Gongqa first SA athlete since 2013 to win Two Oceans

The Nedbank Running Club athletes made local running history on Saturday by winning all the four elite races at the Old Mutual Two Oceans in Cape Town.
Olympic marathoner Lungile Gongqa took a comfortable win in the men’s 56km race, crossing the finish line in 03:09:43. He is the first South African athlete since 2013 to win the ultra-race.

The Belarusian and also an Olympian, Maryna Damantsevich, proved by winning the women’s race in a time of 3:37:13 that it's not how many times you get knocked down that count, it's how many times you get back up.

Early on while it was still dark she tripped a few times and landed on the tar. Each time while battling to get back up she got slightly trampled by the other athletes. When she eventually got up and running she was crying but nothing was going to stop her. Her whole mission was to win. She started to chase the leaders not realizing that she had in fact taken the lead. There was no catching her up to the finish.

Namakoe Nkhasi successfully defended his Two Oceans 21km-title winning in 01:03:15 which is a new course record. Irvette van Zyl won the women’s half-marathon for the second consecutive time. Her winning time was 01:13:54.

In total the Nedbank Running Club athletes claimed six of the 12 podium finishes in the men’s and women’s elite races. The team manager, Nick Bester (NB Sport) describes it as one of the proudest moments of his involvement in road racing.

“From last year my main goal was to pick athletes who I knew could win at Two Oceans. The athletes certainly did not disappoint.”

Bester ascribed Gongqa’s brilliant debut to ultra-racing to the club’s Olympic training program under the guidance of Hendrick Ramaala.

“Lungile did not have the best of races at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio but I knew that he is a future champion in the making. He proved it in 2015 when he ran a time of 2:11:59 at the Cape Town Marathon.”

Gongqa impressed with the way he raced. When the decisive break happened he went with the race leaders. He then played a perfect waiting game not doing anything foolish. After about 47 kilometres he attacked for the first time. Only Warinyane Lebopo (Lesotho) was able to stay with him. Five kilometres he upped the pace again. That was it. Lebopo had nothing left in his legs to give chase. He settled for finishing second in 3:10:21 with Teboho Sello third in 3:11:48.
According to Bester Damantsevich suffered quite a few setbacks over the last year. One was getting divorced. Her victory at the Two Oceans means she is now able to buy her own house.

Race results

56km men
1st: Lungile Gongqa – Nedbank RC Western Cape (3:09:43)
2nd: Warinyane Lebopo – Maxed Elite - Lesotho (3:10:21)
3rd: Teboho Sello – Maxed Elite - Lesotho (3:11:48)

56km ladies
1st: Maryna Damantsevich – Nedbank RC International – Belarus (3:37:13)
2nd: Jenna Challenor – KPMG Running Club KZN (3:47:32)
3rd: Tanith Maxwell – Boxer Superstores AC (3:55:42)

21km men
1st: Namakoe Nkhasi – Nedbank RC International - Lesotho (1:03:15) * new record
2nd: Khoarahlane Seutlaoli – Maxed Elite - Lesotho (1:03:45)
3rd: David Manja – Nedbank Development Club Central North West (1:04:19)

21km ladies
1st:  Irvette van Zyl – Nedbank RC Gauteng North (1:13:53)
2nd:  Nolene Conrad – KPMG RC WP (1:14:27)
3rd:  Louisa Leballo – Nedbank RC Gauteng North (1:15:00)

Nedbank Running Club Hospitality Marquee

Loskop Marathon

The Loskop marathon will be run on Saturday the 22nd of April 2017 from Middelburg to the Forever Resort at the LOSKOP Dam.

Nedbank Running Club LVCC Nelspruit will host all the Nedbank Running Club athletes from all of the Nedbank Running Clubs Nationally.

Food and drinks will be provided. Lookout for the Nedbank Running Club Gazebo and Feather flags.

WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUN 2017

Van Zyl on a quest for speed at SA Track Championships

A quest for speed is the main reason why Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank RC) will try to defend her 5 000m title at the South African Athletics Championships in Potchefstroom over the weekend. She will also compete in the 1 500m.

Van Zyl had a good reason to smile on Saturday after winning the Old Mutual Two Oceans 21km for the second time. When she spoke about her victory it became clear that she is never going to take anything for granted again when racing. Being outsprinted two weeks ago in the last kilometre of the SPAR 10km Challenge in Cape Town was a rude awakening.

“It made Lindsey Parry (head coach at Tuks/HPC) and I realise that we were going about my training in the wrong way. I need to be able to accelerate in the last few kilometres in any race even if my legs are tired. After the SPAR race Lindsey changed my training program. I could already feel a difference during the Two Oceans 21km but I still need to get faster,” said Van Zyl.

“Track racing is a good to improve your speed. The nice thing is that I am not going to be the one setting the pace. There are a lot of talented youngsters that are keen to do so. As the ‘tannie’ in the race, I am just going to hang in there especially in the 1 500 metres and ‘kick’ over the last 300 metres. I don’t think there is a chance that I can win. If I can remember correctly I will race the 5 000 metres just before the 1 500 metre heats. In the 1500m I will be happy to run a time of 04:30 and qualify for the final.

“My goal in the 5 000 metres is to dip well below 16 minutes. To qualify for the World Championships in Potchefstroom is going to be difficult. I definitely want to dip under 16 minutes and maybe if I feel good on the day will be able to run a time of 15:50 or slightly faster.”

According to the IAAF statistics, Van Zyl’s best time in the 5 000m is 16:17.01 and 4:17.49 in the         1 500m.

As for winning the Two Oceans 21km for the second time, Van Zyl said her biggest goal was not to be outsprinted in the final kilometre.

“Time did not really matter to me on Saturday. I just wanted to win. I took the lead early on and never looked back. At some stage during the race Lindsey shouted to me that I had a lead of about 15 seconds. I decided to up my pace slightly. During the last kilometre I decided that I will refrain from celebrating up until I had crossed the finish line.”

Van Zyl won in a time of 1:13:53. Nolene Conrad (KPMG) was second in 1:14:27 and Louisa Leballo (Nedbank RC) third in 1:15:00.

The men’s race was won by Namakoe Nkhasi (Nedbank RC) who set a new course record running 1:03:15. Khoarahlane Seutlaoli (Lesotho) was second in 1:03:45 and David Manja