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PACESETTERS
Service in Every Step
Pacesetting is more than numbers and splits. It is an act of service.“ I think it’ s a certain characteristic of servanthood, people wanting to give back to the running community,” Murphy reflects, adding that many pacesetters are seasoned club runners who have already contributed behind the scenes, like organising events or serving in club structures. Sacrificing their own race to help others achieve their target times is simply another way of carrying the load.
Paralympian Louzanne Coetzee became the first blind pacesetter at Two Oceans in 2022
Strength in numbers is another important aspect of this operation, and in the ultra-marathon, pacesetters rarely work alone.“ At distances over 30 kilometres we try to double up or triple up pacesetters, and at Two Oceans, it’ s usually three of us working together,” says Murphy. The team structure increases reliability and ensures the target time remains achievable, even if one pacesetter encounters difficulty.“ If one of us has a bad day, it’ s unlikely that two people will have a bad day at the same time,” says Murphy.
Inspiration on the Move
Among the 2026 pacesetters is Louzanne Coetzee, a blind Paralympian whose journey continues to inspire. Born with Leber congenital amaurosis, she has risen to the pinnacle of her sport, holding the marathon world record in her T11 para-athlete class, earning a bronze medal in the marathon at that 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, and also claiming a Paralympic silver in 2020 and bronze in 2024 in the 1500m event on the track, as well as 1500m silver( 2023) and bronze( 2024) at the World Para Athletics Championships
In 2022, Coetzee became the first blind pacesetter at in Two Oceans, and in 2026, she goes further, running her first ultra before once again pacing the Half Marathon.“ It is very exciting for me to be pacing again this year,” she says.“ I’ m a blind runner, which basically means that I run with a guide runner. Sewie will be my guide this year at
Ashraff Orrie will once again do the pacing double, running both the Ultra and Half in 2026
Two Oceans, and we will be pacing the two-hour bus. So, running is a team sport for me.
“ We run together, tethered by a small tether between our hands, and we communicate and coordinate the run on the road. Sewie communicates everything that I need to know about what’ s happening around me, while also describing the beautiful scenery of the Two Oceans Marathon,” she continues.“ We worked out our target times as to where we need to be at specific points and how we want to motivate the runners in our group. Fortunately, I can rely on Sewie. He will be an excellent teammate, as he has raced multiple distances and paced alongside me before at local races in Bloemfontein. I am excited to share his first Two Oceans pacing experience with him.”
Alongside Coetzee stands another stalwart, Ashraf Orrie, chasing his tenth ultra and a place in the celebrated Blue Number Club.“ I am super excited and looking forward to joining the BNC,” he says.“ This will be my fifth year pacing the 56km, and my fourth year pacing the 21km, so you could say I normally pace a double. There is nothing better than pacing such an iconic race on home ground, with all the local support along the route. Every step taken is pure joy, helping novices achieve their goal of finishing before the seven-hour cutoff. It’ s definitely one of my favourite routes in distance running.”
The Beacons of Race Day
On race morning, the pacesetters will take their place across the starting batches carrying brightly coloured flags marked with their projected finishing times. For runners weaving through the crowds and hills of the Two Oceans route, those flags will serve as moving landmarks. They offer reassurance when the legs begin to tire and the finish line still lies kilometres away.
The steady rhythm of a pacesetter can transform the challenge of an ultra marathon into a shared journey. Like lighthouses guiding ships through restless seas, these volunteers stand as markers of direction and discipline across one of the world’ s most scenic endurance races. And when thousands of runners finally sweep onto the fields at UCT, many will arrive precisely on schedule, carried there by the quiet discipline of the pacesetters who ran beside them every step of the way.
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