Steyn eyes sixth successive Two Oceans victory as rivals gear up for showdown

Sometime this afternoon, the contenders for the TotalSports Two Oceans title will gather at a hotel in the Mother City, not too far from the start line of the flagship 56km race, to share their state of readiness with the media.

Gerda Steyn will take most of the spotlight, and she will, as she always does, flash that famous smile of hers and expertly avoid talking up her chances at what would be her sixth successive victory in the race. Her potential opponent and now teammate at Hollywood Athletics Club, Irvette van Zyl, will giggle and say ‘Ja’ at the start of almost all her sentences, which she will litter with her desire to beat Steyn.

It is once again going to be a two-women race, as it was back in 2022 when the duo both broke Frith van der Merwe’s record from way back in 1989, a mark that had been thought of as unbreakable. The two repeated their duel last year, after Van Zyl missed the 2023 race due to injury, and this time Steyn won pretty comfortably after her adversary was tripped and fell early on in the race.

She still ran remarkably for a second-place finish, although a good three minutes behind Steyn, who again completed the race in record time.

In the men’s race, last year’s winner, Onalenna Khonkhobe of Nedbank Running Club, will boldly predict his victory in his inimitable way – the lad from the North West Province sure to describe himself as ‘the head of the table’.

Two-time podium finisher Nkosikhona Mhlwakwana, who runs for Hollywood, will be all formal in his address, thanking everyone who backs him and highlighting the quality of his competition, whom he 'respects'.

The legendary marathoner Stephen Mokoka will also be there, and his address will be pretty measured as he salutes the race organisers and the sponsors. It will all be for show, though, and the athletes will get into normal mode Saturday morning at the start line in Newlands as they seek to win one of the country's beloved races.

Perhaps, most fascinating about the race is whether Mokoka's transition to the ultras will be a success.

Arguably the country's most successful standard marathoner, Mokoka has previously won the 50km Nedbank Runified in record time. But his debut at the Two Oceans last year went pretty pear-shaped, with the man who was installed by some as race favourite failing to complete the race.

The multiple national champion dropped out some few kilometres from the finish. He is a student of the sport, though, and would have definitely learned from the experience and done his homework to ensure that there is no repeat.

Mokoka's speed is not in doubt, but whether he can sustain it in those extra 14km after his staple marathon distance is what the road running fraternity will be eager to discover this weekend.

While these men, as well as last year's runner-up Lloyd Bosman, plus 2023 champions Givemore Mudzinganyama, are sure to be the favourites to win the race, do not rule out the chances of some runner coming out of left field to cause an upset.

Ethiopia's Edandale Belachew did that in 2022 when he stole the race from underneath Mhlwakwana's nose, beating the South African favourite in the last 200m.

Who those potential surprise winners could be is something that might be revealed at the press conference later on Friday.

That, though, is in the men's race.

The women's race is essentially a foregone conclusion that Steyn will again reign supreme, although you can bet her club mate Van Zyl will push her very close.