BLUE NUMBER CLUB
WELCOME TO THE CLUB !
The Blue Number Club ( BNC ) celebrates those special runners who have achieved the milestone of successfully completing 10 Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathons , Half Marathons or Trail Runs , but the BNC has a select few members who gained membership by a faster route . - By Adnaan Mohamed
There are three ways to earn a Blue Number at Two Oceans . The way that most runners do it is to successfully complete one of the races within the final cut-off 10 times , but elite-level runners have two more options to get there . The first of these is to earn five gold medals by finishing in the top 10 , and the other , even more exclusive way , is to win the event three times .
This is potentially a much quicker way of earning a prestigious permanent Blue Number – it could take just three years instead of 10 – but only a small number of supremely talented athletes have managed to pull off this feat in more than 50 years of the race ’ s history .
Three Wins Equals Blue
Amongst the men , only two runners have won the Ultra Marathon three times and been awarded Blue Numbers as a result : Siphiwe Gqele claimed a hattrick of wins in 1983 , 1984 and 1985 , while Zimbabwean Marco Mambo claimed wins in the 2004 , 2005 and 2008 editions . Also , Mambo ’ s 3:05:39 in his 2005 win is , to date , the closest time to Thompson Magawana ’ s course record since he ran that 3:03:44 in 1988 .
In the women ’ s section , six women have now earned a permanent number for three wins . Beverly Malan was the first to achieve this feat in 1985 , having also won in 1982 and 1983 , and she was awarded her Triple Win Blue in the same year as Siphiwe Gqele won his . Monica Drӧgemӧller was the next to achieve this milestone , with the iconic Celtic Harriers athlete winning the race for the first time in 1988 ( with a then course record ) and returning to record three straight wins in 1990 , 1991 and 1992 .
Lesotho ’ s Angelina Sephooa won three consecutive ultras in 1997 , 1998 and 1999 to claim her Blue Number , and she was followed into this exclusive club around a decade later by the well-known Nurgalieva twins from Russia . Elena Nurgalieva was victorious in 2004 , 2005 , 2009 , and 2012 , making her just the
Tony Abrahamson
second four-time winner of the race , while Olesya Nurgalieva won three titles in 2008 , 2010 , and 2011 .
Most Recent Inductee
Last year , Gerda Steyn earned her Blue Number in sensational style by smashing Frith van der Merwe ’ s course record of 3:30:36 , set 33 years earlier in 1989 . The 33-year-old clocked a superb time of 3:29:42 , becoming the first woman to break the 3:30 mark , and it was also her third consecutive victory , having won the race in 2018 and 2019 as well . This means that the SA Marathon Record-holder ( 2:25:28 ) and Olympian stands on the brink of making history in 2023 : If she can win the race again this year , she will become the first woman to win four consecutive Two Oceans Ultra Marathon titles .
Fourt-time winner Drӧgemӧller , now 63 , will be handing over Steyn ’ s Blue Number 6067 at the Elite Athletes ’ Press Conference on Friday14 April , and she says she believes it ’ s great for the sport that new athletes are emerging to set new standards of excellence . “ I think it ’ s fantastic because it ’ s always wonderful when new people come along who can better and equal records ,” she says . “ It ’ s an absolute honour to be called on to present Gerda ’ s Blue Number to her .”
Drӧgemӧller lives in Newlands , close to the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon finish at UCT Campus , so she will be a taking a walk there on Saturday morning , because she feels Steyn has an excellent chance of winning again . “ I remember watching Frith van der Merwe when she set the record in 1989 . It was incredible . However , Steyn is definitely in a different class , because she makes it look so easy . I know it can be quite energy-sapping , and to break that record last year was phenomenal .
Louis Massyn
They Say Life Begins at 40 …
On a different note , the BNC also has some real stalwarts amongst its members those runners who come back year after year , include some men who have completed the race
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