INSPIRATION kilometres longer, which means an hour longer for me, so it is a very specialised race. Also, I can’ t say that I ever envisaged the Two Oceans becoming such a constant in my career, but every single year that I was able to run it, I was there, and I’ m so fortunate to have won it six times. It’ s just something that became really massive and so special for me, and it’ s really shaped my career in many ways.
For example, the Two Oceans opened the door for me to be invited to the New York Marathon for the first time. The New York organisers watched the race and saw me win, and they invited me a few days after the race, and that led to me qualifying in New York for the Olympics, and getting re-invited to New York year after year. So, Two Oceans has become so much more than just a race for me. I can’ t imagine my career without the Two Oceans in it, and it’ s not something that I take lightly. I definitely do not ever think I can just show up and win – I still put 100 % effort and focus into being ready for this race each year, not only to make sure that I can compete on the same level that I did in the past, but also try and improve my previous performances.
Q: With six wins in this iconic race, is there one win that stands out as your favourite?
GS: The first time I won the race in 2018 obviously stands out to me, but then I came back and defended my title, and after that I broke the record after so many years. I did reach a point where I thought perhaps I wouldn’ t be able to improve again, but the next year I went still faster. Even this year, when I didn’ t break the record, the race itself still stood out to me, and it was still so special. I completely threw my usual race strategy from the previous years out the window and tried something unexpected, and it worked out. It wasn’ t another record, but it was 100 % another success.
I think every time I’ ve won, I’ ve thought this one is even bigger and better, and more special than last year, and that’ s a big part of why I keep coming back. The Two Oceans never feels like it’ s a chore, or just something that I am used to doing, and each run is memorable for different reasons, so I don’ t want to single out one specific race.
Q: On a related note, is there a favourite part of Two Oceans that you love most, or something you enjoy greatly for a specific reason?
GS: The part that I look forward to the most is running through Hout Bay, after getting over the first big hill, Chapman’ s Peak, and making sure that I’ m still feeling good. You have to run up Chappies really well and strongly if you want to be in contention, but you still have to make sure that you conserve energy for Constantia Nek and the last part of the race.
Normally when I get to Hout Bay, I know whether or not I’ ll have a good race, and fortunately, it’ s always been the case that I hit that mark with my legs still feeling strong. I’ ve managed to reach my seconding team, get the nutrition that I needed, and then I could take on Constantia Nek with confidence. And the crowd support in Hout Bay is just insane, so I always look forward to getting to that stretch of road.
Q: Speaking of the two big hills, which do you find harder, Chappies or Constantia Nek? I know the obvious answer is that Chappies comes earlier in the race, therefore you are fresher when you tackle it, but from a strategic point of view, not just an energy point of view, which is the harder hill for you to run?
GS: I think Constantia Nek is definitely the harder hill, because it’ s steeper, it’ s longer, and it’ s harder in every sense of the question, but Chapman’ s Peak requires more thought, more control, and so much concentration. So, in a way, Chappies is the more important hill, because that’ s where you make or break your race. By the time you get to the bottom of Constantia Nek, you know you just have to run up it as well as you possibly can, with everything that you’ ve got. That’ s how I approach it. But Chapman’ s Peak is definitely the one where you have to have 100 % control and concentration when you’ re climbing, making sure not to lose too much time but also not blowing all your matches!
Q: My next question is to do with you often running with a smile on your face, and highfiving or waving to supporters. You often make it look easy, but I know you’ ve had some really tough races at Two Oceans, including hitting some really dark patches. So, it’ s not always as easy as you make it look, is it?
GS: No, of course not. It’ s one of my A races, and 100 % effort goes into the race. I do think that there’ s a lot more time in the Two Oceans to appreciate it and to enjoy it, and there are times where I feel really good, like I’ ve got plenty of energy to share and to reach out to the crowds, but it’ s not like that for the entire race. There are times in the race where you have to dig deep and find levels of strength in yourself that you’ ll never find in training.
Gerda comes home to take her sixth consecutive Two Oceans Ultra win in 2025
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