Jantjies Stuns the Field as Steyn Claims Record Seventh Two Oceans Title

What happened

On Saturday 12 April, roughly 14,000 ultra runners tackled the 56km Two Oceans Marathon through the Cape Peninsula — and left Cape Town talking about two very different stories.

In the men's race, 25-year-old Arthur Jantjies from Hopetown in the Northern Cape produced one of the great underdog performances in the event's history, winning in 3:09:25. In the women's race, Gerda Steyn did what Gerda Steyn does — she won. For the seventh consecutive time. Her time of 3:27:43 was the second-fastest of her career over this course.

The small-town boy

Nobody outside of a small circle of distance running insiders saw Jantjies coming. Racing only his second ultra marathon, the Pan African Resources Club athlete was patient through the early kilometres, letting Zimbabwe's Blessing Waison set the pace over Chapman's Peak while he sat in the pack and waited.

The preparation had been meticulous. Under coach John Hamlett, Jantjies completed eight weeks of altitude training in Dullstroom, including demanding runs through 800 metres of elevation gain. By comparison, the 600 metres of climbing on the Two Oceans course felt manageable.

When he finally made his move, the pre-race favourite Onalenna Khonkhobe had no answer. Jantjies crossed the line 35 seconds clear, with Khonkhobe finishing second in 3:10:00 and Waison holding on for third in 3:11:13.

"It's a phenomenal step, a big step. It's history," Jantjies said afterwards. "I'm just a small-town boy winning Two Oceans. That's something really special."

Seventh heaven for Steyn

If Jantjies's story was about surprise, Steyn's was about sustained excellence. The 36-year-old Hollywood AC runner has made the Two Oceans her personal stage, and this seventh title moved her clear of all previous records for consecutive wins at the event.

Steyn passed through the marathon mark in 2:34:33 before accelerating on the descent into Cape Town, pulling away from Kenya's Margaret Jepchumba to win by almost six minutes. Jepchumba finished second in 3:33:31, with Zimbabwe's Nobuhle Nobukhosi Tshuma third in 3:38:34.

"I didn't break the record but I'm still happy with my race and am really happy with my time," Steyn said. At 36, she gave little indication of slowing down, leaving open the very real possibility of an eighth title in 2027.

The bigger picture

The Two Oceans is often called the world's most beautiful marathon — 56 kilometres along the Cape Peninsula coast, over Chapman's Peak, through Constantia Nek, and back into the southern suburbs of Cape Town. Cloudy skies and mild temperatures of around 20°C made for near-perfect racing conditions.

For South African running, this was a day to savour. Both winners were home-grown, and the depth of the men's field — with the top three separated by less than two minutes — suggests the local ultra scene is in rude health.

For anyone who has ever lined up at Two Oceans or dreamed of doing so, Jantjies's winning pace works out to roughly 5:38 per kilometre over 56km and 600m of climbing. A reminder that "ultra pace" is still blazingly fast when sustained over this kind of terrain.