Nara takes third consecutive SPAR Grand Prix victory
Ethiopian runner Tadu Nare (Nedbank) won her third successive 10km SPAR Grand Prix race on September 11 when she crossed the line first in the women’s only Durban race in 32.07 minutes.
Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) was second in 32.59 minutes, followed by Gerda Steyn (Nedbank) in 33.07.
In Cape Town the previous week, Nare had a runaway victory, but she stayed closer to the group in Durban. It was only after 5km that she pulled away.
Xaba, Steyn and Tayla Kavanagh (Murray & Roberts) had a back and forth battle for second place. Kavanagh started falling back towards the end of the race and Xaba pushed ahead in the final 2km. Kavanagh finished fourth in 33.27 minutes.
“It was a bit windy this morning, so I decided to stay with the group,” said Nare.
“I would like to have run a bit faster, but I needed to be pushed.”
Nare said she hoped to run a sub-31 minute race in the final race in Gqeberha next month. The next two races, in Pretoria and Johannesburg, are run at altitude, with slower times.
Xaba, who missed the Cape Town race because of a knee injury, said she had a good race.
“It was nice to run with Gerda. I wanted to keep up with Tadu, but I didn’t want to push too hard and maybe injure my knee again.”
Steyn, who flew in from Dubai on September 10, said she had a fantastic run. “When I arrived yesterday, it was very windy, but the wind had dropped this morning and conditions were very good. We ran in a group and Glenrose pushed me all the way. I just couldn’t keep up with her for the last two kilometres.”
Steyn said all the runners were in awe of Nare.
“She’s very young and very talented and I think she has a bright future. There are so few races at the moment, because of Covid-19, and I think we are all very grateful to have the SPAR Grand Prix challenge. I am preparing for my next marathon at the moment and the SPAR races help me with speed.”
Two former overall SPAR Grand Prix winners, Namibian Helalia Johannes and her Nedbank teammate, Irvette van Zyl, were scheduled to run in Durban but withdrew because of injury.
The next race is the Tshwane SPAR Grand Prix on National Heritage Day, September 24, followed by the Johannesburg and Gqeberha races in October.
