Nedbank running club boasts star team for Two Oceans Marathon

This coming weekend see’s the annual Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon return to the streets of Cape Town and some of the who’s who of ultra-distance running will be out in action on Saturday as well as some of the country’s finest half marathoners with the 21,1km taking place on Sunday. The Nedbank running club has once again assembled a strong team together and will be looking at podium placings come the weekend.

National team manager of the Nedbank running club, Nick Bester, has been strategic when choosing the teams to compete as some of his big-name ultra-distance stars who could well win Two Oceans, are sitting this one out with all eyes for some on the Comrades Marathon. “We sit at the beginning of the year with the athletes and coaches and come up with a plan as to who will run what because if you fail to plan, you will never succeed and at the Nedbank running club we have a very professional approach to what we do,” said Bester.

“Our guys like Tete Dijana and Edward Mothibi could well win a race like Two Oceans, but Comrades is their main focus for the year so we rather they stay in the training camp, and we bring some of our other big stars to Two Oceans.”

Leading this charge for the Nedbank running club could well be Onalenna Khonkhobe. In 2022 the youngster who hails from Klerksdorp and is coached by Nedbank running club development coach Pio Mpolokeng found himself in the lead with 5km to go of the Two Oceans but inexperience and a nasty run in with a water table saw him give the lead up but still finish a well-deserved 6th place.

“Khonkhobe is very fit this year and according to the training that has been done, I believe he has every chance to win the race,” said Mpolokeng.

Together with Khonkhobe, teammates and training partners Joel Mmone and David Manja will be making their ultra-marathon debuts at the Two Oceans Marathon and may prove a major upset to the more seasoned ultra-distance runners. Manja boasts 6 Two Oceans Half Marathon gold medals including a win whilst Mmone has 8 Two Oceans Half Marathon golds of which 4 of those were all on the podium. Joining them will be South Africa’s Lloyd Bosman who came agonizingly close to a gold medal last year when he finished 12th on his debut.

The Nedbank running club Ethiopia duo of Degefa Lafebo and Daba Debele will prove a serious challenge up front. Both have previously run in South Africa before with Debele taking victory in the very tough Soweto Marathon in 2022. Lafebo ran his ultra-marathon debut at last years Two Oceans Marathon and finished a credible 6th place. Joining them in the colours of Nedbank running club Kenya will be their East African counterparts Ezra Kiptoo Keter and Dennis Kipkosegei.

In the women’s race, Nedbank running clubs Adele Broodryk will be looking at giving Two Oceans a hard effort as she prepares for the Comrades Marathon where she finished 2nd last year. American Andrea Pomaranski makes her first trip to South Africa and will be donning the famous green Nedbank Nike running vest. With a 2:31:06 marathon best set in Houston last year, the 41-year-old finished 2nd at last year’s World 50km championships and will be making the trek to Cape Town with an eye on the podium and also preparation for June’s Comrades Marathon.

Whilst no Ethiopian lady has managed to pull off a win at the Two Oceans, but some have podiumed, Tirualem Bekele Worke will arrive in South Africa with an eye on the podium and maybe even the top spot. With a marathon pb of 2:34:46, Worke will be someone to look out for on the day.

Whilst all eyes will be on the 56km which will be broadcast live on Saturday on SuperSport, the half marathon on Sunday has attracted some of the best speedsters from around Africa. Nedbank running club’s Thabang Mosiako leads the charge on Sunday as the fastest man in the field, thanks to his sub 1 hour clocking at last years World Half Marathon championships where he finished 6th. The reigning South African half marathon champion will be joined by his Nedbank running club teammate Namakoe Nkhasi who is also a former Two Oceans Half Marathon winner. Making his half marathon debut will be youngster George Kusche who boasts impressive times of 7:50 over 3000m as well as 28:55 over the 10km this past weekend.

In the ladies’ race, although she won’t be looking at an overall win, but 70 year old Margie Saunders has been setting world best age group times literally each time she laces up her running shoes and all eyes will be on Saunders on Sunday to see whether she can yet again rewrite the record books.

Dear Nedbank Running Club athletes participating in the Two Oceans Marathon on 13 and 14 April 2024.

The 2024 TOTALSPORT Two Oceans Marathon is just around the corner and we want to wish each and every one that is running GOOD LUCK and enjoy your race.

Nedbank Running Club Two Oceans Marathon Goody Bags collection after race

We are pleased to announce that this year each athlete that finishes their Ultra Marathon on Saturday 13 April and the Half Marathon on Sunday 14 April will receive once again a goody bag jam packed with goodies from our loyal Sponsors Biogen, Futurelife, Bavaria & Thirsti Water as well as a face cloth, fruit, biltong and a muffin to enjoy after your race.

We will have 2 people standing at the finish area from our Cape Town Club in their Nedbank Running Club clothing as you come out once you completed your race to guide you to the collection point.

We will have a trailer standing at the top of the stairs at UCT where another 2 Nedbank Running Club Cape Town Members will hand you your well-deserved goody bag as you leave the race area to enjoy your eats and drinks.

Good luck with your Two Oceans Marathon and travel save.

We want to thank all our Sponsors for their ongoing support and assistance in making this possible for every athlete from Nedbank Running Club.
#MoreThanAClub @Nike @Biogen @Futurelife @Bavaria @ThirstiWater

North, South, East, West - here's how to get to the start from anywhere in the City, plus all your parking info - Click on the below image

Nedbank Zimbabwe running club on the rise with big boost for Mpofu.

The Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe has grown in leaps and bounds over the years under the watchful eye and guidance of former Olympian mike Fokoroni and the club received another boost when the banking giant in Zimbabwe stepped in to offer Nedbank running club athlete Isaac Mpofu $10 000 to assist him in his preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games Marathon in Paris.

Mpofu is the only Zimbabwean to have qualified in athletics for his country for the 2024 edition of the games and the Nedbank running club athlete was in high spirits. “I am so happy to have received this support and I want to thank Nedbank so much and give them assurance that this will take me a long way in my preparation for the games,” said an elated Mpofu.

Nedbank Zimbabwe stated that they wanted to see Mpofu succeed and fly the flag high. “All we want is to see him do his best and raise the country’s flag high,” said Nedbank Zimbabwe’s head of Treasury Latifa Kassim.

The banking giant Nedbank South Africa has long been a supporter of road running and NB Sport Development formed the Nedbank running club back in 2008 with the Nedbank running club Zimbabwe branch officially registered in Zimbabwe since August 2016. “We are so grateful for what Nedbank has done for us and also not forgetting our founder of the club Nick Bester -Director of NB Sport -who shares our same vision to produce the future champions and also develop athletes from young, not just sign-up athletes who have already made it,” said Fokoroni.

The Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe has also set up a fully functional committee with Fokoroni heading up the club as chairperson. Monica Kativhu acts as club secretary with Two Oceans Marathon legend Marko Mambo the club coach. Patson Mhindu serves as an advisor and elite athletes Patience Murowe and Kelvin Pangiso oversee the club’s discipline.

The club has seen a multitude of success where besides the international accolades and world class results of Mpofu, athletes such as Moses Tarakinyu, who dominated the Two Oceans Half Marathon and Wellington Varevi who ran a world class 28:04 10km on the roads of Gqeberha have both also represented the country Internationally with Varevi having recently just competed at the World Cross Country Championships in Serbia.

Nedbank National team manager Nick Bester was happy with the work that was happening in Zimbabwe. “Mike has really done a good job balancing between still being a competing athlete himself, and also growing the Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe both from an elite perspective and also social perspective,” said Bester. “We are so grateful to Nedbank and also to all our club sponsors who enable this to be possible because without them none of this could happen.”

Two podium finishes at Spar Grand Prix for talented Nedbank RC juniors

It was a successful morning out for Nedbank running club teenage stars Diniya Kedir Abaraya and compatriot Getenesh Agafaw as the duo sped to a 2nd and 3rd place finish at the opening leg of the 2024 Spar Ladies Grand Prix series which took off in Cape Town.

Leading a field of over 14 000 women, the duo was engaged in a ding dong battle up front with South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba with the 3 women breaking away from the rest of the pack early on. Just after 6km Agafaw started to fall off the pace and at 9km a huge surge from Abaraya saw the tiny Nedbank running club athlete briefly go into the lead, only for Xaba to reel her in and take victory in 32:17 with Abaraya finishing 2nd in a close 32:24. Agafaw held on to round the podium off with her 3rd in 33:02.

Abaraya admitted she struggled in the latter stages of the race after launching an early kick, and while she felt she gave the victory away, the 18-year-old athlete was satisfied with her result.

"It was a wonderful race. The weather was great, and the environment was amazing," said Abaraya, who also won the junior division ahead of Agafaw.

"I didn't time my race properly. I should have won, but I took off too early. It's a learning curve for me and I know next time I'll do better, but all in all, I'm very happy with the race and with my time."

Abaraya and Agafaw are the latest two junior stars in the making under the Nedbank running club Ethiopia banner. Over the last 4 years, the Spar Ladies Grand Prix Series had been dominated by Tadu Nare and joining her more recently Selam Gebre, two Nedbank running club athletes who came to South Africa and ran their first races ever under the series and who have both become not only household names in the country, but also internationally to.

“We first brought Tadu to South Africa as a young junior and the series gave her a platform to make a name for herself and develop herself as an athlete,” said Nick Bester, National team manager of the Nedbank running club. Nare has won the series multiple times but has also gone on to become one of the best marathon runners in the world.

“Through our development initiatives and the support from Nedbank and all our sponsors, Tadu has been able to make this a financially viable career and we have seen her perform proudly in Nedbank running kit on the world stage at races such as the London Marathon which is the big league.”

The baton now seems to have been passed down to Abaraya and Agafaw, but don’t think the series has seen the end of Nare and Gebre. “They missed the first race due to prior international commitments, but South Africa has not seen the last of Tadu and Selam,” says Bester. “We look forward to having them in the series this year and it will be great for the two juniors to run in the same race as them, knowing that they are following in their footsteps and taking the same path that will also hopefully enable them to conquer the world.”

SuperSport steps up its Comrades Marathon coverage this year

With exactly two months to Comrades race day, and building on the success of 2023, SuperSport is stepping up its coverage of the Comrades Marathon in 2024, going bigger and better, come Sunday, 9 June.

As the official broadcaster of The Ultimate Human Race, SuperSport, Your World of Champions, is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the thrills experienced in this year’s Up Run are replicated in the viewing experience.

South Africa’s most iconic ultramarathon saw a major increase in viewership numbers in 2023 as compared to 2022, SuperSport’s first year as the host broadcaster.

Last year was the first year that SuperSport had a women’s only feed, which complemented our “Here for Her” campaign that ran throughout 2023, during which women were placed at the forefront of some broadcast productions and campaigns.

Again, this year, those wanting to follow the women’s race intently – over and above the main feed – will get to see defending champion Gerda Steyn try to retain her title and make an attempt at the women’s Up Run best time after beating last year’s Down Run best time, which previously stood for 34 years.  This year sees an exceptional line up of both local and international female contenders ready to race toe-to-toe in a race that promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Last year, SuperSport also had a finish line camera on an OTT channel to allow viewers to see every single person cross the finish line – which we called the “Find Your Friend” channel. To further connect people to their passion for Comrades and the runners, this channel will be on linear as well.

All three channels will be available to DStv Premium subscribers – a great reason to stay connected or upgrade to Premium.

Said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha: “Our mission to connect people to their passion for sport has been quite evident in our coverage of the Comrades Marathon in the past two editions and the positive response we’ve received from our viewers.

“The Comrades Marathon is world renowned for its testing conditions and character-building qualities out of both elite and social runners. It is a show of commitment to a goal whose preparation starts a year – sometimes longer – in advance and requires of the participants discipline, determination, grit and sacrifice.

Here’s what SuperSport viewers can look forward to in 2024:

•    Live on-air broadcast: Main feed encompassing 13 hours plus a 1-hour pre-event build-up show.
•    7.5 hours of the women’s only race.
•    5 hours of the Find Your Friend coverage.
•    Total live coverage of the event for 2024 will total 26.5 hours.
•    Roughly 48 cameras.
•    8 vehicles traveling on the route to capture athletes’ footage.
•    7 Outside Broadcast units.
•    Over 400 people working on the production.
•    50-plus fully-packaged inserts will be created for the production.
•    16 different uplink transmitters used for signals from main OB truck to Randburg and back to viewers’ homes or devices.
•    Two on-route presenters to interact with runners and spectators.
•    One interviewer at the start and finish line.
•    One studio at the finish.

CMA Chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo says, “We are pleased with the incredible work of SuperSport as the official television broadcaster of the Comrades Marathon. Its 13 hours of live coverage of The Ultimate Human Race makes it Africa’s largest single day production and one of the largest television productions in the world.”

SuperSport will also have a Saturday morning live show from the Comrades Expo from 08:30-09:30 as part of the build-up to the following day’s big race.

The race’s main feed will be broadcast on SuperSport Variety 4 (DStv Channel 209), which means DStv Access customers will gain access to all unscripted drama of race day.

Your weekly Nedbank RunnersGuide Race News. Knysna Forest Marathon and Half Marathon on 22 June 2024.