Next oldest is 78-year-old Eric Pocock( Blue Number 1848), whose TTOM Record includes 24 Ultra medals and four Half medals. He ran his first Ultra in 1985 and earned his Blue Number in 2000, going on to complete his 20th in 2018. Having clocked a comfortable 6:43:59 in the 2024 race, he looks set to earn his 25th medal in 2026, which would mean a free entry in 2027! Just behind him on the age list are Gerald Kroukamp and Kenny Williams, who will both be 77 on race day this year. Gerald owns Blue Number 1400, having completed the Ultra 30 times from 1989 to 2019, and with one Half Marathon medal as well, in 2023, while Kenny is the holder of Blue Number 416 and has completed the Ultra 38 times. He has entered the Ultra every year since 1983, only missing out on a medal in the 2017 and 2025 races, as well as the COVID-cancelled races in 2020 and 2021.
OLDEST FEMALE BNCS IN THE ULTRA
The oldest woman on the BNC list of Ultra entrants is 76-year-old Thelma Rossouw, who earned Blue Number 5453 in 2018 but did not finish the 2019 race, and has only run the Half since then. She is entered for both races at present and must still decide which distance she would like to tackle in 2026.
Thelma Rossouw
Eric Pocock
Also amongst the BNC men in their 70s in the 2026 race will be five members of the Quadruple Blue Club, who have run the race 40 times or more: Tony Abrahamson( age 76 with 45 medals, Blue Number 36), Graham Channon( 76 with 41 medals, Blue Number 243), Louis Massyn( 75 with 47 medals, Blue Number 35), Paul Leader( 70 with 44 medals, Blue Number 122) and Mark Wagenheim( 70 with 45 medals, Blue Number 140).
That means that 73-year-old Nancy Will, who has finished the Ultra 23 times and also has six Half medals to her name, may be the most senior female BNC in the 2026 Ultra. She ran her first Ultra in 1992, earned Blue Number 1995 in 2001, and made it to 20 medals in 2022. Famously, when aged 62, she set a new 60-69 age-category IAU World Best of 4:12:54 for 50km in the 2015 Ultra, but missed out on the grandmaster course record by just 21 seconds as she crossed the line in 4:44:59. In 2023, in her first Ultra in the 70-79 age category, she broke the age group race record with a 5:41:41 finish, then lowered that mark to 5:29:53 the following year.
Nancy Will
Gerald Kroukamp
Next in line for the title of oldest female BNC entrant in the Ultra would be two 71-year-olds whose birthdays are just two days apart! Makgoale Magwentshu is the ever-so-slightly older of the two, having been born on 26 September 1954, while Duduzile Nkosi was born on 28 September. Makgoale( Blue Number 4440) currently has 19 Ultra finishes to her name, reaching that mark in 2024. She entered but did not start in 2025, so 2026 will hopefully see her achieve Double Blue status. Duduzile( Blue Number 4066) is currently on 12 medals, and her comfortable 5:29:03 finish in 2025 points to her making it 13 medals in 2026.
Kenny Williams
Makgoale Magwentshu
The lists of athletes published here may change in coming weeks following the substitution process and addition of late charity entrants. Also note that that only runners who have earned their permanent numbers by completing the race 10 times are included here, not elitelevel athletes who earned a Blue Number by winning a race three times, or earning five gold medals in that race.
Images: Action Photo SA
18 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon 2026