The 13th edition of the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge Grand Prix series will kick off in Port Elizabeth on May 4 at Pollok Beach.
Next will be the Cape Town race on May 26 and then the Durban Challenge on June 23.
The Tshwane Challenge, which will be the only one to be run in the afternoon, takes place on Saturday August 3 and the Maritzburg Challenge on Sunday August 18.
The Grand Prix series ends on Sunday October 6, with the running of the Joburg Challenge.
The prize money has risen substantially over the years, and in 2019, the Grand Prix winner will take home a whopping R185,000.
The runner-up receives R65,000 and the third-placed woman will be awarded a cheque for R40,000.
Nedbank Athletics manager Nick Bester said the race had done wonders for women’s road running.
“The prize money is exceptional, and you are now getting more and more runners from the rest of Africa wanting to take part,” Bester, who is a Comrades, Ironman and Ultraman winner, said.
“For instance, Namibia’s top woman runner, Hilaria Johannes, has been in contact with me about taking part this year.
“The SPAR Grand Prix is world class and has become a truly international event.
“Women runners in South Africa have every reason to be grateful for the high quality of the events and the outstanding organisation of all the races.
“The entertainment is superb and the top runners also enjoy the interaction with the social runners.”
National manager of the newly launched Murray and Roberts Running Club, (formerly KPMG), Dana Coetzee, also believes the SPAR Grand Prix has been crucial to the development of women’s road running.
“The Grand Prix Series, as devised by Ian Laxton, has added an element of hard and uncompromising racing on the road.
Boxer Athletic Club manager Rhyn Swanepoel said: “The SPAR Women’s 10km event is like having the SA 10km Championships 10 times a year.
“The series is fast, brutal and unpredictable.
“There is no doubt that the series has contributed a great deal to the development of elite women’s running in SA.”
Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl have both won the Grand Prix three times.
Other Grand Prix winners are Poppy Mlambo, Mapaseka Makhanya, the Phalula twins, Diana-Lebo and Lebogang, Kesa Moletsane and the 2018 winner, Glenrose Xaba.
Competition among the top runners is fierce and there has been a different winner every year since 2014.
Xaba said after winning in 2018 that the SPAR Grand Prix was very important to her.
“The money is very welcome, but being ranked alongside runners like Irvette and Kesa is also important to me.”
SPAR marketing director Mike Prentice has welcomed the continued growth of the races.
“We are pleased that we are reaching thousands of women around the country, but also that we are contributing to the development of road running by encouraging the elite runners.
“We look forward to seeing even more women taking part this year.”