Where there’s a ‘Wills’ there’s a way – if it’s Two Oceans Time!

Many participating in this weekend’s Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon powered by BYD and it’s ‘side-shows’ – the Totalsports Two Oceans Half Marathon and Trail Runs – will be doing so with a spouse, a daughter, a son or a cousin.  But it’s unlikely that any will be able to rival Two Oceans NPC Board Member, Caroline Newbert (nee Wills), for family support.

Newbert herself will be running both the Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra and Half Marathons on consecutive days but will be trumped by her husband, Joe Newbert, who will also be taking on the Totalsports Two Oceans Long Trail over 24km tomorrow (Friday 10 April) before taking on the two road races on the weekend.

“Fourteen of my family members will be taking part over the weekend – all my siblings, their spouses, and our cousins – lining up for the Trail Run, Ultra, or Half Marathon,” said Newbert. “It is very special to have us all coming together to share this experience.”

Best known of the Wills family is doyen of the trails, Dominic Wills, who frequently podiumed in the Cape’s trail races in the earlier years. Known for his fearless downhill running skills, Dom Wills, who was awarded the Two Oceans permanent trail number 3 at the Blue Number Club dinner last night, has run every Two Oceans Trail Race since its inception in 2010.

In his last two races, he placed 2nd in his category and finished 10th and 6th overall in the men’s race.

“I love that the trail run is part of the weekend,” said Wills. “There’s a smaller vibe and you get it done first so that you can focus on supporting the others for the rest of the weekend. My sister Caroline is running her 20th Two Oceans this year.”

For the record, the Wills family line up is as follow:

Trail: Dom Wills, Joe Newbert

Ultra: Caroline Newbert, Joe Newbert, Dom Wills, Duncan Gilmour

Half marathon: Simon Wills, Paula Wills, Joe Newbert, Oliver Wills, Kim Wills, Peta Wills, Andy Wills, Jess Wills, Lindsay Wills. Andrew Hallett, Rohan Dunne, Caroline Newbert, Kirsty Gilmour

The long trail race over 24km gets underway from the UCT Green Mile at 07h00 tomorrow with Iain Peterkin, Collin Kanyimo and Thabang Madiba likely to fight it out for team honours while the contest between Ebeth Marais, Mila Geldenhuys and Emily Djock in the women’s race could prove the morning’s highlight. 

The shorter race over 16km starts at 08h00.

The post Where there’s a ‘Wills’ there’s a way – if it’s Two Oceans Time! appeared first on Sports Network Africa.