SPAR Boosts Grand Prix Prize Purse

Rene Kalmer won her dream prize in 2012, after clinching the SPAR Grand Prix title. Photo: Reg CaldecottThere is great news for the top runners in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge series – the prize money for this year’s Grand Prix has been increased to a whopping R139,000 and the winner will once again take home a car.

The SPAR 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, Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Since its inception, Olympians Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl (formerly Van Blerk) have dominated the Grand Prix, with Poppy Mlambo the only other runner to win the ultimate prize.

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. An age category runner also earns points by finishing in top five in her age group, with the overall age group winners taking home R3,500.

Runners can also earn bonus points by finishing the race in a faster time than the winning time in the particular race in the previous year. All runners who beat the 2012 overall winning time in the relevant age category of the corresponding race in 2013 will score five time incentive points.

More prizes will be presented in the open category this year, with the top 15 on the final points table receiving cash prizes – up from the first 10 last year. The winner will receive a Nissan Micra car, and the runner-up R30,000. The third-placed athlete receives R17,500 – up from the previous R15,000, and the age category winners will receive an additional R500 taking their prize money to R3,500.

SPAR Group Marketing Executive Mike Prentice says the group is thrilled with the growing interest in the Grand Prix. “SPAR sees the Challenge races, and the Grand Prix in particular, as one of our most important sponsorships,” he said.

“We take pride in rewarding our country’s top athletes for their efforts on the road through our Grand Prix Series. And while the SPAR Challenge races are about the everyday woman, without the participation of our country’s elite athletes, the series would not have the prestige and credibility it has achieved.”

The runners are just as enthusiastic. “The Grand Prix is a great incentive on those mornings when you don’t want to get up,” said Van Zyl. “The thought of the prize money – or better still, the car – helps you get out on the road.”

For Kalmer, who clinched her third Grand Prix title in 2012, winning the car last year was a dream come true. “I’ve always wanted to win a car,” she said. “That is such a special prize. And yes, I’ll be going all out to win a new one this year as well.”

 

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