SPAR Women’s Challenge – Tshwane
It was a beautiful day to run in the capital, and Nedbank Running Club showed the strength of its contingent with three of our women runners finishing in the top five. Diniya Abaraya showed tremendous strength, sticking with Glenrose Xaba right into the finishing straight, giving her most competitive performance in the series yet.

Finishing a mere two seconds behind Xaba in an impressive 32:40 at altitude, Abaraya did find the course challenging. “This was a difficult race for me, it is a new route and one I have never run before. It is a very hilly route, and with the wind against us, it made the run difficult. But I tried my best and managed to still come second.”

Selam Gebre is still finding her feet, but she still put in a strong performance, finishing third in a time of 33:16, closely followed by her team mate Debrah Cherotich in fourth in a time of 33:37. In the age category results Jeannie Henderson placed second in the 40 to 49 division with 39:45, showing she is back in form after the Comrades Marathon. Dalene Sonnekus finished third in the 60 to 69 division with 48:11.

“The Spar Women's Challenge in Tshwane is always a special race to run. The atmosphere is joyful and celebratory as everyone lines up in the brilliant afternoon sun. The route itself is challenging, but it gives the athletes a chance to push themselves. My run was a couple of seconds slower than last year, which I was happy with, as Comrades was not so long ago, and the legs are still feeling the hard efforts. But overall, a wonderful experience and chuffed with placing second in my age group in a strong field.”

Totalsports Women’s Race – Durban
The pace was blistering at the Durban edition of the race. While most of our contingent had chosen the Pretoria SPAR race, Getenesh Agafaw put in a strong performance to place ninth in the 10km with a time of 33:05.

Agafaw will again be in the spotlight this coming weekend as they head to Cape Town for the next leg of the Women’s Race. Last year's race was run a an extremely fast pace, on a shortened course because of a fire. The 9,1km course saw all top four spots dipping below 30 minutes, including Salem Gebre, who will be in top form after her hill work this last weekend.

Gebre could be a contender for the top three with her 10km PB at 31:42.

Other notable results from this past weekend:

Soweto Cabal Race – 10km
Men’s Race:

• Lucky Mohale took 1st place in 30:55
• Elliot Kupa finished 8th in 31:54

Women’s race:

• Maria Vilakazi placed 5th in 46:48

Evander Half Marathon

Nedbank women dominated the podium:

• Helena Joubert won the race
• Chrizell Roberts finished 2nd