Two Oceans Marathon's interim leadership plans rebuilding efforts with Cape Town City officials

Newly installed interim chairperson at the Two Ocean Marathon, Chris Goldschmidt, says he and his temporary board are prioritising stability and are also hoping to mend their fractured relationship with the City of Cape Town.

The partnership between the City and one of South Africa’s most respected running events was strained after the previous leadership structure breached permit restrictions for the number of participating runners. They were cleared to host 17,000 runners for the half-marathon, but just over 20,000 runners entered. The breach led to the City cutting off its financial contribution to the annual marathon.

Not only was this a safety hazard for all participating runners, it was demoralising for those who managed to finish the race — but found themselves without medals because the organisers had run out. 

Since the race in April, the event and its leadership has regularly been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

There have also been mass resignations from the board as a result, which left the remaining four directors without the quorum needed to make important decisions as next year’s edition edges ever closer. With an interim board now in place, a way forward can be charted.        

A way forward

“The first mandate is to settle our differences with the City of Cape Town. And as you’re probably aware, the event this year broke some of its permit conditions. So, the City was not happy and withdrew its financial contribution,” Goldschmidt told Daily Maverick.

“So, that’s obviously made an impact on the bottom line, but it’s not the end of the world. We need to now reassure the City that we’re going to put on a proper race and abide by the things that they require in terms of safety and traffic management, and that sort of thing,” Goldschmidt said.

“So, that process is already under way. It was because the old board had no quorum that they couldn’t really continue with any of the discussions. So, it’s been in limbo for a little while. But now we’ve got to report back to the City on what’s happened and where we’re going,” the interim chairperson said.

“There is a meeting scheduled for next week where hopefully we will resolve [these issues] and confirm the process going forward. And we’ll confirm the date for next year’s race, because that’s still provisional pending the City’s approval,” he said.

Some fresh faces

Goldschmidt is a Celtic Harriers life member and long-serving Western Province Athletics official. The two organisations are the founding members of the race.

Until the annual general meeting (AGM) in September 2025, Goldschmidt will serve alongside Glenn Muller (vice-chairperson), Achmat Jacobs, Julius Oosthuizen, Nombini Zaku, Craig February, Stuart Mann, Krishnakumar Patel, Ashraf Orrie, Phumi Mlotshwa and Cavanagh.

Cavanagh, who was elected onto the board in 2023 (and was appointed chairperson a year later) is one of four remaining directors from the previous regime. The others are Orrie, Mlotshwa and Zaku.

In the aftermath of the 2025 race, Cavanagh came in for much of the criticism, which she owned up to, while also feeling that some of the criticism did not come from a constructive place and was rather vindictive — a direct attack on her.

The now former Two Oceans chairperson even went as far as taking one of her biggest critics to court, the same Mann who has now been elected onto the interim board. A blogger and marathon runner, Mann was installed onto the interim leadership structure by the Harriers.

Mann wrote articles where he alleged that Cavanagh had embellished her running and professional CVs. He also questioned Cavanagh’s leadership qualities after the permit breach debacle.

In court Mann argued that his articles were based on facts that he could corroborate. Cavanagh denied lying about her qualifications and said Mann’s articles were part of a sustained campaign to tarnish her reputation. 

She said his articles had affected her health.

The Two Oceans even went as far as removing the comments option on its social media platforms due to a public furore that was directed mostly at Cavanagh. 

Nevertheless, the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg ruled unanimously in favour of Mann — who is a trusted source of information in the tight-knit running community.              

Work together 

Goldschmidt does not believe the recent clashes between Mann and Cavanagh will affect the functions of his interim board. He says it is Cavanagh’s right to remain on the board until her two-year term expires in September.

He added that an attempt to forcefully remove her from the Two Oceans would have been a tedious exercise.

“Cavanagh stood down as chair and we didn’t pursue getting her off the board for two primary reasons. One, it would take a lot of effort and unpleasantness. Secondly, because she is an important link between what has happened (particularly with the City) and going forward. She has been working hard in the background trying to remedy the relationship with the 

City,” Goldschmidt told Daily Maverick.

As for whether he would consider staying on the board beyond this interim basis, recently retired Goldschmidt said it was not in his plans, but he would consider it.

“It’s going to depend on how much stability we get in the next two months,” he said.

A reform that has unanimously been agreed upon by the board upon their first meeting is to appoint an events management company to work closely with the board as a delivery partner for the 2026 event and beyond. DM