THE SHIP’ S LOG
The Most Voyages
In this month’ s column, we take a closer look at the runners with the most medals, or voyages, to their names, as listed in the iconic Two Oceans Ship’ s Log.
One of the traditions of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon is The Ship’ s Log, a detailed list of every runner who has completed one or more of the races that form part of the event. The Ship’ s Log first appeared in the 1978 edition of the Two Oceans Marathon race brochure, with the name chosen to tie in with the nautical theme of the event. As such, a runner’ s successful finishes are referred to as‘ voyages.’
To date – up to and including the 2025 event – the total number of names listed in The Ship’ s Log now stands at 203,644, which denotes every successful completion( finish) of a Two Oceans event since 1970, including the Ultra Marathon, Half Marathon and all Trail Runs run under the Two Oceans banner, including the one-off The Beast in 2015.( Fun Runs and the International Friendship Run are not counted.) What follows is a more detailed look at the runners with the most voyages in the various Two Oceans events.
ULTRA MARATHON Stalwarts
The Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon has been run 54 times since 1970, and a total of 6510 runners have earned a permanent Blue Number for completing the Half Marathon 10 times or more, with a further 15 runners achieving their Blue Numbers by either winning the race three times, or earning five gold medals, including six-time women’ s winner Gerda Steyn.
The runner with the most voyages in the history of the race is 47, by Louis Massyn. He ran 44 consecutive years from 1976 to 2019, missed two years( 2020 and 2021) due to the race being cancelled during the COVID pandemic, then resumed his Two Oceans voyages with three more finishes from 2022 to 2024. Unfortunately, in 2025 he missed the seven-hour final cut-off by just over seven minutes, but later that same year he became the first runner to finish the Comrades Marathon 50 times. Massyn’ s best Two Oceans time is 3:41:15, which he ran in 1981 to achieve his highest placing of 59th overall.
Louis Massyn leads the way with 47 Ultra voyages
At the top of the Ultra list are 12 runners with Quadruple Laurel Blue Numbers for 40 or more finishes, with a further 85 athletes( including three women) with Triple Laurel Blue Numbers for 30 or more finishes, of which 16 runners have done 35 or more runs. The women’ s record for the highest number of medals earned is jointly held by Lucille Damon and Sharon Bosch, with 32 medals, and Matilda Le Roux is the only other woman with a Triple Blue thus far, but Kim Pain( 29 medals) will be aiming to join that exclusive club at the 2026 Ultra. Thus far, 16 women have completed the Ultra 25 times or more.
Lucille Damon, women’ s coleader with 32 Ultra voyages
MOST ULTRA MARATHON VOYAGES OVERALL
( Figure in brackets is the athlete’ s Blue Number)
47 |
Louis Massyn( 35) |
45 |
Anthony Abrahamson( 36) |
45 |
John Mugglestone( 127) |
45 |
Mark Wagenheim( 140) |
44 |
Paul Leader( 122) |
42 |
Hercu Hofmeyr( 257) |
42 |
Mark Raubenheimer( 328) |
41 |
Ian Bocock( 130) |
41 |
Colin Bonthuys( 343) |
41 |
Graham Channon( 243) |
41 |
Noel Stamper( 4) |
40 |
Ian Benson( 418) |
39 |
John Brimble( 125) |
38 |
Franzt Struwig( 874) |
38 |
Kenny Williams( 416) |
37 |
Riel Hugo( 10) |
36 |
Sidney Cleophas( 960) |
36 |
Johan Grant( 1147) |
36 |
Shane Hinchliffe( 1172) |
36 |
Phillip van Niekerk( 517) |
36 |
Dawie Zwiegelaar( 997) |
35 |
Eric Bateman( 23) |
35 |
Andy Bolton( 455) |
35 |
Robin Goddard( 1152) |
35 |
Maxwell Godloza( 1119) |
35 |
Jacob Karelse( 1131) |
35 |
Selwyn Losper( 1120) |
35 |
Wietse van der Westhuizen( 333) |
MOST ULTRA MARATHON VOYAGES BY WOMEN
( Figure in brackets is the athlete’ s Blue Number)
32 |
Sharon Bosch( 1953) |
32 |
Lucille Damon( 1525) |
30 |
Matilda Le Roux( 2215) |
29 |
Ann Margolin( 350) |
29 |
Kim Pain( 2213) |
27 |
Elmarie Ott( 2989) |
26 |
Lorraine Rogers( 2820) |
26 |
Jenny Slack( 1233) |
26 |
Annelie van der Linde( 2844) |
25 |
Nicole Griffith( 2856) |
25 |
Gina Hinchliffe( 2868) |
25 |
Estelle Kroukamp( 3132) |
25 |
Lorinde Olivier( 2661) |
25 |
Lynne Spence( 195) |
25 |
Chippy Steel( 1005) |
25 |
Irma Zöllner( 1165) |
Another 34 athletes will be aiming to complete their 20th Half Marathon voyage in 2026- 25 men and 9 women – with the youngest being Frank Kellerman( 43). The oldest and most notable runner in this group will be Albert Thembile Ngcanga, who is aiming to run his first Two Oceans Ultra since 2019, at the age of 75. Look out for their race numbers with yellow stripes and wish them well on their journey.
At 75, Albert Thembile Ngcanga will be the oldest runner attempting his 20th Ultra voyage
Stalwarts John Mugglestone and Mark Wagenheim – 45 Ultra voyages each
30 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon 2026