Nedbank running club Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare made it four from four as she took yet another victory in the Tshwane leg of the Spar Grand Prix series 10km on Heritage Day. Joining her yet again on the podium was Nedbank RC teammate Gerda Steyn who repeated her 3rd place finish from the Durban leg 2 weeks ago.
Run at the Agricultural Research Council Farm in Irene over a 3-lap loop, Nare as she did in previous races shot straight to the front and by 3km already had a gap on the rest of the field. Behind her, Steyn was running on her own in 3rd place which she kept for most of the race, as a welcome return from injury saw Nedbank RC’s Irvette Van Zyl leading the chasing pack.
As the race drew closer to the finish, it was clear that Nare would once again be a runaway winner, as she clutched a rose which was given to all finishers in the home straight and crossed the line a victor for the 4th time in a row in the series in 32:56. “I am very happy to win once again and I am looking forward to the next two races in the series,” said Nare at the finish.
“I am training for my first marathon later this year so in between the series events I have been doing my long runs and in today’s race I could still feel the 35km run in my legs. Johannesburg will be tough with hills but when we go to Gqeberha for the final, I am looking to run a time under 31 minutes if possible.”
Behind her, Steyn crossed the line 3rd in 34:17, with a very fast finishing Van Zyl 4th in 34:51 which marked an impressive return from injury for the 3-time Olympian. Nedbank RC athletes Stella Marais and Patience Murowe also kept up their top 10 finishes from all legs of this year series finishing in 7th and 10th respectively.
The next race in the series moves to hilly Johannesburg on October 3 with the final the following week in Gqeberha on October 9. Nare leads the standings with a perfect score of 100 points from 4 events. Other Nedbank RC athletes in the top 10 standings include Marais in 6th and Murowe in 7th.