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Johannesburg - Long-distance runner Kesa Molotsane has been in amazing form recently, and she’s consistently led the pack in the Spar Women’s Challenge 10km road series.
The 25-year-old is currently sitting on top of the table with 78 points after three races.
Twenty-one points separate her and second placed Irvette van Zyl, while Lebogang Phalula rounds off the top three with 51 points.
Molotsane is in the lead after coming second in the Durban leg last month.
The Bloemfontein-based KPMG runner lost to British athlete Tish Jones, who is placed 12th on the table with 30 points.
The national cross-country and 5 000m track champion won the Port Elizabeth race in May after taking second place in her maiden road event in Green Point in Cape Town in April.
With only three races left before the series ends, she looks set to win the crown. Veteran Comrades Marathon commentator Ian Laxton said Molotsane’s strength was her consistency.
“She has been consistent and has a big lead, even if she doesn’t win the Pretoria race,” he said.
“But she will still be a strong candidate to finish high.”
Laxton hailed Molotsane as one of the strongest athletes in the distance running scene in South Africa.
“From the start, she was one of the most promising young long-distance runners to come out of this, and has been for the past five or six years.”
Fellow runner Van Zyl, said:
“Kesa is an example of the new blood coming through and there are a lot of juniors on the horizon. It’s all thanks to them that the standard is improving.”
Spar marketing director Abri Swart said the women’s challenge was in line with the company’s philosophy of providing healthy family lifestyle options.
“It is a chance for some exercise and for some people, perhaps, to move out of their comfort zone.”
Next year, the Spar Women’s Challenge will celebrate its 25th anniversary in Port Elizabeth, and Swart said it would be a first-class event.
Molotsane will be hoping to increase her lead in the 10km race on Saturday at Centurion’s SuperSport Park.
