Irvette van Zyl – There is a lot of money in shorter distance races in SA

Traditionally, athletes turned to standard marathons and ultra-marathons for financial rewards, but the landscape has shifted.

Glenrose Xaba earned a staggering half a million rand from 10km races after winning the Spar Women’s 10km Grand Prix series last month.

Van Zyl, who pocketed only R50 000 when she first won the series in 2010, says runners today can earn R30 000 per race, excluding bonuses and record incentives.

She believes frequent racing is manageable as long as athletes balance their workload.

The 38-year-old four-time Olympian told the national broadcaster that veteran runners like herself struggle to match the younger athletes in the 10km races.

While older runners typically compete a handful of times per year, the youngsters race almost weekly and earn consistently.

"A 10k is quite hard on our bodies, whereas for younger athletes, they can run a 10k every weekend, that's how they make so much money and are able to perform better and more consistently. So for me, who runs 2-3 10k races a year, it's not enough."

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The three-time Grand Prix champion reflected on her first series victory in 2010, when she earned R50 000, and admitted she is slightly envious of how financially rewarding the series has become.

She commended Glenrose Xaba for regularly producing sub-32-minute performances and matching her record of three series wins.

Van Zyl added that athletes such as Taylor Kavanagh are also showing great improvement.

The Hollywood Athletics Club veteran says athletes like Glenrose Xaba are now making good money from 10km racing and have turned it into a full-time profession.

She credited the coaching team of Caster and Violet Semenya, along with training partners Karabo More and Karabo Mailula, for elevating Xaba’s performances.

"I'm really happy for Glenrose because she has made this a career. She just needs to build on her achievements year after year. All the athletes in her group have experienced a great lift because if one of them do well, all of them do well. 

"It's now time for the youth, for the likes of Glenrose to continue paving the way in road running in South Africa."