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Two Oceans 2015 Hospitality Marquee
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OLD MUTUAL TWO OCEANS MARATHON.
Nedbank Running Club athletes can expect royal treatment at the Two Oceans.
The Nedbank Running Club marquee at the finish of the Old Mutual Two Oceans marathon will be a must visit this year.
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As soon as you finish the Two Oceans marathon this year you will be met just outside the exit from the medal table by a Nedbank RC representative wearing the special white Nedbank Two Oceans long sleeve t-shirt who will give you your VIP lanyard.-see example below.
Please take this lanyard to the Nedbank RC marquee that is situated inside the venue-look out for the Nedbank gazebos and feather flags.
There will be free food and drinks on offer to all Nedbank Running Club athletes.
There will also be massage therapists on hand who will make sure you get rid of most of your stiffness.
A Future Life smoothie will also be on hand to make sure you recover much quicker from the race.
Please note we do have more than 800 runners who entered the Two Oceans and space is limited and therefore we cannot cater for families or friends who don’t belong to a Nedbank Running Club.
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Two Oceans Route Change
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Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon to run via Ou Kaapse Weg
After weeks of intense discussions and close collaboration with the City of Cape Town and key stakeholders, it was confirmed that the Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon route will run along the detour route of Ou Kaapse Weg.
The recent devastating fires that raged along Cape Town’s Southern Peninsula, caused significant damage to Chapman’s Peak’s fragile vegetation. Since the fire, the section of the pass most affected (between Noordhoek to the top lookout point) has been closed regularly due to high winds and threatening rock falls.
“This is not a decision that was made lightly,” says Carol Vosloo, general manager of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC. “We are responsible for every single runner on Race Day, so all decisions were made with this in mind.”
“We remained hopeful that Chappies would be available to us until the very end. But it became clear that the extent of the damage done to the mountain, coupled with the vulnerability of the mountain pass to weather changes, would hold a significant safety risk for our runners and volunteers.
“It was simply a risk we were not willing to take, and we have always been very clear in our intention to place participants’ safety at the forefront of all planning.”
It isn’t the first time that the Ultra Marathon has run over Ou Kaapse Weg.
“Ou Kaapse Weg as a detour route is not a new concept to us, and our team can now move forward to make the necessary logistical changes to facilitate this change,” Ms Vosloo adds.
This detour route was used for four years between 2000 and 2003, when Chapman’s Peak was originally closed while the tunnels and catchment nets were being constructed.
The Ou Kaapse Weg detour route starts in Main Road, Newlands, and takes runners along the scenic South Peninsula route, through Fish Hoek and into Kommetjie. But, instead of heading towards Chapman’s Peak, runners will turn towards and over Ou Kaapse Weg, from where they will run along the leafy Spaanschemat River Road. They will then join the Half Marathon route at the Ladies Mile / Parish Road intersection before heading onto Southern Cross Drive to follow the Half Marathon route along Rhodes Drive and the M3 back to UCT.
The distance remains the same.
“Although it is disappointing that the Ultra Marathon will not traverse Chappies, a ‘certain’ race over Ou Kaapse Weg is preferable to one that may be interrupted if routed over Chapman’s Peak Drive,” Ms Vosloo concludes.
Record-breaking R1-million bonus stands
Despite the route change, Old Mutual’s R1-million bonus remains in place, rewarding the winning male and female runners who respectively breaks the 56km Ultra Marathon record.
The men’s record of 3:03:44 was set in 1988 by road running legend Thompson Magawana, while Frith van der Merwe set the women’s record a year later in 1989 when she ran 3:30:36.
This will be the 16th year that Old Mutual sponsors this prestigious road race.
The Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra and Half Marathons are scheduled to take place on Easter Saturday, 4 April 2015. Some 27 000 runners are expected to participate in the event that is globally known as the world’s most beautiful marathon. |
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Comrades 2015
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Comrades Marathon Substitution Process opens on 1 April 2015
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Comrades Marathon runners who were unable to enter the 2015 Comrades Marathon during the official entry period (1 September – 30 November 2014) now have an opportunity to still be part of the world’s biggest and oldest ultra-marathon through the official 2015 Substitution process during the first three weeks of April.
The Comrades Marathon Association’s (CMA) Substitution Rule allows for a runner who has not entered to substitute an entrant who has withdrawn, or intends to withdraw from the 2015 edition of The Ultimate Human Race.
Substitutions can only take effect on a like for like basis, meaning SA runners can only substitute for SA entrants, Rest of Africa (ROA) for other ROA runners and International runners for International entrants. The Substitution process officially opens on 1 April and closes on 21 April 2015.
The completed application forms as specified in the Substitution Rule must reach the CMA office by 21 April 2015. There will be no extension of this deadline and no postal applications will be accepted.
Athletes still intending to submit Substitution application forms are advised to visit the official Comrades Marathon website at www.comrades.com for the downloadable forms and the comprehensive list of rules and regulations which govern the Substitution process. Prospective substitutes are encouraged to do their application online.
Race Director Rowyn James says, ‘The Substitution Rule has been very well received by our runners over the past three years thereby ensuring that as many athletes as possible have the opportunity to participate in the Comrades Marathon.’ |
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Development
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Nedbank Running Club Development athletes selected for the CGA Team
The Nedbank Running Club Development Team Soweto are going places with 7 of their athletes selected to represent the Central Gauteng Team at the National Championships. The team will represent sub youth, youth, junior and U/23 athletes in Bloemfontein in April 2015. Siyaya Khoza, team manager of Nedbank Running Club Soweto, is proud of his athletes and confirmed that more athletes will represent the CGA team this year when compared to last year - with only 4 athletes that qualified in 2014.
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Results
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Nedbank Green Dream Team athlete Mapaseka Makhanya wins Cape Town edition of Spar Women’s 10km race
Mapaseka Makanya (Photo by Reg Caldecott)
A beaming Mapaseka Makhanya danced across the finish line to win the Spar Women’s 10 km Challenge in 32.54 minutes at Green Point, Cape Town on Sunday. Her Nedbank Running Club teammate, Rutendo Nyahora, took second place in 33.03, and Lebogang Phalula, finished third in 33.20. Makhanya and Nyahora both broke the course record of 33.06. The Kalmer sisters, Rene and Christine, came in fourth and fifth respectively.
It was Makhanya’s first win in Cape Town, and her first Challenge win since Pretoria in 2013. This victory gives her a head start in the Spar Grand Prix – started in 1992 and athletes compete for a cash prize. It was a fast, competitive race from the start with Nyahora taking an early lead and Phalula, Makhanya and Rene Kalmer running in a bunch close behind her.
The lead changed hands several times as the elite runners surged and then fell back. According to Mapaseka, “Rutendo started in the front, and I decided to run with her. I knew it was going to be a hard race, but it was a good, flat course. I didn’t consciously decide to go for it, it just happened. I’m very happy to have won again – it has been too long since I won a Challenge race”. Nyahora said she had decided to go hard from the start: ‘However, I lost focus at four kilometres and fell back a bit, but then at six kilometres I decided I had to go hard again.’
Phalula said she found it difficult to run without her twin sister Diana-Lebo, who was doing national duty at the World Cross-Country Championships in China: “We usually run together and encourage each other and it was strange without her. But, well done to the other girls – I’ll see you in Port Elizabeth”. Makhanya said the run had been good preparation for the Two Oceans 21km in a week’s time: “And after that I will be running my first international marathon, in Hanover. I was thinking about that marathon before the race, but Rutendo told me to put it out of my mind and concentrate on the 10km today. So I did that, and it’s thanks to her that I won”. She said it always felt special to win a women’s race: “When you cross the finish line, you’re the first, and you’re not surrounded by men. It is a great feeling to be running against the other elite athletes and knowing you’re running against the best in the country”.
Rene Kalmer, who has won more Challenge races than any other runner and has won the Spar Grand Prix three times, said she was happy with her run and her time. “I’m running the Vienna marathon in two weeks time, and this was excellent preparation for that.’ Irvette Van Zyl, who has two Spar Grand Prix titles to her credit, finished out of the top 10, but she was full of smiles. She laughed: ‘I was out of the top 10, but I won the Plus One category.’ Van Zyl is expecting a baby in September this year. Van Zyl said she intended to run as long as possible.
A total of 23 353 runners took part in the race, which kicked off the Spar Challenge series. The next race is in Port Elizabeth on 09 May 2015.
Nedbank Green Dream Team Athlete, Riana van Niekerk, wins her 6th title at the Old Mutual Om die Dam ultra-marathon
Four time Comrades Marathon gold medalist, Riana Van Niekerk, won the women’s race in 3:30:07 at the annual 50km Old Mutual Om die Dam event in Hartbeespoort.
Riana’s Nedbank Running Club team mate, Emmerentia Rautenbach, finished second in 3:33:35 - just over three minutes behind Riana and former champion and Nedbank Running Club Gauteng North athlete, Lizih Chokore from Zimbabwe, took third place in 3:40:43.
William Mokwalakwa defended his title in the men’s race, securing victory in 2:57:59 on the newly designed route. William was well clear of Nedbank Running Clubs Felix Mushurwa, who took second place in 3:01:05.
Nedbank Running Clubs Eliya Mogoboya took third position, a further 35 seconds off the pace.
Coolboy Ngamole from the Nedbank Development Club Central North West won the men’s half-marathon race in 1:09:39 and Nedbank Running Club Gauteng North’s Catherine Skhosana bagged the women’s title in 1:25:30.
Nedbank Running Club Men’s team is did exceptionally well and putting in a brilliant display when they placed 9 men in the top 10 at the Old Mutual Om die Dam.
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