By Stephen Granger
The Two Oceans marathon, to be run over 56km on Saturday, is shaping up as a classic confrontation between the pedigree distance racers and the ultra-marathon work-horses.
While the Comrades marathon, just short of 90km, strongly favours the latter, the greatest race in the Cape is short enough to attract some of the stars over shorter distances.
No doubt the record prize money of R150 000 apiece to the male and female winners played a role in bringing the likes of Abner Chipu, Mluleki Nobanda, Nollies du Toit and Simona Staicu to the Two Oceans starting line.
The question is whether they will have the strength to last the distance over some of the city's classic hill climbs, including Ou Kaapse Weg and Constantia Nek.
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Were the race run over 42km, few would bet against one of Chipu and Nobanda.
Johannesburg's Chipu has competed with considerable success internationally over distances ranging from 10km to the marathon. His gold medal in the SA half-marathon championships in 61min 50sec in 2001 and runner-up place in the Philadelphia 21km last year clearly underline his ability.
Nobanda is of similar ilk, with a 10th place in the world half-marathon championships in 1999 (62:17) as well as 10km and marathon bests of 28:19 and 2:12:13 respectively to add weight to the claims of the 2003 Cape Town half-marathon champion.
But a lot can happen in those last 14km, which is where the "work-horses" will make their challenge.
Two-time Comrades winner and 2000 Two Oceans runner-up Vladimir Kotov's focus is on the Comrades in June, but he is a class ultra-runner.
Willie Mtolo, one of South Africa's best-loved athletes, won the Two Oceans in 1990 in 3:10:51 and returned more than a decade later to place third last year. He would like nothing better than to repeat his 1990 victory on Saturday and, at 38, still has the form to do so.
But last year's winner, Simon Mphulanyane, will be hard to beat. Boasting a marathon best of 2:10:56, he has both the speed and the strength to retain his title after a magnificent debut win in 3:09:42 last year - the fastest time since Thompson Magawana's record run in 1988.
Similarly, it will take a special performance to prevent 26-year-old Russian Natalina Volgina from retaining her title in the women's race. She had a great 2002, with a 6:17:26 second place in the Comrades coming after her brilliant Two Oceans victory in 3:38:02. She also won the Bangkok marathon.
If the talented German Maria Bak, who boasts a first, two seconds and a third in the Two Oceans, or Russian Elvira Kolpakova, the world's No 1 ultra-runner in 2001 after winning both the Comrades and the world 100km, cannot outrun Volgina, it could be the Hungarian Staicu who succeeds.
While she will make her ultra-marathon debut, she is the fastest marathon athlete in the women's field with a personal best of 2:29:59, achieved last year, to go with an impressive 70:11 half-marathon best and a successful northern winter of cross-country racing under her belt.
Local Mr Price club-mates Nollies du Toit and Kathleen Shuttleworth have also run their ultra-marathon debut after successful careers over sub-marathon distances and could well place in the top five.
A record of 14 236 runners from around the globe will take part on Saturday in both the 56km and half-marathon. With large numbers expected in tomorrow's "Marafuns" over various distances, it is expected to be another great running weekend in the Cape.
- This article was originally published on page 0 of Cape Times on April 17, 2003
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