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ELITE RACE place in 1:05:07.“ I started training early in January, but I haven’ t been racing much,” says Khonkhobe.“ The Motsepe race was my first real race of the year. The race was good, and I just wanted to test myself to see where my fitness for Two Oceans is. Defending the Two Oceans title is not easy, so at least this year there is less pressure on me. I am going to run the race freely this year.”
3:40:38, now makes Khatala one of the pre-race podium favourites when she takes on her second Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon.“ My aim is to improve. Last year I finished in third position, so this year I must target a win or second position. The point is to improve last year’ s performance, and if I can achieve that, it would be a huge blessing.”
Onalenna Khonkhobe
Khonkhobe Has a Score to Settle
Images: Two Oceans Marathon, Action Photo SA
After a disappointing result at the 2025 Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, Onalenna Khonkhobe is ready to make amends in 2026. He went into last year’ s race as the defending champion, after his 3:09:30 winning effort in 2024, and looked on course for a second win as he went through the 50km mark with the lead bunch. However, severe cramping on the descent from Constantia Nek forced him to abandon his challenge and he dropped out with less than 6km to go.
It’ s a performance that has haunted the Nedbank Running Club star for the past year, leaving him eager to set things right.“ I would like to win the Two Oceans again, like I did in 2024. Last year I couldn’ t even make it into the top 10,” says Khonkhobe, who is a two-time Two Oceans gold medallist. Having also finished sixth in 2022.
Last year, Khonkhobi won the Prince Mangosuthu 52km in April as well as the City 2 City 50km in September, took third place in the African Bank Soweto Marathon in November, and enthralled everybody watching as he led the Comrades Marathon up to the 73km mark before eventually dropping out, on top of racing the Two Oceans Ultra to just past the 50km mark. He also claimed the bronze medal at the South African Half Marathon Championships in July, and another bronze at the SA 10km Championships in November, but he now admits that he was guilty of too much racing in 2025, so he has raced sparingly this year.“ I made the mistake of overracing last year and I made the decision not to repeat that mistake again,” he says.
Khonkhobe did still line up at the Motsepe Foundation Race To Gender Equality Half Marathon in Pretoria in March, taking second
Neheng Khatala
Khatala Targets Consecutive Podiums
Renowned for her versatility across a wide range of distances, Neheng Khatala has been in impressive form in 2026, and is now determined to secure a top-two finish at the Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon. In March, Lesotho’ s fastest female 10km runner of all time used the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K as a key fitness test, and the Olympian was pleased with her progress as she crossed the line fourth in 32:43.
“ I really ran well, and I’ m grateful about the work I did that day, especially because the last three kilometres were quite windy. I’ m particularly happy with my performance because I didn’ t taper. The week of the race, I did a 45km long run, so I went into the race with heavy legs,” she says.
The ability to race strongly and podium in distances as diverse as 5000m on the track to marathons and ultra-marathons on the road has been a hallmark of Khatala’ s success over the past twelve months. The Hollywood Athletics Club ace, who bested ultra-marathon queen Gerda Steyn to win the very hilly Pirates Half Marathon in Johannesburg in February, attributes her racing success to her training regime.“ It’ s all about the effort I put in. Whether it’ s a tough course or a flat course, I always put in effort to ensure that I remain consistent, even if I don’ t always win,” she says.
This process-led approach, coupled with her third-place finish in the 2025 Two Oceans Ultra in
Joseph Manyedi
Manyedi Chasing first Two Oceans Gold
Best known for earning five gold medals for top 10 finishes in the Comrades Marathon, Joseph Manyedi is excited to make an impact on the Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in 2026, with his sights firmly set on securing a maiden gold medal at the iconic race.“ I want to test something,” he says with a smile.“ That’ s why I want to run Two Oceans, which will also be part of my preparations for the Comrades Marathon.”
Manyedi has run the Two Oceans Ultra five times, four times pre-COVID and then again in 2025, with his best result coming last year when he clocked 3:24:46 to finish 27th. Acknowledging his modest record in the Cape ultra – compared to the Comrades – he says he has spent the first quarter of the 2026 season preparing to race the event competitively, whereas in previous years, he often used it as a long training run ahead of the Comrades.
In February, Manyedi finished fourth at the notoriously hilly and very competitive Balwin Run Series Pretoria Marathon, with a solid 2:34:50, which signalled his intentions for April in Cape Town.“ I just came to Pretoria to test my fitness, because I hadn’ t done too many hills or long runs – and Two Oceans is a tough hilly race, just like Balwin,” he says. Now he will run Two Oceans as part of a strong Maxed Elite Running Club team that grabbed four of the 10 men’ s gold medals on offer in the Ultra last year, and he believes his Two Oceans time has come.“ My target is to get a top ten finish,” he says assuredly.
With eight of last year’ s top 10 men and seven of the top 10 women back to race in 2026, alongside a host of other top contenders that includes a number of international visitors, this year’ s race looks set to be another action-packed contest.
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