Sometimes you see a person in a senior position and wonder how they got there. This article takes a look into Toni Cavanagh’s rise to Chairperson of the Two Oceans Marathon and the implications for the event.
Cavanagh’s Two Oceans career began in 2015 with a 3:01:46 finish in the half marathon and she followed this up with a further three half marathons in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She recorded her best time, 2:45:31, in 2017. Although she entered the half marathon from 2022 to 2024, Cavanagh did not make it to the start line. Also of interest is that from 2018 onwards she was not a licensed athlete and entered with a temporary license.
Whilst her Two Oceans running CV may not be very impressive, Cavanagh has spoken about her chronic illness and should be applauded for getting out there and participating. Many people would scoff at someone struggling through a 3-hour half marathon (which equates to an average pace of 8:32/km) but for those with limited athletic ability and health issues, the Two Oceans half marathon is their Comrades. Successfully completing a half marathon is a lifetime achievement for many and there are countless truly inspirational stories to be found at the back of the back.
Note: I was corrected five months after publishing this article that the half marathon did in fact have three separate starts in the years that Cavanagh ran. This makes her time taken to cross the start line a lot more plausible. However, I do have 100% unequivocal proof that Cavanagh submitted an incorrect (faster) qualifier for at least one of the events.
However, what is concerning from Cavanagh’s results is the time it took for her to cross the start line. Before Covid, both the Two Oceans ultra and half marathons had a single, mass start. The Two Oceans half marathon was a sold out event during Cavanagh’s running days and, with around 15,000 starters each year, seeded batches ensured that congestion at the start was minimised. Runners submit their best half marathon time over the previous year (or 10km time if they have not run a half marathon) and that ensures that the fastest runners are seeded at the front and the slowest at the back.
Those right at the back of the field would expect to take somewhere between 7 and 10 minutes to cross the start line. Cavanagh however managed to cross the start line in 45 seconds in 2016, 1:09 in 2015 and 1:31 in 2017. This means that Cavanagh either lied about her running abilities when submitting her qualification time or managed to illegally enter a much faster batch than her seeding allowed. The latter is a type of cheating known as being a ‘suppository’ – so called because it involves causing a stink by pushing through from behind into places they don’t belong.
This was long before Cavanagh had designs on the Two Oceans Board so she wasn’t given any special ‘front of the pack’ favours as a VIP. Now I have been accused of ‘taking out the chainsaw’ when covering the miscreants in the running community so let me replace it with a hedge trimmer in this circumstance and say that perhaps because Cavanagh is an occasional runner she can be excused for not knowing basic running etiquette. I have seen many entitled 10min/km walkers line up at the front of races in the past with the excuse that ‘we paid the same entrance fee as everyone else’.
Perhaps Cavanagh eventually learned some running manners as she took a lot longer, 5:36, to cross the start line in the last of her half marathon in 2019. Further credence that a lack of understanding of basic runner etiquette is a valid excuse for Cavanagh’s behaviour is that she was spotted wearing the official 2023 Two Oceans ultra marathon race shirt despite never having even entered the ultra marathon. This would be a complete no-no for seasoned runners. Fortunately there is no longer any Blue Number Club (BNC) gear available for sale at the expo so no one needs to educate our errant Chair that you certainly should not even think of adding BNC items to your wardrobe unless you’ve completed the ultra or half ten times or more.
Now just in case a certain journalist reads this and loses his bananas again, this back story is important and in the public interest because it highlights just how impressive the rise to prominence of the top job at the world’s second largest ultra marathon and South Africa’s largest half marathon is. For an occasional back-of-the-pack plodder, oblivious to the most basic runner etiquette, to take charge of a multi-million rand company and household brand name is a virtual rags to riches story that deserves accolades.
Backstory over, we now transition to the final day of the 2023 Two Oceans expo when Cavanagh arrives to collect her race pack and finds that they have run out of ladies shirts and goodie bags…
There were about 30,000 runners who were very unhappy with the shirts that they received at this year’s Two Oceans expo so they can surely empathise with Toni’s torment when she arrived to collect her race pack before Two Oceans 2023 and they did not have her size.
Cavanagh quickly took to social media, loudly complaining that, “OK I wasn’t going to rant but this is fudging ridiculous!” Not only were there no ladies’ shirts but they had also run out of goodie bags (something else many Two Oceans 2025 entrants can emphasise with – and in those days you got more than a women’s roll-on deodorant in your race pack so you had something to be aggrieved about). This auntie was mad and she let Facebook know, “I DON’T CARE THAT I ARRIVED ON THE LAST DAY”.
It sounds like the expo was a terrible and traumatic experience for Cavanagh, “The service I received was shocking. Simply handed my envelope and left standing waiting until I asked where my tshirt and goodie bag was. Only to be treated like I was asking for a damn handout !!!”.
Two Oceans entries are not cheap. This year’s prices ranged from R840 for local and R3080 for international runners in the ultra and from R450 to R2160 for the half marathon. You can understand Cavanagh being “pissed off” and demanding, “I paid FULL price I expect FULL service!”
Notably a free shirt was included in the 2023 half marathon entry fee but was excluded in 2025 with half marathon runners needing to fork out an additional R220 if they wanted an official race shirt this year.
What is surprising, given Toni’s tumultuous rantings, is that she never actually ran the 2023 race. However, hedge trimmers once again in use here, I think we should excuse this faux pas as we’ve established that Cavanagh has not spent enough time with fellow runners on the road to learn the protocols, decorum and etiquette that more experienced runners would have picked up. As an unlicensed runner, Cavanagh also did not have access to the guidance and experience of wild old heads at a running club to provide some mentorship.
Fortunately, having not run the half marathon on the weekend, Cavanagh still had fresh legs and more than enough energy to march into the Two Oceans offices in Diep River the following week to seek restitution. This Karen strutted through the doors, no doubt uttering the notorious phrase, “I want to speak to the manager.”
Cavanagh stomped into race manager Hilton Kearns’ office. Little did Kearns know that he was talking to his future boss when our heroine shared her, “heartfelt grievances to the TTOM Board looking to understand why we as athletes , the primary stakeholder; have for the past few years been systematically overlooked in favour of title and other sponsors demands, the need to meet Gold Label Status requirements and host elite athletes when it is in fact us, the novice Athlete collective who make this the premier event that it is.”
Speaking like a true lady of the people, Cavanagh continued her sermon on runner rights, “making sure that I’m conveying not only my own sentiment, but that of what I believe every novice runner experiences and expects when entering a premier event such as Two Oceans. This is not just a race. That this event is a Beacon, a goal, a challenge to be overcome. A victory over life’s challenges, run for ones self, for family and friends, past present and future. That this is an event looked forward to and planned for for months, for years. One that unites family and friends.”
If Hollywood decides to make a movie about Cavanagh’s life, this is the speech that will win Beyoncé the Oscar.
There was a new sheriff in town. Toni Cavanagh showed Kearns and the Two Oceans team who was boss and strutted out of the Two Oceans office with a spring in her step and a shirt from a race she had not run.
Having successfully completed mission ‘find my shirt’, Cavanagh knew she was capable of far greater feats. With renewed confidence, Cavanagh knew she was destined for greatness and nothing could stand in her way. The sky was the limit and she was ready to take Two Oceans to new and, as of yet, unexplored depths.
Despite not being a licensed runner, Cavanagh was able to get herself nominated and elected to the Two Oceans Board later that year at the AGM. Cavanagh would stamp her mark on the 2024 event by taking charge of that year’s expo. Credit where it is due. Personally, I did think that the 2024 expo appeared to be well organised. It should also be mentioned that they had to make some last minute changes and remove tents that were erected outside because of high winds. Cavanagh and her team managed to pull this off.
When I was chatting to sources on the Board whilst investigating the 2024 cutoff scandal and digimag debacle, it was mentioned to me that Toni Cavanagh was ‘one of the senior Board members’ and part of the inner triangle consisting of Cavanagh, Ilse de Wet and Liezel Short (Chair and Vice Chair respectively, neither of whom stood for re-election after the 2024 event).
The Two Oceans Board consists of four appointed members from Celtic Harriers (the event’s founding club and brand owners), four appointed members from Western Province Athletics (WPA) and four members voted in by ‘the floor’ (Blue Number Club members are eligible to vote and each WPA running club has one vote). Cavanagh is part of the latter group. Board members serve a period of two years so Cavanagh did not have to stand for re-election in 2024 but several new Board members were elected and appointed.
After the 2024 AGM, the new Board elected their Chair and Vice Chair. There were two nominations for the Chair position, Toni Cavanagh and Allan Ryninks. Ryninks has been a long serving member of the Board and has run 34 Two Oceans ultras with 13 silvers and a best time of 3:27:41. He is in the old school, ‘Chet Sainsbury’ mode of thinking and race organisation. However, according to well-placed sources that I’ve spoken to, most of the Board felt that ‘new ideas and fresh thoughts’ were needed for the event resulting in most of the Board voting for Cavanagh.
When I saw the announcement of the new Board, I decided to take a conciliatory approach and sent the below letter congratulating the Chair and Vice Chair on their appointments and offered to review the cutoffs for free and confidentially (i.e. off social media). The offer was politely rejected. I know that Norrie Williamson, the most experienced technical athletics official in South Africa, also offered his services for free in another domain but was also spurned.
Around the same time, I was rather perturbed to get a tip off that the press release announcing the new Chair contained a number of embellishments and inaccuracies relating to the professional and running credentials of the new Chair. I therefore sent the below ‘right of reply’ list of questions directly to Cavanagh which went unanswered.
I published the article covering Cavanagh’s embellished CV on 11 December 2024. I would have expected some reaction from honest Board members. However, I have been told that when Board members are asked about the embellished CV, their standard reply is, “That question does not dignify a response.” Nevertheless, despite the article being read tens of thousands of times, not one person has notified me of a missing marathon or trail ultra to add to Cavanagh’s credentials. The Board, or the majority thereof, obviously have no problem being led by a liar.
Once again, Cavanagh should be applauded, her Karen skills are clearly strong enough to subdue an entire Board of nine men and two women into quiet acquiescence. There has not been a peep from anyone before or since on Cavanagh’s embellished claims and credentials.
As the saying goes, “Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.” Cavanagh wanted the title, the status and the prestige – she has no recourse crying when the script gets messy. There is no doubt that 2023 Toni Cavanagh will agree with this sentiment of vocal advocacy, “[It’s] unacceptable and honestly, I think it’s time the principle stakeholders (athletes) speak up!”
Sadly, it is us the runner that bears the brunt of a lack of experience, expertise and ability. Again, the words of 2023 Toni Cavanagh commenting on the Two Oceans organisers provides sage insight, “[It’s a] wonderous wonder. [The Board is] Operating above their skills level.”
Apart from a huge number of organisational problems (which include but are not limited to zero response to questions and enquiries from runners, runners not being refunded for substitutions, unanswered phone lines, unpopular shirt designs, incorrect shirt sizes, goodie bags and shirts running out, goodie bags with hardly any goodies in them, unhappy expo vendors who made a loss, no signage and long walks to the expo, and thousands of half marathon runners not getting a medal) the more serious issues surround safety at the various events.
The trail races on the Friday were unmarked, unmarshalled and no GPX file was provided. The 12km entry level trail run was also far too technical for the type of runner it was trying to attract. The most serious and negligent issue was that the safety emergency number was out of service. According to experts involved in the trail events, the safety issues were serious enough that, “The event should not have been allowed to start.” There was one very serious injury that could have proved fatal (the apparent negligence from the organisers is detailed by Catherine Robbertse in the screen cap below).
Despite issuing a ‘heatwave’ warning, the organisers also shirked on water tables in both the ultra and half marathons. According to ASA and WPA rules there should be a minimum of one table every 3km (and most races will have them every 2km or less when expecting hot conditions). There was just one table in the first 9km in both the half and ultra marathons. During a crucial six kilometre stretch between 38.5 and 44.5km in the ultra there was no water available and, during this and other sections of the race, runners had to beg for fluid from bystanders and club supporters.
The water tables themselves were chaotic and unable to handle the volume of runners (a concern which was raised in 2023 and 2024 but has still not been addressed). This resulted in some runners not wanting to ‘lose time’ and skipping the early water tables thereby posing a health and safety risk. Those that did want water had to wait, sometimes for minutes, and jostle and fight to get a few sips of water.
Furthermore, the half marathon was issued a permit by the City of Cape Town (CoCT) for 17,000 runners. However, the organisers accepted just under 21,000 entries and had well over 18,000 starters. The CoCT has already started instituting proceedings against the Two Oceans NPC for serious and flagrant contraventions of their permit conditions which “places at risk the safety of people taking part in events and disregards the amount of work behind the scenes in terms of the necessary logistics and safety measures.” There is a real risk that the repercussion of this contravention is that the event will not take place in 2026*.
* I have confirmed with the City of Cape Town that the ultra marathon was within their permit restrictions. They were allowed 14,000 runners and took 13,446 entries (with 12,179 starters).
READ MORE: Where did all the medals go? (Board greed threatens future of Two Oceans)
As for those responsible for what was undoubtedly the worst organised Two Oceans in the event’s 54-year history, once again we should pay credence to the words of 2023 Toni Cavanagh, “Time for a vote of no confidence.”
The sheer volume of issues and complaints from runners on social media voicing credible concerns resulted in Celtic Harriers, the founding club and owners of the Two Oceans brand, to issue the below statement.
Cavanagh has had her fun. She has successfully managed to plummet Two Oceans to previously uncharted depths. People like Cavanagh shouldn’t go chasing waterfalls (or oceans for that matter), they should stick to the rivers and the lakes that they’re used to. There are plenty of rivers and lakes on the golf course, hopefully Cavanagh will limit her bright ideas to the locker room and restrict her rantings to the sheltered bunkers of Facebook. It’s time for a serious intervention. Hopefully Two Oceans can survive the Cavanagh Chairpersonship.
However, if you don’t want to wait for relevant Board members to do the right thing and resign or don’t have the patience for due process from Celtic Harriers and the City of Cape Town to take effect – and if you are one of the thousands of devoted Two Oceans runners with a shirt that won’t fit your five-year-old or arrived at the expo after the goodie bags ran out or finished in the last 30 minutes of the half marathon and didn’t get a medal or are just aggrieved after the worst organised Two Oceans ever… then take a trip to 125 Main Road, Bergvliet, march into the Two Oceans offices and demand to “Speak to the manager.”
It’s been done before. But just be careful. This is a cautionary tale. Assuming that the City of Cape Town allows the 2026 event to take place and issues the permits, there will almost certainly be a need for a new Chair. It would be dangerous to give this position to a walk-in off the street. Let’s hope the position is filled by someone with the skills, aptitude and ability to restore the dignity of the Two Oceans Marathon.
Afterword: Who would be a Board member?
Being a Board member is a tough position. It is unpaid and involves the sacrifice of a great deal of personal time. It’s one of those jobs that when you do everything right no one notices and when you do it wrong it’s likely to result in a social media furore. However, it does come with a level of prestige, limelight and media attention for those that crave that kind of thing and the sense of self-satisfaction for those that want to give something back to the running community.
I have seen the former Vice Chair, Liezel Short, reply to complaints on social media suggesting that those moaning should attend the AGM and ‘stand for the Board’. This is terrible advice. If you are at a restaurant and receive terrible food or service you are entitled to complain. However, just because you frequently eat at restaurants does not mean that you are qualified to go into the kitchen and run the restaurant.
The same is true for Board positions. Organising an event like the Two Oceans requires a skilled Board with the right level of experience (both as a runner and race organiser) and complementary abilities. The worst possible outcome would be to replace unqualified amateurs with a new set of unqualified amateurs based on their ability to convey their frustrations on social media.
It is also not about ‘working hard’. Working hard is the easy bit. It’s about getting results. If you’re working hard and not getting the results then maybe being a Board member on the largest running weekend in South Africa is not for you.
Here’s hoping that those standing for election or appointed by Celtics and WPA at the Two Oceans AGM later this year have both the desire and ability to serve the Two Oceans runner and restore the event to its former glory.
I would also like to take time to acknowledge those Board members who do put the runners first and have tried to stand up to ineptitude and incompetence.
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Stuart, thank you so much for this detailed accurate report of the 2025 Two Oceans Marathon.
In my 40 years of involvement (and you are most welcome to check my records 👌😉) with the Two Oceans either running the Ultra, the Half, fun runs or assisting when I was not able to run due to injuries, I have never seen Two Oceans incur so many problem areas from the Expo right through to the Final cutoff of the Half Marathon.
It is so sad to see how low this iconic South African race has plummeted. 😢
I’d really love to see:
*the communication chain that led to the half marathon route and starting change at 2am.
* the decision process that allowed so many entries over the permit to be sold for the half.
Thank you Stuart!
Another insightful piece, Stuart. You have highlighted the major problems with both races.
A couple of observations from my side, regarding the Half Marathon on the day –
1) The L batch seeding wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be – I just made sure that I started my watch on the “go, go, go” (I don’t understand why they can’t just use an air horn). Whilst I missed my plan “A” goal, time-wise, that was all down to me rather than any problem with the race. I made my plan “B” goal time. So apart from the ridiculously late notification of the change of start times for the Half Marathon, the execution of the batch starts actually seemed to go well.
2) I think that it was the same last year as this year regarding only one water point before the next at 9 Kms, but I seem to recall two water points on the highway in years gone by (i.e. every 3 Kms) – the first was as we crested the top of Edinburgh Drive, the next at the flyover over Constantia Main Road. I wonder if anyone can confirm my memory of this. If I am correct, why did they do away with this?
3) My experience of the water points wasn’t that bad. I tend to drink only the energy drink on a half marathon, where it is available, and there was no shortage. The water points did seem to me to be long enough. However, as an experienced runner, I find that I don’t need to take a lot of fluid in on a half marathon, so I maybe being unfair to less experienced runners.
4) My T-shirt is now hanging in the cupboard with every Two Oceans Half Marathon T-shirt since 2012 and it is definitely the least inspiring, but I will still wear it!
5) I started very close to the start banner. My race distance registered as 21,24 Kms at the finish. So I am not sure what happened to the bit that was cut out of the Half Marathon above Kirstenbosch because of the “heat”. I still did a Half Marathon distance. (Last year, with that bit in, I measured the course as 21,32 Kms. ) I know that the Garmin is not that accurate, but other runners commented to me that they felt that the course was a half marathon distance without the dogleg. However, I presume that the course has been properly measured and certified, so it may just be a consequence of how wide the roads are in some parts.
6) Maybe I am just getting jaded with old age, but I can live with my experience of the Half Marathon. I am really there to support my son on the Ultra – I do the Half because I am there. So what really upsets me is that there seems to be a simple lack of “respect” for the gravitas that the Ultra holds in the world of running and its importance in the South African running calendar. For serious ultra runners, it is either a hugely important race in its own right or as a build up to Comrades – I used it as my “long run” before the, much earlier than usual, Comrades in 1995, the year of the World Cup Rugby in South Africa. The over-subscription of the entries in the Half is indicative of a lack of focus of what the weekend should be about, which is the Ultra. The Half Marathon seems to have “stolen the limelight” in the minds of the organisers – it is perceived as a “money spinner”, but, if they are not careful, mismanagement of the Half Marathon could lead to the demise of both races, bringing down the Ultra with it. It is nice to have the Half, which, as I understood it, was added to provide a race for partners, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, sons and daughters of those who were running the Ultra. But the Half Marathon is NOT the Worlds Most Beautiful Marathon nor should successful participants be going around saying that they have finished the Two Oceans Marathon – it is just another half marathon!
I found the EXPO to be strange ito having REG so far after walking through EXPO. I was so focused on the long walk to REG, which was extremely well organised, to get my pack. Thereafter ushers wanted me to exit but i had to insist on walking back through the EXPO – Fri night.
Race was packed. 21 km. My seeding was not so bad. Bottlenecks at circle in Newlands and SouthernX was dreadful. Elbowed more than i can remember (too many runners). I expected water at bottom of Wynberg/ Constantia Hill – none this time. I had my gels though.
Except for the water station issue, they made up for it after that with enough water points. I had a super race. My slowest time in three half- marathons but really enjoyed it. Got my medal. Fin the race. It was what mattered (i was sorry to hear some fin without a medal).
Being a blue club member I am saddened that the race has deteriorated to that level.
Running man, thank you for an exceptionally well written article highlighting the disgusting behavior and actual person herself. She needs to be criminally charged for all the lies she has told on her CV and elsewhere and kicked off the board immediately never to be allowed to ever participate in in any way, shape or form in the Two Oceans event.
She’s a disgrace to the running community and all clubs should denounce her in every way.
We don’t want to see an iconic SA sporting event disappear off our calender due to 1 very disgusting female
Does she still have a job?
It’s very sad to hear of the problems occurring now and the previous few years in the T.O.M. As a W.P A. Board member in the mid 2000’s as well as a senior race technical official and race referee, we never had these problems at the T.O M. Our board, referees, technical officials and T.O.M. organizers were well well qualified to perform their duties. All of us were either current or ex runners or administrators or
both. It’s sad for road runners to now hear this unsettling news.
Maybe it is time to focus on the Ultra again…..this is what this race was all about. It’s become a running buffet
filled with gluttony of all you can run and this has never sat well with me. Mr Chet Sainsbury’s organisation along with his wife was a high standard and bar set.
Long live the world’s most beautiful marathon….just not the iteration it has become…along with Comrades too. If the runners would boycott both races this would send the intended message. I don’t see this happening…I will keep to running with my best friend on the trails and road wearing bygone two oceans running tops of superior quality I believe and love in ignorant bliss of the shit show this has manifested into…
My unqualified opinion …keep it simple stupid
I believe the criteria for appointing board members needs to be known. Just because someone hasn’t run an ultra marathon doesn’t mean they don’t know what they are doing. On soccer boards there are people who have never played soccer but are brilliant board members and take charge and deliver because they are paid for it. Why can’t TTom do the same?
One thing I haven’t heard talked about but that really bothered me, was the treatment of the wheelchair elites at the start of the Ultra. To me (standing a bit further back at H batch) it looked like they were treated as an afterthought – In the middle of the speeches by the sponsors and whatever, they were hurriedly told to get going, without even participating in the national anthem or hearing the start gun/cannon. There was also no mention of the winners of the wheelchair athletes on the TTOM social media (none that I could see at least). Surely this isn’t how we are supposed to treat disabled athletes?
Thank you for another beautiful researched article, I hope the comrades organisers and board are taking notes and preparing for a great day in June.