RUNNING
Martin Gillingham
Even in these changing times the Two Oceans Marathon has retained its significance among the crown jewels of South African sporting events. But, as is becoming the trend, it is a foreigner who is most likely to leave Cape Town on Saturday night clasping the family silver.
This year’s race has attracted several of the world’s top ultra runners and among them is last year’s winner Honest Mutsakani, who has more reasons than most to hang in when the going gets tough. He’s from Zimbabwe and, like many top African distance runners, has his athletic talent to thank for giving him a ticket to a better life. The R100 000 first prize he’d win with a repeat victory may look pretty modest alongside the sort of money being splashed out on South African athletes like Hendrick Ramaala just to compete in big city marathons, but for a man with more modest ambitions than Ramaala, it is a potentially life-changing incentive.
Perhaps the greater reward for Mutsakani is recognition. Unlike the big-city marathons, Saturday’s race gets nationwide coverage on terrestrial television in South Africa. And it was a large, captive audience that witnessed his perfectly timed bid for victory 12 months ago and which provided an object lesson for all would-be Two Oceans champions.
This is the third time “the world’s most scenic marathon” will have been run on its new route and now, more than ever, there is a demand on competitors to leave their surge for victory to the last possible moment. Gone from the traditional route is the climb from Hout Bay to Constantia Nek but, in its place, comes the long drag up Southern Cross Drive. That, coupled with the 6km climb up Ou Kaapse Weg, is what gets the heart-rate pumping and probably makes this a tougher test. But ask any seasoned road runner what it is that does most damage to the legs and they’ll tell you to be wary of the plunging drop from the summit of Ou Kaapse Weg to Steenberg and the pelvic-tilting cambers along Rhodes Drive that twist ‘n turn before dropping into Kirstenbosch.
As the clich-dependent soccer managers would have us believe, the Two Oceans route is the classic game of two halves: a race that really only starts when the 26km mark is passed and the cheers from the Sun Valley faithful have faded into the distance.
Back-to-back winners are common enough in the race in the men’s race there have been half-a-dozen in 32 years but if Mutsakani does fall short, there are several other top international runners capable of winning the race.
Jaroslaw Janicki, the 35-year-old Pole, has run the race on four previous occasions with a best placing of second on his debut in 1995.
Also in with a chance is Vladimir Kotov who represents Belarus despite having lived most of his life in Poland. At 44 he’s past his best, but knows the course well. Quite apart from the fact he’s competed in the race for the past two years, he also now lives in Cape Town. He may be the nearest thing to a hometown winner the hosts are likely to see this weekend.
But if you’re looking for a long shot with a fairytale twist then look no further than Lucketz Swartbooi. His story is no less inspiring than that of the former Derby runner-up which dodged the knacker’s yard on its way to Grand National glory.
Swartbooi led the marathon at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart by more than a minute with barely 2km to go. But the Namibian’s legs buckled and he was caught in the shadow of the stadium by the former South African Mark Plaatjes.
In comparison with his rivals on Saturday, Swartbooi is a thoroughbred. It just remains to be seen whether at 36 and almost a decade past his best Swartbooi has the heart to cope with the hills.