The official launch of the Pretoria leg of the SPAR Women’s Challenge, was held at Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria last week and entries are now open for this race.

The Pretoria race, which attracts a whopping 25 000 avid runners each year, is the biggest and most popular race in the SPAR Women’s Challenge Grand Prix series.

The theme for this year’s race is “Stepping For…” This concept builds on the My Shoes, Your Shoes theme from last year which challenged race participants to think about what it means to walk in another woman’s shoes.

The “Stepping For…” theme is being backed by a social media campaign under the hash tag #SteppingFor. The campaign appeals to all women running for a cause or stepping for someone who cannot take part in the race to share their stories on the SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria Facebook page.

The popularity of the Pretoria SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria leg has soared over recent years and has attracted the attention of local celebrities and community leaders. This is evident by the extensive list of brand ambassadors who are playing their part in promoting this year’s race.

The 2015 brand ambassadors include: longstanding race patron Annie Malan; Zoleka Mandela; The Jacaranda Breakfast team; Pretoria couple Pierre and Juanné Spies; local comedic personality Bouwer Bosch; the 2014 Mrs South Africa Sarah Kate Scott; 7de stars Donna Lee Roberts, Melanie Du Bois, Jacques Blignaut, Hannah Grobler and Ivan Botha; top runner Mapaseka Makhanya; renowned stylist Gary Rom and local singer Willem Botha.

All of these brand ambassadors came together with SPAR to create a great event, not only for the runners, but for those who stand to benefit from the proceeds of the day as well. A percentage of the proceeds of the race will be divided among SPAR’s 2015 beneficiaries – the Chrysalis Foundation, the Jacaranda Good Morning Angels, Helpnet, The Zoleka Mandela Foundation, Stand With Stan, Hannah Charity and Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer.

As always, the race will offer women the opportunity to partake in a 5km or a 10 km race, with the 10km challenge forming part of the SPAR Women’s Challenge Grand Prix Series, which has cash prizes at stake for the more advanced athletes amongst us.

Several local artists will entertain the crowds with live performances on race day and will set the stage for the handover of SPAR’s donations to the race beneficiaries. On the day, all entrants will receive a goodie bag filled with wonderful products and all runners to cross the finish will receive a medal compliments of SPAR and the race sponsors.

Readers canstay on top of the latest race news, enter exciting competitions and show your support by Liking the SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria Facebook Page or following @SPARladiespta on Twitter.

The race will start at 14:00 on Saturday 29^th August 2015 and takes place at Super Sport Park in Centurion.

Entry forms are available at SPAR stores across Pretoria or online. Visit www.sparladiespta.co.za for more information. All participants will receive a t-shirt, a race number, peak cap and a copy of My Race Magazine when they enter.