"My journey will now be focused on marathons" - SPAR 10km champ Xaba moving on to new challenges as she eyes LA 2028
After becoming the first woman to secure a historic fourth SPAR Grand Prix title, Glenrose Xaba says she is ready to move on to new challenges. The Supercharge produced resounding victories at the SPAR Women’s Challenge in Tshwane, Gqeberha, and Jozi with second place in Cape Town, to walk away with a whopping R320 000 for her efforts in the five-legged 10km Grand Prix series. Although the Mpumalanga-born star will still compete in the 2027 Spar Women’s Race series, she will not be competing for the overall prize of the event as she shifts her focus to longer distances.
"I am quite happy about my achievements in the SPAR Series. I am now giving the baton to other athletes that wish to win the Grand Prix. My journey will now be focused on marathons and half marathons. However I will still do some of the SPAR races because they are an important part of the South African athletics calendar. I need to focus on the marathon now where my aim is to run at least two marathon races a year so that I can be ready for the Olympics in 2028,” said Xaba whose fourth GRAND Prix victory this season sees her go above the likes of Irvette van Zyl, Rene Kalmer and Tadu Nare who have each won the series three times.
The Boxer Athletic Club top runner singled out her training partner Karabo More who finished in third place overall behind Selam Gebre in the 2026 SPAR Grand Prix Series as one athlete with the potential to take over from her and win the Grand Prix next year. However she says that they will need to be determined and consistent.
“I’m passing on the baton now to anyone who wants to take it. There are lots of capable athletes including Karabo More, Cacisile Sosibo and others. They can do it if they work very hard,” she said.
The 31-year-old has set her sights on next year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Returning to the race where she broke the SA Record in 2024, SA’s fastest 42,2km athlete of all time (2:22:22) believes that he she can challenge the East Africans and even produce her best marathon performance yet.
“I am going to do the Cape Town Marathon, I wish I can run a very good time and win the race. I think the race will be exciting for us, as South Africans, because we will show that we are good at the marathons, especially the women. I feel I am now at the stage to race more internationally so I can get more confidence and be more competitive on the international stage. My main goal is to qualify for the Olympics and the World Championships. If I can achieve those goals then I will consider 2027 to be a good year,” she says.
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