Two oceans, one people, many feats
Claire Keeton runs through a few milestones in a half-century of marathon history
Two Oceans is the rock ’n’ roll of ultras. The next day you’re alive and can limp onto a wine farm
On May 2 1970, the first Two Oceans marathon began with the wave of a handkerchief and a 50c entry fee. Of the 24 runners who started, 15 crossed the finishing line. Dirkie Steyn won, running 56km barefoot in just under four hours.
In the pre-dawn dark yesterday, close to 13,000 runners lined up waiting for the fish-horn to blow, followed by the starting gun. In half a century, nearly 85,000 people have run the ultramarathon that is synonymous with Easter in Cape Town.
To mark the 50th race, the documentary film Run as One had its premiere this week alongside the launch of Celebrating 50 Years of the Two Oceans Marathon: the world’s most beautiful marathon, 1970 to 2019. This commemorative coffee-table book celebrates the race’s spectacular history, its highlights, its heroes and a dog called Roo.
In 1975, the organisers obtained approval for runners of all races to compete. In 1976, Gabashane Vincent Rakabaele from Lesotho became the first black man to win the race, which he did again in 1979. In 1985, Siphiwe Gqele became the first man to win for three consecutive years.
Two Oceans broke down barriers, said 1986
winner Thulani Sibisi. “In running we were all brothers, even in the days of apartheid.”
Thompson Magawana set the men’s record (3:03:44) on the original route in 1988, after smashing the previous record in 1987.
After one woman ran unofficially in 1974, missing the cut-off, women were officially allowed to enter in 1975 and Ulla Paul was the first woman to get a number and finish. The female record on the original route, set by Frith van der Merwe (3:30:36), has been unbeaten for 30 years. As she charged up Chapman’s Peak in 1989, Van der Merwe joked with the cyclist struggling to follow her: “Do you want a push?”
Blanche Moila, the first black female athlete to be awarded Springbok colours, said not even slipping in the mud at the finish line could dampen the high spirits of this race. “It brought out the child in me. We were all in it together,” said Moila, 63, who is running her 15th Comrades marathon this year.
Moila and Van der Merwe both said that the cheering of spectators and dazzling route made Two Oceans special.
But this world-famous race got off to a slow start. When Dave Venter — who had relocated from Durban and wanted a 35-mile training run for the Comrades — first approached a Cape Town running club and the athletics association about starting it, they said no.
Undeterred, he got support by 1970. In 1972, the Two Oceans got its name. A thousand runners entered the third race by 1979. Now the Two Oceans festivities over Easter include a tough half-marathon that attracts 16,000 entries, two trail runs, fun runs and even a nappy run.
Cape Town resident Gavin Williams said the Two Oceans is the reason he and his family never leave town over the Easter holidays. He has run 15 full ultramarathons and will be doing his eighth halfmarathon this year. His son and daughter participate in the trails and fun runs.
The event raises millions for some 80 charities and hundreds of millions flow into the city from visitors.
“Two Oceans is the rock ’n’ roll of ultras. The next day you’re alive and can limp onto a wine farm,” said nine-time Comrades winner Bruce Fordyce, who ran it year after year as a training run for the 90km ultra, setting the pace for silver medal runners and winning nine in 11 years.
He remembers Two Oceans in the ’70s as an insignificant race that none of the Johannesburg runners could be bothered with, but that changed once they ran it. “Then it was hard not to come back. Few races can rival going over Chapman’s Peak.” Fordyce has run as one segment of a six-man
shongololo (millipede) to raise funds. Others have done even more bizarre things for charity: one completed the race in a rhino suit; another man ran all 56km backwards to promote bee conservation.
After 1994, international competitors surged in from more than 70 countries. Russia ruled the women’s race from 2002 to 2014. The Nurgalieva twins got seven wins between them. The crowds went wild when South African Caroline Wöstmann triumphed in 2015. Ann Margolin and Lucille Damon are women stalwarts with 29 medals each.
Tony Abrahamson, now a lithe 69-year-old, and his foxhound Roo were an exceptional team: she finished five Two Oceans to his 43. Dogs are no longer allowed because of the large number of entries.
“Roo would howl at the beginning with the gun and run ahead of the frontrunners, then wait at the 5km stop for me to catch up,” said Abrahamson. “She was very good with runners and traffic. She trained with me for 15 years. She would pull at my blankets early in the morning to get me out.”
In 1978, Abrahamson was away and Roo was staying with a friend at St James, along the route. During the race she jumped the fence and ran almost half the race to the end, where race director Chet Sainsbury recognised her.
Sainsbury and his wife, Annemarie, were driving forces behind Two Oceans for nearly three decades. The 2016 Two Oceans was dedicated to him after he died from cancer.
Another Two Oceans icon is announcer Harold Berman, who has been at the finish line since the early years of the race.
“He is very good at remembering names and faces,” said Sibisi, who has crossed the line many times. “I do not think any other announcer has done a job for so long. Harold is my special friend.”
✼ Celebrating 50 Years of the Two Oceans Marathon (R150) can be ordered from Webtickets