Lauren Jonathan raced through her neighbourhood in Grassy Park, on Sunday, to clinch her maiden 10km road race title to signal her return to the local scene after spending time in Europe in a bid to gain experience on both the track and road.
Running as an unlicensed athlete, the 27-year-old Jonathan sped to victory in the 12th annual 3 Vlei Race 10km, hosted by the ARD Athletic Club through the street of her home suburb of Grassy Park and Zeekoevlei, in a time of 38min26sec.
This was also her first success over the distance since her schooling days as a budding athlete at Wynberg Girls.
While the time was not what she planned on this flat course, which took athletes to the banks of the southern suburbs landmarks, Princessvlei, Rondevlei and Zeekoevlei, she was not really pushed by any other athlete.
Jonathan, who holds a Honours degree in sports science from the University of the Western Cape, chuckles when she is probed on why she has not joined a club. “I’m open to offers,” she quipped.
“I only returned to South Africa in May and have been training with Dog Squad, a Stellenbosch-based training group. I used this race as part of my build-up to compete at next year’s national track championship in the 800m race. I’m just so delighted to have won this race in my own backyard.
“I train twice a week in the streets of Grassy Park and the rest of the week with my training group in Stellenbosch. I also coach at a few schools,” she added.
The men’s race was won by Edward Jack of Langa Tyme Bank in a blistering time of 30min: 23 seconds with his teammate Edward Afrika racing home 23 seconds later.
Jack and his Langa teammates also dominated last week’s Landmarks Half Marathon, in Rondebosch, crossing the finish line first, followed by teammates Duane Fortuin and William Kaptein in second and third place respectively.
Nomvuyusi Seti crossed the finish line at the Fairmount High School in Klip Road, Grassy Park, in the women’s 40-49 division, in 40min06sec.
