South Africa’s greatest marathoner steps up to the Two Oceans plate

They were so far ahead of their time, they said their records would never be broken!

When Thompson Magawana and Frith van der Merwe raced the Two Oceans Marathon 56km circuit around the Cape Peninsula at extraordinary speed 35 years ago, cognoscenti suggested those records would stand for many years. Perhaps forever. 

‘Bob Beamon-esc‘, they called them, recalling the extraordinary long jump leap by the American in Mexico City in 1968, a record which stood for 23 years before fellow-American Mike Powell added 4cm to reach 8.95m in 1991.

Magawana and Van der Merwe were arguably the best in the world at the time over the distance. They both set world best 50km times on their way to achieving those exceptional Two Oceans performances – 3 hrs  03 min 44 sec by Magawana in 1988 and 3 hrs 30 min 36 sec by Van der Merwe the following year.

It would surely take athletes capable of running the standard marathon faster than Magawana or Van der Merwe to threaten the Oceans’ records and with South Africa returning to international competition in the 1990s, those who were able to do so were plying their trade in what appeared more lucrative pastures overseas.

Three decades passed.

Enter Gerda Steyn, whose passion for running South Africa’s two major ultra-marathons was undiminished by the opportunities she enjoyed racing high-profile international city marathons. And with a marathon time some two minutes faster than Van der Merwe’s 2:27:36 lifetime best, she smashed Van der Merwe’s mark, not once, but twice in successive years, posting a remarkable 3:29:06 in last year’s race.

One down and one to go. Might Stephen Mokoka’s entry into Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra territory signal that the end is nigh for the men’s record and the late great Thompson Magawana’s extraordinary run at the Oceans? 

Magawana lined up at the start at Brookside, Claremont, in 1988 with a marathon best of 2:10:39 and already the Two Oceans record holder, having shaved 6 seconds off Johnny Halberstadt’s 3:05:37 1981 record the year before.  This time, shunning caution, he turned on the afterburners from the start line in the most remarkable solo ultra-marathon performance in South African history, dropping the mark to 3:03:44.

Mokoka is arguably South Africa’s best all-round road athlete and one of the most consistent marathoners.  He already boasts a proud Totalsports Two Oceans record – five gold medals out of five starts, including four wins, in the competitive Two Oceans Half Marathon.

But this year he steps up to the ‘big daddy’ in his first race in excess of 50km.

If there had ever been any doubt about Mokoka’s ability to stay the pace beyond the standard marathon 42km, his world record win at the Runified 50km in Gqeberha in March 2022, which he won in 2:40:13, would have dispelled them. Had there been suspicions that the 39-year-old, Mokoka, might have slowed in recent years, his 2:06:42 marathon PB in Japan last February – just 9 seconds outside Gert Thys’ national record – would have shushed the nay-sayers in no uncertain terms.

Mokoka has chosen to race the 2024 Totalsports Two Oceans 56km as part of his build-up to the Olympic Marathon in Paris in August and while Magawana’s mark may not be in Mokoka’s sights this year, there is little doubt that Mokoka’s stepping up to the 56km race has placed it in mortal danger in the not-too-distant future.

“I never met Thompson Magawana,” Mokoka admitted from Taipai on the weekend, where he competed in the New Taipai City Marathon.  “But his time in the Two Oceans is impressive. From my side, I feel I need to learn the distance first. Before Gerda broke the women’s record, she had run it twice before.

“I don’t have the record in mind this year.  My goal is to get strength and use the hills in preparation for the Olympic Marathon, which has an elevation gain of over 430 metres. I’ve seldom run a hilly marathon, only Cape Town Marathon in 2022 (which had a 380m elevation gain), so that’s why I chose to run the Hong Kong and Taipai Marathons (both incorporate testing climbs) this year in preparation for Two Oceans.

“As I’m new at the distance, my goal for this year is to have fun, enjoy and learn.  I will need to build more strength and endurance to have a go at the record. Maybe in the next year or two.”

Unlike at the testing Hong Kong Marathon, where Mokoka raced to a competitive second in 2:12:58 in January this year, just 8 seconds behind Kenyan Anderson Seroi, Mokoka’s approach to the New Taipai City Marathon, just four weeks before the Two Oceans, was to use the hilly marathon as a training run, which he completed in a comfortable 2:24:20.

“The Taipai Marathon didn’t really disrupt my training.” Mokoka explained. “I arrived just three days before the race and travelled back home soon after. My target was to run 2:15 through 40km and I went through in 2:16. I plan to take off three days, just running easily, before my last block of training for Two Oceans.  There is still much hard work ahead as we move into a speed cycle.”

Mokoka enjoys racing in Cape Town, the scene of multiple racing titles on road and track, and is excited about incorporating new elements to his training for the Two Oceans with his long-time coach, Michael ‘Sponge’ Seme. 

“Much has changed in my training programme for the Oceans with longer runs incorporating longer hills,” Mokoka continued. “I’m no longer doing the sessions I did in my preparation for the 50km. Everything is new – I enjoy that.

“Taipai was my last longer run and from now I’m back to normal marathon preparation – the toughest part is behind me and now I’m back to something which I’m familiar with.”

Mokoka recently moved from the red-vested Boxer Club to Hollywood Athletics Club’s distinctive purple, where his wife Zintle has been active for some time. He feels that this has given him a new lease of life. “Hollywood’s priorities are different and I’m glad they are on board with all the things I mentioned before signing with them.

“They’re happy with my limited and focused schedule – Hong Kong Marathon, Two Oceans then Olympics.  The club doesn’t ask a lot but are generous in giving. For example, they have made it possible for me to train at high altitude in Kenya for a solid block prior to the Olympics. I’ll be training with Kenyan athletes such as Cyrus Mutai, who won the New Taipai Marathon.”

Training with the Kenyans could take Mokoka to new heights, but before that is a date with ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon’ and Two Oceans destiny. And in time, Magawana’s history.