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http://www.city2citymarathon.co.za
http://www.entrytime.com
Bonitas City2City Ultra-Marathon has colourful history
By Riël Hauman
Top hats and tails
The first city to city 50km ultra-marathon kicked off back in 1903 to much fanfare. Race officials were dressed in top hats and tails - as befitted an event inaugurated by Johannesburg's largest and most prestigious employer, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. There were more than 4000 spectators at the starting line, with railway engines leaving Park Station in Johannesburg every ten minutes taking spectators through to the finish once the race had started.
That first race was a "down run" from Johannesburg to Pretoria which started on the corner of Pretoria and Klein streets in Hospital Hill (now Hillbrow) and finished outside the Volksraad building in Church Square, Pretoria. The distance was 34 miles (54.7 km) - almost 5 km longer than the modern race.
The crowds bet heavily on the race, with bookmakers measuring participants' waists to determine the odds on athletes! On the day prior to the race, the Stock Exchange lamented the fact that more money was changing hands betting on race participants than on stock transactions in a report in the late edition of the newspapers.
In all, there were 36 entrants at the inaugural race, although two participants failed to appear on the day and four appeared but declined to run at the last moment, leaving 30 who actually started the gruelling event. Governor of South Africa, Lord Alfred Milner was the official starter of the race and on race day he rode on horseback from his home (now the Sunnyside Hotel) to Hospital Hill accompanied by his full diplomatic retinue. At 8 o'clock exactly Lord Milner strode through the crowds to the starting line carrying his Union Jack. At 08:02 the race officially began.
An exhausting route
The race between the two cities was run completely along dirt roads. Runners had to wind their way from Hospital Hill out of Johannesburg on what is now Louis Botha Avenue, past the British Army Blockhouse (demolished in 1910), past the Orange Grove Hotel (demolished in 1970) towards the area which would later become Alexandra township.
When the leader in the race M.B. Minchell, reached the Orange Grove Hotel (less than 4 km from the start), the time was recorded as 08:16. On the following day the Rand Daily Mail reprimanded him for having run that distance without any walking as he was "expending energy which he should have been conserving for the end".
One of the runners, D. Grosser, who was also an early leader, but had blown so badly by the time he reached the halfway mark that race officials put into him an emergency vehicle and had him taken to the finish for medical attention. In those days, the emergency vehicle was a horse and cart!
The course then went past the Wynberg Post Office onto what is now the old Pretoria Road through Halfway House/Midrand, over the Jukskei River and then straight on to Pretoria. It crossed over the Six-mile Spruit and entered the city via Market Street (two blocks to the east of Pretoria Central Prison and Potgieter Street) to the finish in Church Square. At the finish line, participants were greeted by the Lieutenant Governor of the Transvaal, Sir Arthur Lawley (Lord Wenlock).
Tight finish
By the time the leaders had crossed the Jukskei River it was essentially a two-man race between the hot favourite, George Marais, and an outsider (16 to 1 odds at the start) Van der Poel Exton.
Exton was leading at Six-mile Spruit, but with 4 miles (6.4 km) to go he had an attack of cramps and stopped for a leg rub. Marais passed him and at the Irene turnoff (1.9 miles or 3 km to go) he had a 200-yard lead on Exton.
The army and the Transvaal Mounted Police had to be drafted urgently to Pretoria to control the massive crowds and force a way clear for the runners. The mass of cars and carts carrying spectators through to the finish left a six inch layer of dust floating above the road from Six-mile Spruit to the finish
With 1¼ miles to go, Exton caught and passed Marais. But the favourite wasn't to be beaten that easily. Shortly after losing the lead, Marais sprinted past Exton. It wasn't to be his day, however. With exactly 1 mile to go Exton reclaimed the lead and from that point ran strongly to the finish. His winning time was 5:55:02.4. An exhausted Marais took second in 5:59:38.2. It was reported later that Exton collected more than £10 000 from the bookmakers, having bet on himself to win.
The event evolves
After the 1903 race a variety of "copycat" events sprang up around the Witwatersrand, but none was as successful as that first inaugural event. A few half-hearted attempts were made to repeat the first race, but when the Great Depression hit South Africa in 1929 any thoughts of sport and leisure were put on the back burner.
In 1936 the race was resurrected and run for four years. During this time it was won by two famous running stalwarts from the Germiston Callies athletic club, Fred Morrison (1936; 1937; and 1939) and Wally Hayward (1938). There were eight starters in the last of the four races, but only one finisher - Morrison. World War II then put an end to all sports competition in South Africa for a number of years.
Some more unsuccessful attempts were made to resurrect the race during the Fifties. Various distances and venues were mooted and a race was run from Parys to Pretoria (a distance of 161 km); this was won by Wally Hayward with Alan Ferguson from Johannesburg Harriers in second place.
However, by the time this race actually started, the organisers had made it a "walking event", with no running was permitted. There were also objections to Hayward's presence on the grounds that he had been designated a professional by the athletics authorities.
Hayward insisted on participating with the undertaking that he would refuse to accept the prize of a new motor car if he won (which he did). Another Comrades champion, Mercer Davies, had entered but withdrew over the professionalism issue. The car was therefore awarded to the runner-up, Ferguson. He promptly sold the car and pocketed the proceeds and was subsequently banned from athletics for a six-month period.
The youngest winner
In 1964 the Rand Daily Mail organised a race from Johannesburg to Pretoria. It was a "go as you please" event and a young athlete of fourteen years old, Johnny Halberstadt participated, finishing in a time somewhere over six hours.
Fourteen years later, the JSE Marathon was finally resurrected thanks to the efforts of the Road Running Association Chairman Ivor Lazerson and Halberstadt, now nearly 30 would win it - and repeat the victory the following year too.
A proud history
The City2City race has now been held a total of 37 times, with various starting and finishing points. Originally called the JSE Marathon (the JSE sponsored it in 1903 and 1978-87), the race has been known as the City to City since 1988.
The records for the race (both set on "down" runs from Pretoria to Johannesburg) are Bethuel Netshifhefhe's 2:45:41 in 2006 and Frith van der Merwe's 3:04:30 in 1989. Van der Merwe's time is also the fastest ever by a South African woman over 50 km.
Since 1978 the race has had several sponsors: the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Maize Board, The Star/Pretoria News, Hollard Insurance Company, and Nail/Sowetan/Gauteng Provincial Government.
Under the new management of Premier Sport Management, the City2City Marathon is one of the highlights of the road running calendar. This year, the event also has the backing of title sponsor Bonitas, which also sponsors the Comrades and Two Oceans Marathons.
City to City 50 km
Date Male winner Female winner
1903-07-15* Van der Poel Exton 5:55:02.4 -
1904-1935 No races
1936 Fred Morrison -
1937 Fred Morrison -
1938 Wally Hayward -
1939 Fred Morrison -
1940-1977 No races
1978-07-15* Johnny Halberstadt 2:47:04 S. Wagner 3:53:42
1979-09-29 Johnny Halberstadt 2:51:16 Clare Taylor 3:59:52
1980-08-02* Willie Farrell 2:46:34 Gail Ingram 3:45:33
1981-08-09 Ben Choeu 2:48:52 Cheryl Jorgensen 3:57:22
1982-08-21* Ben Choeu 2:46:08 Sue van Onselen 3:41:37
1983-08-13 Hosea Tjale 2:57:46 Ralie Smit 3:37:41
1984-08-11* Willie Mtolo 2:47:51 Helen Lucre 3:26:36
1985-08-03* Bob de la Motte 2:50:45 Helen Lucre 3:27:23
1986-08-09* Thompson Magawana 2:48:58 Eunice Ntuli 3:34:31
1987-08-08* Meshack Radebe 2:51:37 Lyn Lombaard 3:28:08
1988-08-06* Johannes Thobejane 2:49:47 Frith van der Merwe 3:16:57
1989-08-05* Thabiso Moqhali (LES) 2:49:25 Frith van der Merwe 3:04:30
1990-08-04* Thabiso Moqhali (LES) 2:49:45 Di Terreblanche 3:34:50
1991-08-03* Ernest Tjela 2:51:22 Annette Falkson 3:24:34
1992-08-01* Miltas Tshabalala 2:50:45 Laura Xaba 3:27:27
1993-08-07* Meshack Motla 2:51:13 Madeleen Otto 3:29:35
1994-08-06* Simon Malindi 2:50:48 Madeleen Otto 3:26:24
1995-08-05* Petrus Tsotetsi 2:53:42 Madeleen Otto 3:30:17
1996 Abel Mokibe 2:53:10 Madeleen Otto 3:34:22
1997* Soccer Ncube 2:49:30 Helene Joubert n/a
1998-08-30* Peter Huwele 2:48:23 Helene Joubert 3:32:18
1999-08-29* Jerry Modiga 2:47:08 Helene Joubert 3:39:40
2000-08-27* Honest Mutsakani (ZIM) 2:46:35 Frith van der Merwe 3:24:51
2001-08-26* Moses Lebakeng 2:50:04 Lizanne Holmes 3:27:08
2002-08-25* Kasirai Sita (ZIM) 2:49:16 Mabel Seanego 3:36:00
2003-09-07 Kheledi Molete 2:48:51 Azwindini Lukhwareni 3:23:17
2004-09-26* Themba Lamane 2:47:58 Paulina Phaho 3:20:01
2005-09-25 Oliver Kandiero (ZIM) 2:51:17 Yolande Maclean 3:37:54
2006-09-25* Bethuel Netshifhefhe 2:45:41 Tabitha Tsatsa (ZIM) 3:26:14
2007 Cancelled
2008-09-07 Portipher Dombojena (ZIM) 2:54:15 Samukeliso Moyo (ZIM) 3:28:10
2009-09-27 Teboho Sello (LES) 2:58:05 Mamorallo Tjoka (LES) 3:31:04
2010-09-19 Prodigal Khumalo (ZIM) 3:00:14 Riana van Niekerk 3:34:40 | 
