Show your gratitude, support SPAR women’s race
The 2016 SPAR Women's Challenge Pretoria, which will be presented for the 10th time this year, was launched in the east of the city on Wednesday
The words ‘be grateful’ not only describe the theme for this year’s SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria, but also gained new meaning for guests at Wednesday morning’s launch for this year’s race.
The theme for this year’s race is ‘I am grateful’ and every guest who walked out of the Atterbury Theatre after the launch of the race, had a lot to think about.
Guests heard the stories of Helga Barkhuizen, Izel van Zyl and JG Oosthuizen who recently faced life-changing traumas and whose positive attitudes not only forced the audience to look at them with admiration, but ensured there were not many dry eyes in the theatre.
Barkhuizen, a former beauty queen, had to deal with the loss of her left leg, which had to be amputated after a car accident.
Van Zyl suffered from Gullian Barre syndrome that left her temporarily paralysed while she fought for her life in hospital.
The 18-year-old Oosthuizen had been a quadriplegic since January after a freak accident during a holiday by the sea.
This year, SPAR is encouraging all race participants to count their blessings.
Jerome Jacobs, SPAR North Rand marketing director, said the #IamGrateful campaign was about being grateful for everything you had.
“I would also like to say how grateful I am to the thousands of ladies who turn out to run our race each year. This is all for you at the end of the day, and that’s why this year, on behalf of SPAR, I would like to extend our gratitude for this to each individual lady,” said Jacobs.
This year is the tenth anniversary of the SPAR Grand Prix series, and Jacobs mentioned how the reflection of 10 years of the Grand Prix series had turned everyone’s attention to the longevity and ever-growing popularity of the Pretoria leg as a major part of Pretoria’s annual events calendar.
The concept of gratitude has some very powerful connotations of ‘paying it forward’ and in this spirit, SPAR North Rand announced a special mentorship programme would be part of this year’s race.
As one of the race ambassadors, top runner and 2016 Comrades Marathon winner Charne Bosman will be mentoring a young, up-and-coming, but underprivileged runner.
The young runner who Charne will be taking under her wing is 17-year-old Lungile Christina Ngomane, a grade 10 pupil at Hans Kekana High School, in Hammanskraal.
This year’s race will benefit the Irene Homes, Jacaranda Good Morning Angles, Helpnet, the Chrysalis Foundation, Cupcakes for Kids with Cancer, The Zoleka Mandela Foundation, Stand with Stan and the Hanna Charity and Empowerment Foundation.
Entry is now officially open for the 2016 Pretoria leg of the SPAR Women’s Challenge, the biggest and most popular race in the SPAR Women’s Challenge Grand Prix series.
The race attracts a whopping 25 000 avid runners each year.
Entry forms are available at SPAR stores across Pretoria and online.
All participants will receive a T-shirt, a race number, a foam baseball cap and a copy of My Race magazine when they enter.
The 2016 Pretoria SPAR Women’s Challenge takes place at 14:00 on Saturday, 3 September, at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
As always, the race will offer women from all walks of life and all levels of fitness the opportunity to take part in a 5km or 10km race.
Separate starting points for each route will ensure a seamless experience for everyone.
For more information like the SPAR Women’s Challenge Pretoria Facebook page and the Twitter page @SPARladiespta.
Remember to use the hashtag #IamGrateful and #SPARLadiesPTA to show your support.
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