Age is but a Number
When it comes to the Blue Number Club( BNC) of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon( TTOM), it is quite evident that age is no limiting factor in participation in the event, given how many 70 and
80-year-olds are entered in the 2026 event. Here’ s a detailed look at some of these BNC elders. – COMPILED BY SEAN FALCONER & LINDY-JOY DENNIS
IN THE Half Marathon
There will be 16 Octogenarian( 80-89) BNC members taking part in the 2026 TTOM, all of them lining up in the Half Marathon. The most senior entrant in the Half, and overall for the BNC club, is Willemien Smuts, who also happens to have the second highest TOM Ultra and Medal tally combined in this top 10 list of senior BNC Half Marathon entrants, boasting an incredible 31 medals in total. She is just one ahead of Pixie Sparg, with a combined tally of 30 medals, but when it comes to highest medal tally on this list, that honour goes to Kaare James, who has amassed an astounding 41 combined Ultra and Half Marathon medals!
to 2011, only missing the 2006 race as she powered her way to 20 Ultra finishes by the age of 70. In 2015, at the age of 74, she tried something new by running both the short Trail Run and the Half on consecutive days, a feat she repeated in 2016, 2017 and 2019. This year she will line up in her Yellow Number, with daughter Wilma alongside her, as she goes for her Light Blue Number.
With Willemien not yet having her Light Blue Number, the honour of oldest female Light Blue to line up this year goes to Sibongile Cele( 82), who ran her first TTOM Half in 2004, aged 60, and also boasts a remarkable TTOM history. She earned Light Blue Number 2161 in 2024, finishing her 10th Half exactly 20 years after her first one, and in 2026 she will be looking to run the race in her Blue Number for the first time.
NAME |
AGE ON RACE DAY |
HALF MEDALS |
ULTRA MEDALS |
Willemien Smuts |
85 years, 13 days |
9 |
22 |
Dieter Olms |
84 years, 292 days |
10 |
15 |
Ken Poole |
83 years, 153 days |
1 |
12 |
Kaare James |
82 years, 249 days |
10 |
31 |
Sibongile Cele |
82 years, 193 days |
10 |
0 |
Marlene James |
82 years, 73 days |
25 |
1 |
John Spencer 82 years, 14 days 13 10 Pixie Sparg 81 years, 170 days 18 12 Stephan Boyer 81 years, 78 days 1 11
Christopher Tanner 81 years, 51 days 10 1
OLDEST FEMALE BNCS IN THE HALF
Oldest entrant Willemien Smuts( 85) is set to enjoy an extra special finish this year, as she will be aiming for her 10th finish in the Half, having already earned a Blue Number( 1575) in the Ultra.( She also has four Trail Run medals in her impressive haul of 35 Two Oceans medals.) Willemien ran her first TTOM Ultra in 1990, aged 49, and went on to finish 11 consecutive Ultras from 1990 to 2000. After tackling the Half in 2001, she returned to the Ultra from 2002
Sibongile Cele
Just four months younger is Marlene James, who will also be 82 on race day. She is the holder of Light Blue Number 60 and sits joint second on the all-time list of most Half finishes, with 25 medals. Marlene earned her first TTOM medal in the Ultra in 1993, took a break from the event, then returned in 1999 to begin an unbroken run of 25 consecutive finishes in the Half, only missing out on adding medals to her collection in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. With Allan Knighton-Fitt, holder of a record 26 Half medals( after 26 editions of the race), not due to run this year, Marlene is set to join him at the top of the list of most Half medals, along with 71-year-old Richard Hook.( Added to that, she is married to fellow 82-year-old BNC Kaare James, who also features in this article.)
Marlene James
Willemien Smuts
Images: Action Photo SA
16 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon 2026