Defending series champion Glenrose Xaba stayed in the hunt to retain her overall title by winning the penultimate leg of the SPAR Grand Prix in Gqeberha on Saturday.
Achieving the second fastest 10km time of her career, Xaba (who was third in the series standings ahead of the race) secured victory in 31:17 in the colours of Boxer Athletics Club.
While Karabo More (Boxer) tried to go with the early pace, by the time they reached the 3km mark, her training partner Xaba had only Ethiopian athlete Selam Gebre (Nedbank Running Club) for company.
Then Gebre was dropped shortly before halfway as Xaba started to wind up the pace, opening a massive gap in the second half to cross the line just five seconds outside her own South African record of 31:12.
More fought hard in the closing stages to reel in Gebre, taking second place in a personal best 32:21, with the Ethiopian hanging on for third in 32:33.
The top seven finishers all dipped under 33:30, achieving bonus points in the Grand Prix series standings.
Xaba admitted she was a little disappointed to miss her national record, after realising she might be within reach in the closing stages, but she was pleased to pick up maximum points in the race for the series crown, and she was satisfied with her performance on a newly designed course in Gqeberha.
"I was not sure that I was on record pace while I was running, but with 50m or 100m to go I saw I was within that time, and when I crossed the finish line, I was disappointed because I just missed it," Xaba said.
"I led from the gun because this was only my third race in the series this year and I'm chasing points, so I'm glad everything went according to plan.
"The route was very fast, and I think it can produce multiple records in future."
CAREY MILESTONE
Meanwhile, Janene Carey made history by becoming the first woman to complete 113 SPAR Women's Challenge races in her career.
The 54-year-old athlete from Durban, representing Boxer, took third position in 41:37 in the 50-59 age group category, which was won by her Boxer teammate Elizabeth Potter in 39:48.
In other categories on Saturday, Este van Tonder (Nedbank By Grace) won the 40-49 age group contest in 37:02, Judy Bird (Boxer) triumphed in the 60-69 division in 41:50, and Mpho Katiso (TUT) came out on top in the U20 division, completing the race in 36:17.
Carey credited the SPAR Grand Prix series for playing a key role in keeping her motivated to continue competing, which resulted in her achieving a historic milestone for the most finishes.
"As you age you kind of think 'when do I stop racing?’ but having the SPAR Grand Prix as a goal is something that makes you keep going," Carey said after the race.
"With every year you think 'now might be the time to retire', but it's not because you just move into a different age group and there's always that goal to go for.
"There really is nothing like the SPAR Grand Prix. It's the only event of its kind and it keeps me inspired. We have so much to be grateful for with this series and I hope it keeps going."
Ahead of the start of the race, there was a moment of silence among the field of 6 130 women participating in the event, as they stood together in solidarity in the memory of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, whose life was tragically taken while she was running in Kempton Park earlier this month.
Mpudi Maubane, the national PR, Communications and Sponsorship Manager for SPAR, said the brand was proud to continue building on its long-running campaigns to fight for a safer South Africa for women and girls across the country.
"We are quite proud as a brand to be one of the leading retailers that have decided that we want to end Gender Based Violence (GBV) and End Period Poverty (EPP), making sure that women's health and priorities are taken care of," Maubane said.
"Over 6 000m women who were here today were here to say, 'enough is enough'. South Africa, let's hold our hands together, and together let's end GBV."
FULL RESULTS IN GQEBERHA
Open: 1 Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) 31:17, 2 Karabo More (Boxer) 32:21, 3 Selam Gebre (Nedbank) 32:33, 4 Cian Oldknow (Hollywood) 33:09, 5 Carina Viljoen (Peak) 33:12, 6 Karabo Mailula (Boxer) 33:17, 7 Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) 33:24, 8 Irvette van Zyl (Hollywood) 33:52, 9 Dikeledi Majara (Nedbank ByGrace) 33:53, 10 Olga Firsova (N/A) 34:21
U20: 1 Mpho Katiso (TUT) 36:17, 2 Chanel Groenewald (Boxer) 37:15, 3 Desnay O'Grady (Ikhamva) 39:08, 4 Kezia Matthysen (Nedbank) 43:04, 5 Kylie Dorfling (Nedbank) 44:45
40-49: 1 Este van Tonder (Nedbank ByGrace) 37:02, 2 Makhosazane Mhlongo (Hollywood) 37:10, 3 Jana Calmeyer (Ubora) 38:01, 4 Liza Kingston (Nedbank) 39:46, 5 Anna Moeketsi (Nedbank ByGrace) 41:08
50-59: 1 Elizabeth Potter (Boxer) 39:48, 2 Nerida Lubbe (Nedbank) 40:48, 3 Janene Carey (Boxer) 41:37, 4 Tanith Maxwell (Boxer) 43:19, 5 Liezel van Zyl (Nedbank) 49:35
60-69: 1 Judy Bird (Boxer) 41:50, 2 Dalene Sonnukus (Nedbank) 44:24, 3 Elmarie Pretorius (RWFL) 46:09, 4 Christine Claasen (Nedbank) 47:00, 5 Amanda Shaw (N/A) 50:04