Blanche Moila marked a remarkable landmark when she completed her 100th SPAR Women’s Challenge 10km race on Saturday, 1 August at Supersport Park in Centurion, Tshwane. At 70, the Durban-based distance runner remains both a symbol of longevity in sport and a reminder of how participation and elite achievement can coexist across a lifetime.
From hospital sports day to national trailblazer
Moila’s running career began in an unexpected place: a sports day while she was training to be a nurse. Introduced to the sport by her mentor, Dr Shorty Moolla, she quickly discovered a talent that would take her from staff races to national titles. In 1984 she became the first Black woman to earn Springbok colours in athletics, establishing herself among South Africa’s elite distance runners while representing KwaZulu-Natal Athletics.
“Running has taught me that age has no penalties. We live in the eternal present. I am 70 years old and still find expression through running. The body we have, and the shape it is in, is in part a product of lifestyle.”
Across a career that spanned decades of South African sport and social change, Moila collected national titles over a range of distances and challenged entrenched ideas about who belonged on the start line. Her story is both personal and national: one athlete’s persistence reflecting wider shifts in access and representation in athletics.
Century club and an uncommon loyalty
Moila is the fifth athlete to complete 100 editions of the SPAR Women’s Challenge 10km. She joins a small group of long-distance loyalists: Sonja Laxton, Ronel Thomas, Janene Carey and Grace de Oliveira. That list underlines the commitment needed to achieve such a tally — it takes time, consistent health and a love for the road.
- Event: SPAR Women’s Challenge 10km
- Milestone reached: 100 races
- Date of 100th race: Saturday, 1 August
- Location: Supersport Park, Centurion, Tshwane
Her 100th race does more than add another number to a personal ledger. It highlights recreational running’s power to sustain health, community and purpose well into later life — a message that feeds into how athletics bodies, clubs and schools think about lifelong participation.
What her story means for South African running
Moila’s achievement sits at the intersection of elite history and everyday participation. As one of the first Black female national representatives in athletics, her career is part of the country’s sporting transformation. As a consistent participant in a popular women-focused road race, she embodies the mass-engagement side of the sport that organisers and sponsors prize.
There are practical lessons in that combination. Sustained participation like Moila’s supports local race fields, boosts event profiles and offers role models for younger runners — especially women and girls who may see longevity as out of reach. Her experience as a nurse, athlete and community member also underlines the role that workplaces, clubs and mentors play in spotting and supporting talent.
| Milestone | Detail |
|---|---|
| First Springbok colours | 1984 — first Black woman in South African athletics to earn Springbok colours |
| 100 SPAR Women’s Challenge finishes | Reached on 1 August at Supersport Park, Centurion |
Her words about running are straightforward and unvarnished. In a sporting era obsessed with marginal gains and performance data, Moila points to lifestyle, community and the moment-to-moment joys of running as the real drivers of a lifetime on the road.
For organisers, athletics bodies and clubs, her milestone is a prompt to keep programming that supports all ages — from school cross-country to masters and social runs — and to ensure pathways exist from recreational participation to competitive opportunity.
At 70, Blanche Moila is still lacing up, still joining the start line and still showing that barriers can be broken and records of commitment can be built one race at a time.
