Category: News

Johannesburg, South Africa – Athletics fever is at an all-time high in the country following the recent Rio Olympics. South Africans are still celebrating the achievements of Team South Africa, with Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk elevated to superhero status after their gold medal victories.
Many couch potatoes who spent 16 days getting up in the wee hours of the morning to watch their heroes perform on the other side of the Atlantic, suffered withdrawal symptoms when the Games were over. Many of them decided to shake off their post-Olympics blues by getting off their couches to do something sporty.

Road running is one of the most popular forms of exercise, it requires little more than a pair of shoes and the determination to hit the road. The SPAR Women’s Challenge at the Wanderers Club in Illovo on Sunday, October 9, 2016, gives thousands of women something to train for.
The Johannesburg SPAR 10km Challenge and 5km Fun Run have become an important fixture on the road running calendar, with thousands of women and girls from all walks of life taking part. The Sonja Laxton-designed route winds its way through some of Johannesburg’s most beautiful, leafy suburbs and the race takes place at a time when the weather is usually at its best.
The Johannesburg Challenge is the final race in the five-race SPAR Grand Prix, so the country’s top female runners will be taking part in an effort to gain as many Grand Prix points as possible.

Four Olympians, Lebogang Phalula, Christine Kalmer, Ruthendo Nyahora and Irvette Van Zyl the current SPAR Grand Prix point’s leader have confirmed their intended participation in the Challenge. Nyahora successfully defended her SPAR Women’s Pretoria Challenge victory at SuperSport Park on Saturday.
SPAR also announced that three times SPAR Grand Prix champion, Rene Kalmer as well as the popular actress, Mel Du Bois of 7de Laan would be patrons of the 2016 Joburg leg of the SPAR Women’s Challenge.
“Our race is not only about top athletes and social runners and walkers but also about fun and entertainment, so it’s with pleasure we have Rene and Mel as our faces of the Joburg Challenge this year.” said Martin Webber, SPAR South Rands Marketing Director.
“Rene and Mel have been great supporters of our race over the years and will interact through social media with all entrants leading up to the race. They will be at the race in October which will certainly add the excitement on the day.”
Webber added that the 2016 Challenge promises to be more exciting than ever because of the rising number of entries and the celebrations of the SPAR Grand Prix’s tenth anniversary.

“This year, we challenge women to not only come and enjoy race day but as part of the SPAR Women’s Challenge family, to embrace what we are all about. The 2016 race is all about showing you care. So embrace the chance to be part of the race and support a larger cause.”
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, it is only fitting that the designated charity associated with the race is Reach for Recovery, a voluntary support group for women with breast cancer. The partnership goes back a number of years, and the women from Reach for Recovery have become an important part of the race, wearing their distinctive pink t-shirts and spreading the word that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.

As in previous year, SPAR is encouraging schools to participate in the race and have partnered with Mercer to award the top three schools who have the largest entries and race finishers, with IT prizes.
For the first time this year, the organisers are also calling on the people of Johannesburg to help those who cannot afford the shoes needed to start running. During the 2015 SPAR Challenge, staff from Caxton noticed that many children from disadvantaged schools ran the race barefoot. As a result, Caxton is running the Drop off a Pair and Show You Care drive to put shoes on bare feet.
Participants in the Challenge can drop off an old pair of shoes when they collect their race numbers. The style and size don’t matter, what is important is that the shoes need to be in a good condition.
Those who donate shoes stand a chance of winning one of five R1000 SPAR vouchers, one of five sets of New Balance running shoes, or one of five hair vouchers from Tanaz in Sandton.

Entry forms are available from all SPAR stores or online at spar.co.za.

Spring has sprung and Gauteng athletes are beating the rush to get their entries in for the 2017 Comrades Marathon up-run. The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has confirmed that 5000 entries have been received so far since the entry process opened a week ago.

The province of Gauteng currently holds the highest tally of entries with more than 2500 entrants.An additional 512 athletes have entered from more than 30 countries on the African continent and around the world.

Currently, this is the tally as it stands;

• Gauteng – 2 536
• Kwazulu Natal – 665
• Western Cape – 647
• Mpumalanga – 163
• Free State – 117
• North West – 112
• Eastern Cape – 108
• Limpopo – 104
• Northern Cape – 36

Comrades Marathon Race Director, Rowyn James says, “We have many exciting plans in place to ensure a memorable race day for both our runners and supporters next June. We have also increased the prize money should anyone break the previously recorded best time for the up-run.”

The best times for the up-run are as follows. The mens best time was set by Leonid Shvetsov in 2008 and currently stands at an unbeaten 5:24:49 while the ladies time was set two years before by Elena Nurgalieva and stands at 6:09:24.

The three-month long entry process will close on 30 November 2016 or as soon as the entry cap of 20,000 has been reached. Prospective entrants are encouraged to get their entries in early to avoid disappointment.

Entry fees for the 2017 Comrades Marathon are as follows. Early Bird entries will come at a cost of R420 and are limited to South African athletes only for the month of September. Local Entries will cost R460 and will run for the months of October and November and are also limited to South African athletes only. The Rest of Africa will pay R770 for an entry while International athletes will get an entry at R2650.

For details on how to enter, please visit the Comrades Marathon Website.

 Entries for the 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon are open! Entries for next year’s race opened on Thursday, 1 September 2016 and with only 11000 entries available, we trust you’ll secure your spot?

Entries for the Half Marathon, 12km Trail Run, 22k Trail Run and the Fun Runs are not yet open and the date will be confirmed at a later stage. Runners will be able to change their entries – seeding updates, upgrades and substitutions (substitutions will only be done if all available entries have sold out).

These changes can only be done online between 9 January and 6 March 2017 – NO CHANGES whatsoever will be permitted after this date. Please note that only ONE entry change is allowed per entry (i.e. if you upgrade, you cannot also substitute the original entry; only one substitution per entry.

NO DOWNGRADES from the Ultra to the Half Marathon will be entertained whatsoever and similarly, NO DOWNGRADES from the Long Trail to the Short Trail will be entertained whatsoever.

Runners who have entered the Half Marathon can upgrade to the Ultra Marathon IF they have qualified and belong to an athletics club. The cost is R265 (this is the difference between the Half Marathon and Ultra Marathon entry fee) and can be done by logging into the online system and following the instructions. No Upgrades will be accommodated when the Ultra Marathon entries are sold out.

It is the runner's responsibility to find a suitable substitute as we do not keep a list – both if you are not running or want to run. One can only substitute a runner in the same race – i.e. a Half Marathon South African entrant can only be substituted by a Half Marathon South African that wants to participate. Please note that Ultra Marathon substitutions will only be done once the 11 000 entries have been reached, provided that this is before 6 March 2017.  Substitutions will be allowed in the Half Marathon and both the Trail Runs.

For more information and to enter, click here.

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) assisted one of its official charities, The Wildlands Conservation Trust, in their tree planting initiative on Tuesday Morning.

Wildlands inspired many businesses and other organisations in the region by setting itself an ambitious goal of planting 100 000 trees during National Arbour week, which takes place during the first week of September every year.

The saplings, all of which are indigenous varieties, were grown and nurtured by ‘tree-preneurs’ who barter with Wildlands for livelihood support items such as; building materials, water tanks, bicycles, food hampers or groceries.

Several local businesses came out in support of the beautiful greening initiative, by availing their staff to join in the tree planting. Thereby contributing to a greener and more sustainable future for the citizens of Pietermaritzburg.

CMA General Manager, Chris Fisher said, “We value the incredible work done by Wildlands. As an official Comrades Charity and as an organisation at the forefront of conservation efforts and with a deep commitment to bettering the social and environmental landscape with significant projects, we could not help but get involved.”

Fisher adds, “Our mission and goals are well aligned to serve the communities in which we operate and give back to society in meaningful ways.”

The Old Mutual Soweto Marathon has extended the submission deadline for all three race day categories to this year’s race, the Soweto Marathon Trust said today.

“Owing to a large number of requests and last-minute enquiries that we have received from both athletes as well as the interested public, we have decided to extend the deadline from midnight Monday, 5 September to the same time on Tuesday, 4 October 2016.

We urge anyone wanting to partake in any of the categories (42.2km, 21.1km or 10km) to register online before the revised closing date as under no circumstances will any extensions be granted thereafter,” said the Chairman of the Soweto Marathon Trust Sello Khunou.

Now in its 23^rd edition, the race fondly known as ‘The People’s Race’ was born out of the need to encourage South African’s to celebrate the country’s history, it’s people and its traditions offer a great opportunity for even the casual runner to enjoy the 10km run come Sunday, 6 November 2016.

Race registration can be done online at www.sowetomarathon.com. For more information visit www.sowetomarathon.com or email [email protected]. Our call centre numbers are 0619171001 and 0619181002. The call centre operating hours are from Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm.

For alternative information, please contact Caroline Malan [email protected].

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Fans at the Olympic Stadium in Rio are in a dream world and have been afforded the chance to see the fastest men in the world in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m in the same Olympic Games. 24-year-old Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa stunned the world by running 43.03 seconds on his way to 400m gold on Sunday night.

Wayde bagged his gold medal shortly before Bolt grabbed the 100m title. Wayde's incredible sprint bettered the 17-year-old mark of 43.18 set by American sprinting legend Michael Johnson. The South African athlete left pre-race favourite LeShawn Merritt (who won bronze) of the USA and defending champion Kirani James (silver) of Grenada in his wake.

American legend Michael Johnson was present as a media commentator and looked shocked that his long-standing mark had been bettered. Wayde celebrated his 400m world record at the Rio Olympic Stadium in Rio alongside Usain Blot.

Usain Bolt cut short his TV interview with American TV broadcasters NBC to congratulate Wayde van Niekerk on his 400m world record run. A gesture that shows true sportsmanship and a great sense of friendship between two athletes.

Usain Bolt's unique Olympic Games 'triple triple' bid began with his blistering 100m final. Next up is the 200m. The fastest man on the planet and the current holder of the world records in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay is attempting to pull off an unsuspected 'triple triple' in Rio. 

By defending his titles in all of these events, Usain Blot will cement his name in the history books as the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen. Bolt completed the first part of the bid with his win in the 100m on Sunday, 14 August 2016.

He won in a time of 9.81 seconds and was followed by Justin Gatlin of the USA and Andre de Grasse of Canada who finished third. Bolt's 200m campaign began on Tuesday, 16 August 2016 when he cruised through his 200m heats and earned his spot in the semi-finals set to start today.

Bolt said he wants to break his world record in this event and dip under the 19 second mark. Can he do it? The answer will come tomorrow as the 200m final is set to take place at 10:30pm, Rio time. “I think that if I can get a good night's rest after the semi-finals, it is possible for me to do it. I’m going to have to leave it all on the track and do the best I possibly can,” said Bolt.

Four runners have gone quicker than Bolt over the 200m distance this season. Heading the list is Lashawn Merritt of the USA, who shocked the athletics community with an incredible 19.74 earlier this year at the US Olympic trials in Eugene on 8 July.

100m silver medallist Justin Gatlin of the USA clocked 19.75 last month. The closest Bolt has come to his 2009 record is the 19.32 four years ago when he won the gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Can he do it again? Everything will be revealed tomorrow morning!

Following the heroics of Wayde van Niekerk and Usain Bolt, David Rudisha of Kenya obliterated the men's 800m field as he took top spot in the event. Competing at his first Olympic Games, David ran a staggering time of 1:40:91 in the 800m final at London 2012 to supersede Wilson Kipketer's previous mark of 1:41:11.

This was the only athletics world record at the London Games and David successfully defended his title in Rio on Monday, 15 August 2016 at the Olympic Stadium in a time of 1:42:15. David had his eye on the final the whole time and he defended his gold medal successfully.

With the final names of Team SA for the Rio Olympics in August set to be announced soon, SA’s top athletes are chasing qualifying marks at local and international meets and events. Here are a few who have recently put their hands up for inclusion in the team. – BY SEAN FALCONER

No Cramping Irv’s Style

In spite of bitterly cold conditions that left her feet numb for the first 15km of the London Marathon in April, Irvette van Zyl was able to post a fast 2:32:20 to make her the fastest female marathoner inside the 2:45 Olympic qualifying criteria set by SASCOC and put her in pole position for selection for Rio. She also had to overcome the obstacle of being in the process of recovering from a stomach bug the week before, and then missed her personal drink at 25km, meaning she ran without any hydration from 20km to 30km and suffered cramping in both her stomach and legs, making the last 12km very hard. With the leg cramps I knew that if even stopped for any period of time, it would have been extremely hard to get going again, so I really had to hang in there. Let’s just say I was really pleased to get to the finish line,” she said.

Lebo Adds Her Name

Hot on the heels of Irvette van Zyl’s 2:32:20 in London came news that Lebo Phalula ran 2:33:48 in just her second marathon, at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands. Lebo’s time is not just a PB by just over five minutes, but is just five seconds slower than Christine Kalmer’s 2:33:43 (run in Valencia, Spain late last year), and thus puts her third on the list of fastest qualifiers and provisionally on the plane to Rio. “When the girls left me running alone at 16km, I just told myself I have to be strong and run my race with my own splits, which was easy. My first aim was to finish the race and all went according my plans,” she said.

Lynique Leaping for Joy

Having finally recovered from a long-term back injury, long jumper Lynique Prinsloo soared to a massive Olympic qualifier at the South African Student Championships in Limpopo at the end of April. Needing a 6.70m jump, she cleared that by a full 8cm, and said afterwards that moving to work with renowned long jump coach Emmarie Fouche at the University of Johannesburg has made the difference, on top of recovering from the three-year struggle with her back. “The wind played around with our first three jumps, on my fourth I got too much height, the fifth was a no-jump and then the last jump I came up with that 6.78. Sometimes an athlete can just feel it’s a good jump, and it felt like I was flying through the air for longer than usual.”

Dom Now in Elite Trio

Dominique Scott-Efurdbooked a provisional spot in Rio when she clocked a personal best 31:56.84 for 10,000m at the Payton Jordan Invitational meeting in California, taking 15 seconds off her previous best and finishing well under the Olympic qualifying mark of 32:15. Only two South African women, Elana Meyer and Colleen De Reuck, have ever gone faster, and Dominique is just the third to break 32 minutes. Should she get the nod to compete in Rio, she will be the first SA woman to run the Olympic 10,000m since Elana won the silver medal in Barcelona in 1992. “It’s been my dream ever since I can remember to compete in the Olympics in South Africa’s green and gold,” she said. “This was a dream even before I began racing on the track.”

Perfect Hurdle Execution

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Lindsay Hanekom looks to have realised his dream of booking a spot in Rio, thanks to clocking 49.03 at the ASA Open Championships in Bloemfontein in early May. His time is well inside the 49.40 qualifying time, and gives him a new personal best by 0.43 seconds. “I knew it was just a question of time before that time came! I was very, very focused ahead of my race and just went out trying to strive for perfect hurdle execution,” said Lindsay. “I was also very relaxed between my hurdles and maintained good rhythm. I’ve had a few injuries this year and didn’t have the best SA Championships, but I’ve risen above that and just came out to do my best.”