Chartering an Accountant: An Interview with Two Oceans Legend Lucille Damon

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Lucille Damon was the first woman to earn a triple Blue Number at the Two Oceans ultra marathon and she did so in style with 30 consecutive finishes from 1990 to 2019. Lucille thought she was done with the ultra after Covid but, after running the half marathon post-Covid in 2022, she realised that she preferred the longer Two Oceans route (which includes some actual views of the ocean) and has added another two voyages to her count.

A full audit of Lucille’s Two Oceans general ledger shows that she’s accrued 32 ultra marathon medals (with a best time of 4:27:56 on her 10th run in 1999) and the solitary 2022 half marathon. After the 2025 event, Lucille and Sharon Bosch jointly hold the ladies record Two Oceans ultra finishes – and just like her record, Lucille proved difficult to track down.

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TOM 2025 Reader Letters: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

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Good day Stuart,

My name is Tsholo.
I started running in 2014, and since then, I’ve completed Comrades five times and do about 3 – 4 Ultras per year. This year, I took on the Two Oceans Ultra — a race I had long admired — but I left feeling bitterly disappointed by the experience, especially the handling of water stations and half marathon short medals. 

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TOM 2025 Reader Letters: The Kindness of Strangers

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Good day,

I was privileged to support runners at 26km and just before 47km during the Two Oceans Ultra — and what I witnessed left me deeply moved.

At 26km, runners were asking for food, salt, and spray etc. All was relatively good.

But at 47km, the sight was heartbreaking. Runners were desperate for water – pleading at every supporter they saw. Even the supporters adjacent to us were asking us for water, as runners were desperately also asking them for water.

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TOM 2025 Reader Letters: Water Woes Ignored in 2024, Worse in 2025

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The Two Oceans organisers failed to address problems with the 2024 Two Oceans water tables, which were arguably far worse in 2025 . Fortunately the impending ‘heatwave’ warning never materialised. Kerryne tried to contact the organisers on several occasions but was ignored.
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TOM 2025 Stories: A Medal of Honour

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Ronnie is a member of Hangklip Athletic Club in Bettys Bay and the story revolves around clubmate Johan le Roux who had recently moved to the small holiday village after going into early retirement. Health related issues had meant Johan had to leave his post of 21 years as the principal of the Black Rock Primary School in the Northern Cape.

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TOM 2025 Reader Letters: Casualties of Overcrowding

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TOM 2025 Reader Letters: Lucky’s luck runs out with half marathon water stations

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Seasoned runner ends up in medical tent with dehydration after half marathon

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Who’s the Bosch? (Two Oceans’ record breaking matriarch)

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Whilst much has been written about the men who’ve run the most Two Oceans and Comrades ultra marathons, very little attention has been given to the women. These record breaking ladies tend to fly under the radar and get the job done without fuss, fanfare or media attention. It seems that it’s not just art but also ultra marathon running that imitates life.

There are just three women who’ve run the Two Oceans Marathon 30 times or more and in 2025 a new record for most female finishes was set and is held jointly by Sharon Bosch and Lucille Damon with 32 completed voyages.

All female runners with 24 or more finishes at the Two Oceans ultra marathon (note: this table excludes those who ran their 24th ultra in 2025).
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Bean there, run that (Taylor van Wyk’s first half marathon at Two Oceans)

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I am privileged to share the story of Taylor ‘Bean’ van Wyk (or should that be ‘spilling the beans’) about his debut half marathon at this year’s Two Oceans.

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Two Oceans goes the legal route (Cavanagh’s last stand)

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Doing what I do and writing what I write about, I receive sporadic legal letters. Fortunately, I have a fantastic attorney in Mark Leathers who dispatches the attempted ‘shake downs’ with the disdain that they deserve.

I connected with Mark during the Comrades crisis following the 2024 event when he offered his services to me on a pro bono basis in the fight against the attempted capture of the Comrades Marathon. He was elected to the CMA Board at the November 2024 AGM and his fellow Board members subsequently elected him their Vice Chairperson. Having Mark in my corner lets me sleep peacefully at night.

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