With three of the six SPAR Grand Prix races completed, Ethiopian athlete Selam Gebre (Nedbank Running Club) holds on to her slender points lead (77 points to 74) over Glenrose Xaba (Boxer).

Lesotho runner Blandina Makatisi (Maxed Elite) is a further five points back (69).

However, under the revised rules for the 2023 SPAR Grand Prix season, a Gebre victory in October is far from a foregone conclusion. Tadu Nare (Ethiopia/Nedbank RC), who won both the 2021 and 2022 Grand Prix competitions, is handily placed in fourth position with 60 points.

In Durban on the weekend, Nare notched up yet another SPAR victory in a brilliant 31:26, beating Gebre by 11 seconds. This was the third time that Gebre has finished runner-up this year. Another Ethiopian, Hiyane Lama, beat her by just two seconds in Cape Town in April.

Of critical importance to the outcome is the rule that, at the end of the six-race series, only a runner’s four best points will count for the final table. This means that two more victories in the three remaining races will ensure Nare will once again reign supreme. But, of course, life and athletics are never certainties, and anything can happen between now and the final race in Johannesburg.

In Durban, Xaba’s scintillating form continued with a personal best of 31:55, moving her into the rarified air of women who have managed to break 32 minutes for the 10km distance. This was her third podium finish this year, and another fine run in the next three races should cement at least third place on the leaderboard at the end of the season.

Kesa Molotsane (53 points) and Cacisile Sosibo (50 points) complete the top six.

Janene Carey (Phantane) and Ronel Thomas (Boxer) continued their ding-dong battle in the 50- to 59-year-old category, with Carey now a single point ahead of the Tshwane athlete.

The remaining three races take place at a higher altitude – Mbombela, Tshwane, and Johannesburg – where Thomas may hold a slight advantage over her Durban-based rival.

Judy Bird (Boxer), who ran exactly 40 minutes in Durban to break her own SA age-group record, has a full house of 30 points to dominate the over-60 category.

In the club competition, Boxer Athletics Club (276 points) remains ahead of Nedbank Running Club (242 points) in a white-hot competition between the country’s two dominant distance running clubs. Hollywood AC, with 77 points, is starting to show its strength after recruiting some of the country’s best runners in recent months.