Athletics
Kenyan clean-sweep in the Totalsport Two Oceans Half Marathon as the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Marathon’ charts an exciting new passage for the future
24-year-old Kenyan athlete, Felix Kibet Masai, led a Kenyan clean-sweep of the medals in the men’s competition in the Totalsports Two Oceans Half Marathon, powered by BYD, from the University of Cape Town this morning (Sunday 12 April) , while Lavinia Haitope of Namibia took honours in the women’s race after a long-anticipated return to the Two Oceans 21km.
More than 14 000 runners enjoyed ideal running conditions to complete the challenging course, which included testing climbs up Edinburgh Drive and Southern Cross Drive, in the climax to a weekend of top-quality distance running in the Mother City.
Masai fell just a second short of the existing course record of 1:03:16, set by Namibian Namakoe Nkhasi in 2017, while Haitope’s winning time of 1:14:36 was just less than two minutes outside Ethiopian Biru Meseret Mengistu’s 2013 course record.
When the Kenyans come to town, there’s little to stop the top distance running nation on the planet and the three high-quality training partners, Masai, Shadrack Ngumbau Musyoka and Joshua Cheptegei Mengich proved a cut-above their opposition, filling the top three positions.
With former race winners, Cape Town-based Zimbabwean, Fortunate Chidzivo, and British athlete, Emma Pallant-Browne, finishing second and third behind Haitope in the women’s race, South African athletes were cut out of the six podium medals for the first time in the race’s history, pointing to the increasing international competitiveness of the Two Oceans Half Marathon.
Masai is part of a group of Kenyans that have based themselves in The Mother City to prepare for the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on 10 May and was running in the colours of local club, Go Tyme Bank Running Club.
“The thinking is that with some of our athletes living and training with the Kenyans for month, they can get some exposure to the type of training and intensity that the guys who are running under 28 minutes for 10km do,” said Tyme Bank coach, Chris Bruwer.
While the Kenyans brought welcome pace to the race, Pretoria athlete, George Kusche, surprised by front running in the early stages. A sub-four minute miler some years back, Kusche placed 12th in last year’s Comrades Marathon and is currently in training for this year’s 90km mega-race in June.
Nonetheless, Kusche showed surprising speed over shorter distances to take the nine-strong lead pack through 5km in 15:35 and was up with the Kenyan trio through halfway on Southern Cross Drive in 31:27.
But a surge from Masai, at the peak of his powers having raced to a 27:24 10km personal best in Lille, France, just last week and boasting a half marathon best of 1:00:51, relegated Kusche to the role of ‘chaser’ as the Kenyan trio raced clear on the longest climb of the race.
The three reached the highest point in 40 minutes with Kusche 15 seconds back in fourth as the athletes turned for home.
Musyoka, who won the Standard Chartered Bank Half Marathon in Nairobi late last year and raced to his life-time half marathon best of 1:00:16 in Malaga, Spain, last month, took the trio through 15km in 45:56 before making his move for supremacy.
But it was Masai who forged a gap on the descent past Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and held the lead as he turned back onto the M3 towards the university campus.
Musyoka fought back up Chet’s Hill but Masai was not about to surrender and he flew to the finish to win his Two Oceans debut by 24 seconds.
Mengich increased his pace and draw level with Musyoka as they raced onto the UCT sports field, 150m from the finish, but lost out to his compatriot by a second in a sprint for the runners-up berth.
Kusch finished ahead of the more favoured South Africans, including Bennet Seloyi, Thabang Mosiako and Stephen Mokoka, to take fourth in an impressive 1:04:11 with Phantane athlete, Cwenga Nose, improving his last year’s time by 12 seconds but dropped two positions to take fifth in 1:04:43.
Pallant-Browne set the early pace in the women’s race, taking the field through 5km in 17:58. Haitope was at her shoulder just a second off the pace with Chidzivo five seconds back in third, running with Lesotho’s Nthabiseng Letokoto.
Chidzivo took over at the helm as runners past the lively BYD activation point at Ladies Mile Extension Roundabout, but Haitope raced clear as athletes began their climb up Southern Cross Drive and had built an unassailable lead by the top of the climb.
She raced home without missing a beat to break the tape in 1:14:36, a significant improvement on her previous fastest on the course set in 2013 in the first of her three successive Two Oceans Half Marathon appearances and almost two minutes clear of Chidzivo.
Three times world duathlon champion, Pallant-Browne, held on for third in 1:18:09.
Following several difficult Two Oceans Marathon years, where partnership, logistical and governance issues clouded participants’ experience, 2026 saw a return to the organizational competence which characterised the event in the earlier years.
According to Two Oceans NPC Chairperson, Chris Goldschmidt, the focus this year was on getting the basics in place while introducing new partnerships to take the event forward. This was clearly achieved and celebrated this afternoon at a final race function to hand over trophies and prizes to age group and other category winners.
The next twelve months could see the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon move into new territory, both literarily and metaphorically as it seeks to re-calibrate itself as one of the world’s most successful and popular running events and as one of the City of Cape Town’s best-loved mega-projects.
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