Invited athletes only for 10km series

THE Spar Grand Prix gets underway at the end of this month and two of the competition’s best known runners, Rene Kalmer and Kesa Molotsane, have been named as ambassadors for the 2021 series.

Both runners have expressed delight at being the faces of the series, which offers prize money of more than R2-million over six races.

“Spar has played a huge role throughout my running career over the past 30 years,” said Kalmer, who has won more of these races than any other runner, and who has won the Grand Prix three times.

“It is going to be a very different this year, with only 250 runners in each of the six races.

“We will miss the vibe and the excitement of taking part in a race that normally has thousands of entrants, but the elite runners are so happy to be racing again,” she said.

Molotsane, who won the series in 2017, said being an ambassador for the race blended well with her own efforts to promote healthy living and good nutrition.

Molotsane is returning to competition after sustaining an injury that kept her out of action for several months, and, like Kalmer, is looking forward to a return to competitive running.

“It is hard to motivate yourself to train when there is no competition, so we are all very excited at the thought of testing ourselves in a race once again,” she said.

The first race in the series takes place in Durban on June

27. There will be 250 invited runners representing the elite of all categories. No spectators are allowed, but the race will be live-streamed.