Gerda Steyn wins the 2025 Two Oceans Marathon, for an unprecedented sixth successive title. She will be looking to make it seven this year on 11 April. (Photo: Peter Heeger / Gallo Images) The queen of the Two Oceans ultramarathon, Gerda Steyn, will be looking to make history with a seventh consecutive win at this year’s event on Saturday, 11 April.
She would be breaking her own record of six successive wins. No other woman has come close to such a streak, apart from Olesya Nurgalieva, who claimed four in a row in 2011.
Steyn secured that sixth title last year in dominant fashion, finishing in 3:29:10, about nine minutes ahead of runner-up Shelmith Muruiki.
Despite her incomparable dominance, Steyn remains pragmatic.
“I don’t think about the race as something that I have won six times, because every year is different,” she said. “A previous victory doesn’t guarantee a future victory, and each year I have to put everything I have got into the preparation. I try to find ways to improve by building on previous performances. I would never allow myself to get too comfortable.”
/file/attachments/orphans/TL_2201182_371219.jpg "Gerda Steyn is the current record holder of the Two Oceans ultra marathon. In 2024 she clocked 3:26:54, smashing her own record of 3:29:05 from the previous year. (Photo: Peter Heeger / Gallo Images)")
Steyn became the first woman to break the three-hour-thirty-minute mark in 2022, with a time of 3:29:42 to break the course record.
She went on to lower it again in 2023, and in 2024, with the current record standing at 3:26:54.
To think that 10 years ago when Steyn ran the race for the first time she did not even place in the top 10 – she completed it in 14th position.
After missing the race in 2017, the distance runner came back even stronger and claimed her first victory in 2018. Apart from 2020 and 2021, when the races were cancelled because of Covid-19, Steyn has since won every race and smashed records.
Fierce competition
However, she knows not to underestimate the highly competitive field.
Steyn’s biggest threat will probably come from her Hollywood Athletics Club teammate and three-time runner-up, Irvette van Zyl.
/file/attachments/2990/TTOMbyLuigiBennett_870097.jpg "The 2025 Two Oceans Marathon is on 5 April, with Gerda Steyn front and centre. On the right is Steyn's Hollywood Athletics Club teammate and three-time runner-up, Irvette van Zyl. (Photo: Luigi Bennett)")
She also faces tough opposition from Muruiki as well as Lesotho 42km record holder Neheng Khatala, who was third in 2025.
“I must respect the quality of the field. My guess is that it won’t be a one-woman show,” said Steyn at a pre-race press conference on 8 April. “We’ve got such amazing runners this year. I can only control how I run and make sure that I run my very, very best.”
Using her Dullstroom training base as a key part of her preparation – due to its high altitude of 2,000m above sea level – Steyn has also been training alongside rising talent Omuhle Kubheka, who is set to make her Two Oceans debut this weekend.
“I know now that my running career can have an impact on more than just myself and that, to me, is a huge driving [force],” said Steyn. “I want to run well to show the emerging athletes that with hard work and determination you can achieve your goals.
“I love sharing the roads with like-minded, passionate runners and to know I can perhaps play a small part in a young athlete like Omuhle’s career brings a lot of meaning to my own.”
Making amends
The men’s race is poised to be exciting, since there is no clear favourite.
Defending champion Khoarahlane Seutloali from Lesotho will be looking to make it back-to-back victories, while last year’s runner-up, Siboniso Sikhakhane, also believes he is in the right shape at the right time to emerge victorious.
Perhaps the man with the biggest point to prove is Onalenna Khonkhobe, who will be eager to right the wrongs of 2025.
/file/attachments/orphans/TL_2201181_745206.jpg "Onalenna Khonkhobe is looking to make amends in the 2026 Two Oceans ultramarathon after he failed to finish in 2025 owing to cramps. Khonkhobe claimed victory in 2024 and is a two-time Two Oceans gold medallist. (Photo: Peter Heeger / Gallo Images)")
The 2024 champion and two-time Two Oceans gold medallist clocked 3:09:30 to claim that title, but was unable to finish the race in 2025.
Initially, he looked likely to win as he went through the 50km mark with the lead group. However, on the descent from Constantia Nek he started battling with cramps. This forced him to abandon the race with less than 6km to go.
It has haunted him since, but it is also the driving force going into this year’s contest.
“I would like to win the Two Oceans like I did in 2024,” said Khonkhobe. “I made the mistake of over-racing last year and I made the decision not to repeat that mistake again.”
The big picture
The picturesque 56km course starts on Main Road, Newlands, then goes through Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and all the way up Chapman’s Peak and Constantia before concluding at the University of Cape Town’s sports fields.
Both the ultra- and the half-marathon will enjoy a boost in prize money for 2026, with the winners of the men’s and women’s ultra races each receiving R380,000. That is R130,000 more than last year.
/file/attachments/orphans/TL_2383729_632716.jpg "Gerda Steyn engages with fans after winning the 2025 Two Oceans, her sixth consecutive victory. The ultramarathon takes athletes on a 56km course, on a spectacular route around the Cape Peninsula, and it has often been voted as the most breathtaking marathon in the world. (Photo: Peter Heeger / Gallo Images)")
The elite runners will be joined by about 14,000 other athletes on Saturday, which is 3,000 more runners expected to race compared with 2025.
On Sunday, the Two Oceans will continue to feature as the biggest half-marathon in South Africa as about 17,000 athletes lace up.
Before that the Two Oceans trail run will take place on Friday, 10 April, with 1,000 people expected to run. DM