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INSPIRATION
When asked about his Khaki Number, Wills says that the feels honoured to be part of the event’ s Blue Number Club.“ It’ s a huge honour to have my permanent number in the Trail Run, and it means a lot to me to be lining up again in 2026 and seeing how long I can keep it up, but I’ ve got a long way to go – some people have run more than 40 Ultra Marathons!” He then adds that he’ s also looking forward to opening his goodie bag:“ I’ m a big fan of Versus Socks, so I’ m very excited to hear that they’ re a partner this year, and that we’ ll all be receiving a limited-edition pair of Two Oceans-branded Versus running socks as part of our entry. My Versus socks are awesome!”
Excited to Line Up Again
Another runner looking forward to the upcoming Trail Run is Shirley Whitmore, who will be tackling the Short Trail for the 10th time and running to earn her Khaki Number.“ I am so excited to be lining up in 2026 and looking forward to crossing the finish line for my tenth medal,” she says, adding that the bonus incentive is that obtaining her permanent number will give her membership of the Blue Number Club.
“ That mean’ s I’ ll be able to join my sister, Wendy, who is already a Blue Number Club member, having completed the Ultra 11 times. I am looking forward to her visiting me on the race weekend, as she and her Durbanite friends will also be running in both the 21km and 56km races. So, we’ ll be enjoying the weekend and the event together,” she says.
Whitmore admits that she has a strong competitive spirit, having podiumed in her last five Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon Short Trail Runs, and says her long history of competitive sport drives her to continue competing on the trails.“ I have played sport my entire life, starting with skating, then tennis, where I represented the junior South African squads back in the day. I’ ve also cycled the Cape Town Cycle Tour 11 times, and I’ ve played squash for KwaZulu-Natal, Western Province and South Africa in my latter years. If the body permits, I am very competitive – always have been and always will be!”
Long-term Running Plans
Unfortunately, Whitmore’ s journey to her Khaki Number did take a slight detour in 2016, when she suffered a broken ankle on race day in the 2016 Short Trail race, but she also lists that as one of her standout memories of the race for positive reasons.“ This year would actually have been my 11th Two Oceans Trail run, but I broke my right ankle on that 2016 run. However, the camaraderie of all the participants was a highlight, as everyone was so willing to help on route. I was carried to the nearest marshal and looked after until an ambulance could get me off the mountain!”
Having put that injury behind her, she returned in 2017 to earn her fifth medal, and now will be going for her 10th – and she says she will continue running the event as long as she can.“ I run to keep fit and healthy – it is my lifetime goal – and I enjoy the trail runs so much, and am keen to participate in all the events, as it helps to keep my fitness up for squash. I’ m just hoping that my recent arthroscopy will not let me down on race day, and I know that I will need to take it easy, since I have a squash tournament in Knysna two weeks after the Two Oceans Trail Run.”
This year, Whitmore will be one of just two runners aiming to earn their Khaki Numbers, alongside Ryan Winter, who already has his Light Blue Number for 10 finishes in the Half Marathon and will be looking to add a second permanent number to his collection in the Long Trail. If both success this year, they will become just the ninth and 10th runners to earn Khaki Numbers. Given her vast experience in the Trail Run, Whitmore is happy to share simple but inspirational advice with any first-time runners taking on the Trail Run:“ One could not ask for a more exciting race, with such a view from the top of the mountains of our beautiful Cape!”
The 2026 Totalsports Two Oceans Trail Runs take place on Friday 10 April, starting and finishing on the UCT Rugby Field. Runners who will be participating will need to register and collect their race packs on one of the first two days of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon Expo, on Wednesday8 April or Thursday 9 April.
BLUE NUMBERS IN THE TRAIL RUN
To date, eight athletes have earned a permanent number in the TTOM Trail Run, and membership of the event’ s Blue Number Club, with Landie Greyling and Kane Reilly having done so by winning the race three times, and the rest by finishing the race 10 times. Dominic Wills is the only athlete to have run the TTOM Trail Run every year since the first race in 2010, and Norrie Williamson is the only athlete to have earned three Blue Numbers, in the Trail Run as well as the Ultra and Half. Shirley Whitmore and Ryan Winter stand to join this group in 2026, and a further five athletes are currently on eight medals, and may be trying to get to 10 by 2027, including Afzal Dhansay, who would then become just the second athlete after Williamson to earn three Blue Numbers.
TRAIL Blue #
Trail Medals
Name
Ultra Medals
Ultra Blue #
1 7 Landie Greyling 2 1 2 6 Kane Reilly 3 3 12 Dominic Wills 3 6 4 10 Dave Bywater 1 6 11 Glenda Monson 21 1194 1 7 10 Chanele Jenkinson 1 8 10 Kim-Marie Wright
Half Medals
9 10 Norrie Williamson 10 957 22 161
Four-time Long Trail winner Landie Greyling earned the first Trail Run permanent number in 2014
Shirley Whitmore’ s competitive nature brings her back to race the Trail Run year after year
Half Blue #
In 2025, Norrie Williamson became the first runner to earn three different Two Oceans Blue Numbers
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