Irvette van Blerk (Nedbank/adidas) comfortably won today’s Spar Women’s Challenge 10K in Johannesburg in 34:34, her first win on this year’s circuit after three 3rd-place finishes. The victory boosted her to 2nd-place in the final overall standings behind Nedbank and adidas teammate Rene Kalmer (Nedbank/adidas). After four straight wins this year, Rene had been seeking to become the first woman in the Spar circuit’s illustrious history to sweep all five races, but a bothersome Achilles in the aftermath of last weekend’s world half-marathon championship prompted her to withdraw a day before the race.
At the post-race press conference, Irvette commented, “I’m glad about my time as it shows my fitness is coming back. I rested for a month after the Olympics [and also got married on September 29th] and training is a battle right now, and I’m doing a lot of catching up. It was a lucky race for me. I almost decided not to run, but…I pushed on.”
