Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 131, June 2020 June 2020 | Page 17

ADVERTORIAL
Holy (FAST!) Matrimony
In the last month or so we’ve celebrated both Mother’s and Father’s days, and at the Murray & Roberts Running Club, we
thus thought it a good time to look at two of the most successful, durable and quick couples ever in South African road
running. Without doubt, the Netshifhefhe and the De Oliveira couples are top contenders for this title.
Joyce and Bethuel Netshifhefhe, residents
of Polokwane, have a list of impressive
performances over the whole range of distances,
starting with Bethuel’s astounding 10km PB of 28:46,
which he set at the National Championships in 2000.
The 48-year-old also boasts a 1:01:41 half marathon
and a 2:11 marathon, incidentally also set at the SA
Champs. His finest hour, however, was in 2007, when
he won the Two Oceans Marathon title in 3:08 and
broke a three-year Zimbabwean stranglehold on the
title. He was also victorious at the City to City 50km in
2006, and clinched a coveted Comrades gold (ninth
place) in 2009.
Joyce is an ultra-consistent performer and her 2011
Comrades, where she just missed out on silver by a
mere 57 seconds as she secured 20th place, is one
of many standouts. The mother of Phopi (19), Vhugala
(11) and Bethuel Junior (5) is speedy, too, and her best
over the 21,1km distance is a quick 1:19:04. Coupled
with her 2:50 marathon best, it’s not difficult to see
why she has been so steady over so many years,
claiming a string of victories, podiums and accolades,
including four top 10 placings in the City to City.
Pride of KZN
As for Grace and Eloi de Oliveira, there is not
enough space in Modern Athlete to list all of
their superb achievements, and they may well
be the finest couple ever to have graced road
running in this country. Grace is a multiple national
representative, ranging from four World Half Marathon
Championships to wearing the green and gold at
the World Athletic Marathon Champs, World Cross
Country Champs and in the World Champs 10,000m!
The 58-year-old mother of Daniella and grandmother
of 19-month-old Alessia, boasts eight gold medals at
Two Oceans and five at Comrades, with a best placing
of second in the 1999 Comrades in 6:34:53.
Hubby Eloi, who is bound to clean up in the
grandmasters section now that he has hit the 60
mark, has no less than 27 Comrades marathon
medals to his credit, with a gold in 1993 (ninth) when
he ran 5:53 as well as a mind-boggling 23 silvers,
including 22 consecutive sub-sevens! His Two Oceans
record is equally impressive, with two golds and 18
silvers, with a best placing of third in 1989. Eloi’s
range is astounding: From a 2:01 for 800m through to
a 2:18:30 marathon PB, the man from KZN is multitalented.
Part of the Family
We do not know of many more brilliantly quick
couples out there in this vein, and we at the black and
yellow club are immensely proud of these two stand
out families. When these couples made their wedding
vows and promised to be “true to each other in good
times,” they meant it!
Images: Courtesy Murray & Roberts
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