Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 8
ROAD RUNNING
Double Dreams vs
Dreams Shattered
8
ISSUE 118 MAY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
SEIDLER & SEAN FALCONER
T
he 2019 Two Oceans
Marathon will be
remembered for many
things, including two incredible
winning performances by two
of South Africa’s most talented
ultra-distance runners, but also
for the last-minute change to the
route, due to the threat of violent
protest action taking place in
Hout Bay. This saw the so-called
‘Detour Route’ over Ou Kaapse
Weg brought back into play – it
was used in 2000-2003 and again
in 2015, when Chapman’s Peak
Drive was closed for repair – and
would have a major impact on
the race.
True to his promise, Kenyan
Abraham Kiprotich went out
hard to chase the record, and
as he crested the top of Ou
Bongmusa Mthembu
takes the win in the
2019 Two Oceans
Marathon
In the lead-up to the 50 th edition of
the Two Oceans Marathon, all the talk
in the men’s race was about whether
Thompson Magawana’s 31-year-old
record would finally fall, while the big
question in the women’s race revolved
around whether Gerda Steyn would
aim to defend her title, or ‘save herself’
for Comrades six weeks later. In the
end, both the men’s and women’s races
were won in dramatic fashion, with
Bongmusa Mthembu and Steyn taking
line honours – the first time that both
champions are South Africans since
Joshua Peterson and Sarah Mahlangu
won in 2000 – but it has raised just as
many questions ahead of the Comrades
Marathon in June. – BY MANFRED