to supporting women in sport, and we see this as an opportunity for a number of women of all ages to make their mark in road running," said Venter.  "We look forward to seeing how many runners are able to get their names on the leaderboard by the last race."

There is also an incentive for clubs to enter as many runners as possible – every point earned by a club runner will be added to her club’s total, and the top three clubs will receive cash prizes.

Race coordinator Ian Laxton has praised the new innovation, saying it will spark even greater interest in an event that is already one of South Africa’s iconic road-running events.

"It’s the first time anything like this has been done in South Africa," said Laxton.  "What’s particularly good about it is the inclusivity.  The fact that runners can earn points by doing well in their age category means that they can compete on an almost equal footing with senior athletes.

"For instance, a runner like Grace de Oliveira could win points by winning the Veterans category.  If she posts fast times, she could also get bonus points, and if she finishes in the top thirty, she will get points for that as well.

“If she runs every race, she could well be among the top 20 runners when it comes to prize-giving time – and  the same goes for the other age categories.

"The top senior runners, of course, will be vying for the maximum points," he added. We are hoping that by the end of the year, there will be more than 200 runners on the SPAR Grand Prix leaderboard," said Laxton.

"For those who don’t qualify for one of the cash prizes, they will still have the satisfaction of knowing they are among South Africa’s best road-runners."

Entry forms are available at all SPAR, SUPERSPAR and KWIKSPAR stores or online at the SPAR website.