Nearly 60 000 South Africans from all corners of the country took to the streets and trails for the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge on Saturday, demonstrating how they #LiveLimitless despite the restrictions and limitations they faced.

Now in its second year, the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge brought family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and strangers together in a show of camaraderie. Photos and posts of participants flooded SPAR’s social media timelines from locations across South Africa.

From Lephalale to Kakamas, Postmasburg to Nottingham Road, Gqeberha to Fourways. Trending throughout the weekend, the hashtags #LiveLimitless and #SPARVirtualChallenge painted a vivid picture of South Africans’ zest for life.

The SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge was launched in 2020 as a homage to South African women’s resilience and strength amidst the uncertainty and strife brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a virtual event, there were no geographic boundaries to the race, while participants could decide on their location, route, pace, and whether to do it alone or as a community.

“Thank you to all 57 800 participants who entered in the SPAR Virtual Women’s Challenge on Saturday, 4 September! This was our second virtual challenge and first national one,” said Charleen Goschen, Marketing Director, SPAR South Rand.

Goschen also said that the event was a huge success.

“To everybody who tagged us on social media using the hashtags #LiveLimitless and #SPARvirtualchallenge, thank you. We loved seeing all your photos and videos. Not only did we want our participants to enjoy themselves, but know that if we set ourselves the goal to overcome our challenges, we can #LiveLimitless and make a difference while doing so,” she remarked.

By entering this year’s SPAR Virtual Women’s Challenge, participants were able to show their solidarity and make a tangible difference in the lives of young girls. There is a stigma and shame attached to their menstrual cycle for many young girls in South Africa. Due to the lack of access to simple hygiene products, they must make the difficult decision between embarrassment or education.

For every entry, a pack of sanitary pads will be donated to help keep a girl in school through the SPAR Petals Project. The Petals Projects advocates for a shame-free education for all young women. The entries for this year’s event, in addition to individual donations, will enable SPAR to donate 110 000 sanitary packets towards the Petals Project.

The entertainment was not limited to the road or the trails but continued in a virtual space where some of the country’s most loved celebrities kept us abreast of all the action around the country via a Live Facebook Stream.
The race spanned all nine of South Africa’s provinces, from small dorpies to large metropolitan areas.

The SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge is proving to be a popular addition to the annual racing calendar. It is expected to grow and help communities to break down barriers and #LiveLimitless.

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