It’s that time of year again – the days are getting shorter and thousands of women in the Friendly City are preparing to celebrate autumn by taking part in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge on May 3.
The Port Elizabeth Challenge – the second of five races held at centres around South Africa – is being run for the 15th time this year, and has become an important fixture of the social and sporting calendars of the Nelson Mandela Metropole. Last year, 8300 runners took part, and the organisers are expecting even more this year.
The Challenge is the second race of the 2008 SPAR Grand Prix series, which enables the top runners to earn points towards winning a grand prize of R50 000 after the final Challenge in Johannesburg in October.
Rene Kalmer, who has dominated the Port Elizabeth race over the past few years, got her nose in front right from the start, and cleaned up in the Grand Prix, finishing way ahead of her nearest rival, Annerien van Schalkwyk.
What makes the Grand Prix very appealing to the runners is that they can earn points in three different ways, on overall position in the race, on position in age categories, or in time incentives, with bonus points for beating the time posted in the previous year’s Challenge.
This innovation spurred veteran runner Grace de Oliveira to claiming third place overally in the Grand Prix, just one point behind Van Schalkwyk, and assisted junior runner Maxine Heine-Wacker in finishing in sixth place. The top 20 runners on the Grand Prix log all receive cash prizes, and every runner who features on the log receives a merit certificate.
There will, of course, be cash prizes for the top three runners on the day, with the winner taking home R3000, the runner-up R2000 and the third placed runner R1000. Kalmer is expected to try to stamp her authority early on, and a number of other top runners are expected to take part.
But although the competition is very fierce at the top level, the SPAR Challenge is all about having fun. Most of the thousands of women who will compete have no chance of featuring on the Grand Prix log, but every chance of having a day of fun and laughter.
There are spot prizes and lucky draws, with the main prize being SPAR vouchers to the value of R12 000. Algoa FM will be on hand to provide fun and entertainment, and there will be number of stalls providing a wide range of food. There is plenty to keep the youngsters busy.
Everyone who finishes will receive a medal, and there are also free race t-shirts for the first 8000 to register. "We are very proud of the Challenge, which we see as the flagship event on our sponsorship calendar," said SPAR Eastern Cape Marketing Manager Martin Webber. "We believe it demonstrates our commitment to the region as well as to women.
"We are excited that the numbers of participants have grown every year, and we are expecting an even bigger turnout this year, when we celebrate the race’s 15th anniversary. We will be calling on clubs, businesses, schools and tertiary institutions to participate in the race. We are also proud that the route in the Friendly City has been described as the most beautiful of all the Challenge routes."
"This is an Olympic year, so we expect an increased interest in athletics in 2008," said Eastern Province Athletics President Jonathan Haylock-Lyons. "We will be encouraging women of all ages to take part, and who knows – maybe one of the youngsters taking part for the first time this year will represent South Africa in London in 2012."
Once again, part of the proceeds from the race will go towards the Yokhuselo Haven – a place of safety for victims of domestic violence, so entrants will have the pleasure of knowing they have done something to help another woman who might otherwise have been in grave danger.
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