After making history as the first athlete to win four Spar Grand Prix titles, Glenrose Xaba is already shifting her focus to her next major career milestone: stepping up to the marathon and qualifying for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
Xaba secured her record-breaking fourth series crown on Sunday at Marks Park in dominant fashion, winning the Jozi Spar Women’s 10km Challenge in a commanding 32:26 under the watchful gaze of her 89-year-old grandmother, Elizabeth, who was seeing her race in person for the first time.
Running solo from the gun to cross the line more than a minute ahead of teammate Karabo More (33:36), Xaba’s victory capped a dramatic come-from-behind season where she overcame an early setback against rising star Tayla Kavanagh in Cape Town.
She was also forced to miss the Durban leg due to international racing commitments in the US, leaving her in a position where she needed a near-flawless display across the final three legs to hold off a fierce pack of contenders. She delivered under pressure, stringing together a hat-trick of victories in Tshwane, Gqeberha, and Johannesburg to seal the crown.
“My year didn’t start well when I lost to Tayla in Cape Town, and I had to pick myself up from that disappointment,” Xaba admitted. “But things got better after that, and I am very proud to be the first person to win the Spar Grand Prix four times.”
Xaba’s long-term focus on the 42.2km distance on the world stage follows a calculated path. Although she qualified for the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last year, Xaba and her coaching team made the strategic decision to withdraw. Lacking a full 42.2km training block after focusing on shorter distances earlier in the year, she chose to skip Tokyo in favour of late-season road races.
She now seems determined to avoid going into next year’s showpiece underdone.
With the domestic 10km circuit wrapped up, Xaba will spend the rest of the year tuning in half-marathons – including an outing at the Hong Kong Half Marathon.
“For the rest of this year, I will be running half marathons,” said Xaba. “My focus next year will be on marathons, and I hope to qualify for the World Championships.”
Her pedigree over the distance speaks for itself. On her 42.2km debut at the 2024 Cape Town Marathon, Xaba shattered the South African record with a breathtaking 2:22:22. She is also the second-fastest South African woman in the half marathion – with a 1:07:03 personal best set in April and a standout 13th-place finish at the recent World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in 1:07:49.
Having conquered South Africa’s domestic 10km Grand Prix circuit four times over, Xaba is no longer just chasing titles at home, she is building the speed and stamina to make history on the global stage.
