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RACE INFO
Setting
THE PACE
A team of seasoned pacesetters will be in action in both the Ultra Marathon and the Half Marathon at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon powered by BYD, ready to chart the course and help their fellow runners achieve their target times or personal bests.
When race day arrives, many of the thousands of Two Oceans runners will be looking for some extra assistance to reach the finish, either within their goal time or before the final cut-off gun is fired. To help them, the Official Two Oceans Pacesetters will once again be on duty to assist get them home on time.
Often referred to as‘ bus drivers,’ these are unpaid volunteers who carry flags denoting their target time so that runners can easily spot them, hop on the‘ bus’ of their choice, and rely on the Pacesetters to guide them to the finish on time. There will be 39 pacesetters in action in the Ultra Marathon, and another 28 will carry flags in the Half Marathon. All of these pacesetters either have substantial Two Oceans experience, or have proven their pacesetting credentials in other races all around South Africa.
Pacing Etiquette
Due to the batched starting procedure for both the Ultra and Half, the pacesetters will also start in staggered groupings, calculated to correspond to the likely target times of the batch they are seeded in. There will also be multiple pacesetters running the same target pace, but starting in different groups, in order to help runners in various seeding batches achieve popular target times and specific medal cutoffs, such as sub-6:00 in the Ultra.
Runners should therefore check in with the pacesetters if they join a bus during the race, to see whether their own seeding batch is ahead of or behind the pacesetters’ batch. Even if the pacesetters are from a different seeding batch, runners are invited to join any bus and let the vibe and teamwork carry them along.
The buses can sometimes grow quite large, especially in an ultra, so passengers who do join the buses are requested to try run behind the pacesetters instead of alongside them. This way the bus will not grow so wide that it fills the whole road, thus preventing faster runners from passing, and making it easier for the bus to pass slower runners. Otherwise it’ s all about the‘ gees’ of the bus, and helping each other get to the finish with singing, chatting, advice and more!
Runners who would like to join one of the Official Two Oceans Pacesetting Buses should simply look for the prominent flags carried by the Pacesetters, and catch the bus.
THESE ARE YOUR 2026 PACESETTERS
IN THE ULTRA MARATHON
Batch
A B
Flag Time
n / a n / a
Pacesetters
C |
4h30 |
Doctor Vilakazi |
|
|
Marc Gispert Giron |
D n / a
E |
5h00 |
Joe Faber |
|
|
Mkhululi Jack |
|
|
Mojalefa Lebea |
F |
5h15 |
Welile Mdunge |
|
|
Maredi Mphahlele |
G n / a
H |
5h30 |
Tavon Petersen |
|
|
Smangele Mkhulise |
J( BNC) n / a
K |
5h40 |
Youssef Kanouni |
|
|
Sduduzo Mncwango |
|
|
Nicole Hadel |
L |
5h50 |
Tumelo Gidion Motshabi |
|
|
Mfundo Dlamini |
|
|
Tyhilelo Bam |
M |
6h00 |
Zolani Mayekiso |
|
|
Lala Melamane |
|
|
Josaya David Gondongwe |
N |
6h00 |
Veruschke Juries |
|
|
John Legoale |
|
|
Tankiso“ Moss” Seabo |
P |
6h15 |
Jeff Ramokoka |
|
|
Mthabiseni Mboniswa |
|
|
Jacob Moepi Tlhaabye |
Q |
6h30 |
Samkelo Sithole |
|
|
Kenosi Nkosi |
|
|
Maropeng‘ Rocky’ Mojela |
R |
6h30 |
Dorian Esau |
|
|
Petrus Khoza |
|
|
Molefe Mosweu |
S |
6h40 |
Monique Schutte |
|
|
Phaphama Malusi |
T |
6h50 |
Magdaleen( Maggs) Kemp Ashraf Orrie Hanno Loubser |
U |
7h00 |
Shahieda Thungo |
|
|
Sibusiso Mthembu |
|
|
Petlo Motloutsi |
IN THE HALF MARATHON
Batch
Flag Time
A n / a B n / a
Pacer 1
C |
1:40 |
Bongani Bilankulu |
|
|
Mduduzi Nhleko |
D 1:45 Tebogo Rangoato E 1:50 Deon Daniels F 2:00 Anthony Rimbault
G |
2:00 |
Louzanne Coetzee * |
|
|
Sewie Sevenster |
H 2:00 Charl Krieger J 2:10 Natasha Felix K 2:10 Dorian Esau L( BNC) 2:15 Ashraf Orrie M 2:15 Abdul-Muizh Lewin N 2:20 Neil Horne
P |
2:30 |
Francois Grobler |
|
|
Kgomotso Selebogo |
Q 2:30 Pinkie Mdunge
R |
2:30 |
Fahiema Daniels |
|
|
Shepherd Melusi Buthelezi |
S( BNC) 2:30 Reneé Cupido T 2:40 Lebo Mathatho
U |
2:45 |
Monica Motsilili |
|
|
Rassie Pretorius |
V 2:50 Rudolph Bekker W 3:00 Megan Kluyts X 3:00 Florence Groener Y 3:15 Peter Taylor **
Y |
3:30 |
Bothwell Matewe |
|
|
Thabile Mathe |
* Blind para-athlete Louzanne Coetzee with running guide Sewie Sevenster. ** Peter‘ barefoot’ Taylor, who famously runs without shoes while raising money for the Guide Dogs Association of South Africa
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