By Sthembiso Nkabinde
South African long-distance runner Glenrose Xaba believes it’s only a matter of time before she breaks the dominance of the Ethiopian athletes at the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge.
Xaba, who runs in the colours of Boxer Athletics Club, is edging closer to a top-two finish, which would disturb the stranglehold of Ethiopian runners who have dominated the races this year.
The 28-year-old from Mpumalanga has finished third in all three legs this year, with the most recent being in Durban last week, where she lagged behind the Ethiopian duo of Tadu Nare and Salem Gebre.
Xaba is second behind youngster Gebre in the overall leader board after three races and is convinced she can break into the top two in one of the remaining races to upset the apple cart.
“This year the plan is to stay consistent with the races when it comes to the series,” said Xaba, who ran her lifetime best 31:55 in Durban, which was just 42 seconds shy of Elana Meyer’s SA record that has stood for 22 years.
“In terms of disturbing the dominance of the foreign runners, that will come. I can’t force my body. If my body allows me to start breaking into the top two, then that will happen.
“My wish is to have one of the records currently held by Elana Meyer, one day I will break one of them. I just need to take it step by step. I want it.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Nare insists local athletes need to work harder if they wish to end the dominance the Ethiopians have been exerting in the races this year.
Nare, who won both the 2021 and 2022 Grand Prix competitions, says although SA athletes have better resources, they don’t seem to be making the most of them and lack the necessary work ethic. “I get the results that I get because I train very hard, I haven’t even run the times that I want to run,” said Nare.
“I know that I’m not even close to the goals I have set for myself.
“I can advise the South African athletes to make better use of the facilities they have. We don’t even have anywhere to train in Ethiopia. South African athletes need to work hard, they have to get better results because they have all the necessary tools. In Ethiopia, we don’t have that, but we work hard.”
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