Nedbank running club star runners in action this weekend in Cape Town

The ever-popular Peninsula Marathon now under the brand name of the Balwin Properties Peninsula Marathon returns this Sunday as a popular Two Oceans and Comrades Marathon qualifier and this is the case with a host of Nedbank running club green dream team athletes descending on the Cape Peninsula looking for a good qualifier.

In the men’s race, the Nedbank running club duo of Lloyd Bosman and Ricardo Swarts who will be using the marathon as a qualifier for the Two Oceans Marathon. After finishing 12th in last years Two Oceans on debut and narrowly missing out on a gold medal top 10 finish, Bosman is looking to make amends this year.

“Last year it was my first ultra and I was happy but also disappointed I lost out on a top 10 finish right near the end of the race,” said Bosman. “This year I will be adding more long runs because my speed is still there so by adding the longer runs, I feel it will make the difference on the body, especially once you get past the marathon mark and be strong for the final 14km.”

Swarts ran his debut Two Oceans ultra back in 2019, finishing a credible 33rd but then had to sit out for 2 years due to the COVID19 pandemic when the race was not held. He returned in 2022 finishing 20th and improved to 17th last year. This year he will be looking to crack the top 10 for the first time.

In the ladies’ race, Adele Broodryk comes to the Cape in search of a good training effort and a fast marathon. After her breakthrough performance on debut at the 2022 Comrades Marathon where after leading much of the race she finished 3rd, she returned last year with a different race strategy coming from behind and improved to a 2nd place finish and running under the magical 6 hours barrier.

Broodryk will be joined by Deanne Laubscher, who in 2023 improved her Comrades finish to 6:36 as well as representing South Africa at the World 50km championships in India and will also be joined by multiple Two Oceans gold medallist Ntombesintu Mfunzi who will be making a return to Two Oceans after becoming a mom.

The Capetonian Nedbank Green Dream Team athlete Maretha Smit who clocked a 2h55 minute Cape Town marathon and a 6h57m Comrades time last year will also be lining up.

The Runified City 50km event which will start and finish at Pollock Beach, Summerstrand on Sunday, 25 February, will be open to all this year and will be an official Two Oceans and Comrades Marathon qualifier.

An added incentive for entrants is that there will also be an official 42,2km timing mat which runners will also be allowed to use to submit as a qualifier. Transport back to the 50km finish line will be arranged for those athletes who finish on the 42.2km mark.

This event, which is organised by EP Athletics in partnership with Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, has also added a 10km race and for the first time this event will incorporate the Athletics South Africa 50km national championships, with athletes from around the country expecting to compete with the honor of being crowned national champion. Not only is this a first for the event in Gqeberha, but it is also the first time that the 50km distance qualifies for an official national championship.

The flat and fast 50km route is the perfect opportunity to use as a qualifier for the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons and for competitive athletes to achieve their personal best times.
The 50km route starts at Pollock Beach and heads towards Kings Beach, Humewood for the first turn then back to just beyond the Humewood Golf Course to turn and return past the start towards Kings Beach for final turn before heading back to the finish.

“As long as the weather plays along, we are expecting some very fast times on this flat course which is a mildly rolling route on the out and back with a high of around 25m and low of 3m,” said Norrie Williamson, World Athletics A grade course measurer and technical delegate.
“This event could well become the most popular qualifying 50km race in the country due to its perfect timing prior to the Comrades marathon.

“Athletes need to finish the marathon in five hours and the 50km in 06:30 to qualify for Two Oceans Marathon, and they need to finish the marathon in 4:50 (6:53min per km) and the 50km in 5:50 (7 min per km) to qualify for Comrades Marathon.
“So the advantage of the 50km is the slower pace required for qualification and seeding,” explained Williamson.

This year local athletes will be able to pick a pacing bus that will lead them to their personal best finish goal for the Runified City 50km.
Both the 50km and 10km will start and finish at Pollock Beach, Summerstrand on Sunday, 25 February.

Athletes will be able to pick a bus that suits their race finish time goal for the 50km, with pacing buses arranged for sub 5hr, sub 5h30min, sub 6hr and sub 6h30min, the qualifying finish time for Comrades Marathon.

Local athletes will have the opportunity to be led by East London’s Mkhululi Jack will lead the sub 5hr bus, Jabulani Dube and David Mama will lead the sub 5hr30 bus, Mkokeli Malghas will lead the sub 6hr bus.
The only female bus pacer, Nosita Nqwataand, will lead the sub 6h30 bus.

The closing date for online entries is Sunday, February 18, however for elite contenders, all entries and applications will have to be done by Friday, February 16.
Collection of race numbers as well as late entries will be available on Saturday, February 24, from the Marine Hotel between 09:00 and 20:00. Race number collection will also be available from the Marine Hotel from 04.00 – 05.15 on race day for the 50km and from 05.15 - 06.30 for the 10km.  No late entries will be taken on race day under any conditions.

Hosted by the Nedbank running club, the event will once again enjoy live TV coverage on race day from SuperSport with the 50km setting off at 05:30 and the 10km following at 06:45.

For more information athletes can contact Michael Mbambani on 079 149 6796, Irene van Eeden on 083 299 1775, EP Athletics office on 041 374 2818 or email epa@pe.co.za

#TTOM2024 Substitutions Closing Soon!

Substitutions for the 2024 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon are open. 

The substitution period will open mid-day, on 8 January 2024, and close at 5 pm, on 23 February 2024. 

No substitutions are arranged via Race Office - join the Two Oceans Marathon Official Substitutions Facebook Group to find a runner to substitute with you.

Make sure to FOLLOW THE SUBSTITUTION RULES: Go to ENTRY INFO ? ENTRY CHANGES AND SUBSTITUTIONS on our website here for all the info on substitution processes, fees, and rules.

You can only substitute an entry in the same race, no downgrades/upgrades/ swaps are allowed.

All payments and refunds must be processed via the Race Admin System.

Please BEWARE of scammers!

FIND OUT MORE

Zero-Tolerance Policy toward Cheating in 2024

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA), in collaboration with its technical officials and race referees, would like to signal its intention to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward the violation of its Race Rules in 2024.

Subsequent to the running of the 2023 event, the CMA identified 58 athletes whose entry to the 2024 edition of the Comrades Marathon have been rejected as a consequence of their violation of the CMA’s race rules.

•    The entries of 16 athletes have been rejected after it was discovered that they had asked another athlete to run their 2023 qualifying marathon on their behalf;
•    The entries of three athletes have been rejected after it was discovered that they ran the qualifying marathon used by another entrant to enter the 2023 event;
•    The entries of 27 athletes have been rejected after it was discovered that they submitted fraudulent qualifying information (i.e. they submitted a time for their qualifying marathon which they did not achieve, either because they did not run/finish the marathon or because they ran slower than the requisite sub4h50 qualifying time);
•    The entry of one athlete has been rejected after he ran the 2023 race wearing another athlete’s race number;
•    The entries of five athletes have been rejected after they permitted another athlete to run the 2023 race wearing their personal race numbers;
•    The entries of two athletes have been rejected after they completed the 2023 race as a relay; and
•    The entries of four athletes have been rejected because they took several shortcuts on the journey between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in 2023 on Race Day.

CMA Race & Operations Manager, Ann Ashworth, has warned all entrants to comply with all applicable rules and regulations whenever they participate in an event, which includes all qualifying events and the Comrades Marathon itself.

She says, “Going forward the CMA will be adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating and will seek the strict enforcement of all Race Rules.  In particular, we would like to warn all entrants against the submission of inaccurate and/or fraudulent qualifying times, which would include results achieved by a person other than the race entrant.  Such behaviour is prohibited in terms of the Race Rules."

Ahead of the running of the 97th edition of the race in 2024, Ashworth has indicated that disciplinary steps may be taken by the CMA against any participant who:

•    Starts in a seeding batch other than the one allocated to them (as reflected by the alphabetical digit printed on each athlete’s race number), commonly known as “batch jumping”;
•    Fails to complete the entire duration of the race route, on foot and as an individual;
•    Fails to adhere to the instructions of any race and/or official; and/or
•    Damages or destroys property belonging to the CMA, its sponsors, partners, suppliers, staff or volunteers.

The 97th Comrades Marathon will be run on Sunday, 9 June 2024, starting at the Durban City Hall at 05h30 and ending 12 hours later at the HollywoodBets Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg. The race distance will be approximately 88km.

Your weekly Nedbank RunnersGuide Race News. Dolphin Coast Marathon on 17 March 2024 and Om Die Dam 50 kilometre Ultra on 16 March 2024.

TRAC N4 ELANDS MARATHON - 2 MARCH 2024