Record Breaker Xaba Supercharged for Grand Prix Title.

After breaking the long-standing 10km SA record, Glenrose guns for the Spar title.

Photo credit: Anthony Grote

And now for the Spar Grand Prix title. No sooner had Glenrose Xaba broken Elana Meyer's 23-year-old 10km national record on Sunday than she was setting her sights on the next major goal.

"This has boosted my confidence that I can be able to win the (Spar) Grand Prix. I just need to stay focused, train very well and motivate myself."

The athlete nicknamed Supercharge was speaking moments after she ran an impressive 31:12 in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN10K for a fourth-place finish. 

Delighted at breaking the record she is now keen to bring back the Spar Grand Prix title to South Africa after it was won by foreigners Helalia Johannes of Namibia and  Ethiopian Tadu Nare for the last five years.

'I have to focus on the positive things and ignore the negative ones. I also need to listen to my coach and stay healthy so that I can do well in the remaining Spar races. It has been long since a South African won the Grand Prix, I need this and South Africa needs tho so I will work hard and smart to get it."

She definitely will not be lacking in confidence and with a victory and a second-place finish in the initial two races, she is sitting pretty atop the Grand Prix standings with assault points.

Champion Tadu Nare praised her for a good run in Durban last month and that too has added to the Cavaliers belief that she can bring the title home. 

Her time on Sunday, though not good enough for a podium spot, was one second faster than the long-standing record set by Elana Meyer way back in 2001. 

Xaba had long been identified by Meyer as the heir apparent to the record and she had shown in recent years that she had the potential with some good runs, her Personal Best being a 31:55.

She ran a 31:57 in the Spar Ladies 10km race in Durban on June 23 and gained confidence she could chase the record.

So confident she was that she voiced it out on the eve of the race. 

Yesterday (Saturday) I told the  Phalulas (twins Lebo and Lebogang) that we are going for the SA record.  I said "We don’t want to break it too much, by just seconds. When I got to 50m (from the finish) I saw it was 30 something (time), I tried to push but my legs locked and it was lactic acid. But I just pushed and I was happy to go under 31 (minutes)."

She was more than happy alright.

"I  am feeling very excited, thank you to my team Boxer, my coaches Violet and Caster Semenya, my manager Leroy, and Michael Meyer for inviting me. "

Given she always shines here, Xaba said she believes she is made to run in this KwaZulu-Natal City.

'Durban is like my third home. I am from Mpumalanga and I live in Pretoria but I think my ancestors love me to run Durban," she chuckled.

Xaba then paid tribute to Meyer for having had faith in her abilities from the onset.

“Thank you Elana Meyer for motivating me. I was always looking at your times, especially those times that are national records and I told myself ‘I am capable of doing anything; I am very strong; I will train hard and will keep believing in myself as I look at your records and motivate myself”

Meyer played a major role in getting fire into a young Xaba’s belly though: “Elana told me when I was still young and running under her Endurocard development that 'Glenrose, you got too much oxygen in your lungs and one day you will be able to run one of my records. You will be fast in half and marathon if you just keep training and you will make it' She motivated me."

And make it she did, Xaba running the third sub 32 minutes 10km race of her career. And Sunday's one was the national record.