Two Oceans severely contravened their permit conditions with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) at this year’s half marathon by taking in almost 21,000 entries when their permit only allowed 17,000. They had previously done the same at the 2019 ultra marathon and relations with CoCT have been strained ever since. The permit limits are there for reasons of safety and violating them raises issues of negligence and incompetence.
What happens when safety rules are flouted? Here’s an example from Belinda Steyn. Steyn, Financial Director of The Christie Group (who manage a large number of Spar and SuperSpar stores across Mpumalanga) was badly injured during the race. A month later and the injury is still seriously impacting her personal and professional life. She is waiting to find out whether she will need to undergo shoulder replacement surgery.
The below letter was sent to Two Oceans over a month ago on 6 April and she has still had no response, once again bringing into question whether the board has taken any accountability for the litany of 2025 issues or are just paying lip service to the runners.
Dear Organizers,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing to formally notify you of an unfortunate incident that occurred during the Two Oceans Half Marathon held on the 6th of April 2025. I participated in the race under the name B Steyn, Seeding J, Asa number: P3013, Race Number 64618, with the original start time of 06:39 before adjustments were made on the day.
Approximately 5 kilometers into the race, I was pushed from behind by a fellow participant—a female runner—which caused me to fall forward. Immediately upon impact, I felt intense pain in my left arm, had small rocks embedded in my hands, and experienced discomfort in my left ribs. Despite this, I managed to finish the race, holding my left arm close to my body due to the increasing pain. I completed the race at 09:50.
On Monday the 7th of April 2025 i was examined by Dr Pienaar in Hermanus, who recommended x-rays, at a later stage, due to the swelling of the left arm and shoulder.
Upon returning to Nelspruit (my hometown) on the 10th of April, I sought medical attention due to the worsening pain and visible discoloration (deep blue) in my arm. X-rays were taken, and I was informed that my shoulder was broken. I was then referred to Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. P.C.J. van Rooyen, who performed surgery on the 14th of April 2025. The diagnosis revealed a scattered shoulder, and we are currently awaiting a reassessment in three weeks to determine the progress of the shoulder.
Attached to this email, you will find copies of the X-rays for reference. Full reports from the Radiologist and Orthopaedic Dr. will follow.
I am also available to provide any additional documentation or contact details for Dr. P.C.J. van Rooyen, should you require further medical insight.
This injury has left me unable to run for the foreseeable future, and I respectfully request that a formal investigation be conducted into the incident. I also want to raise a concern regarding the overcrowding throughout the race this year. This was my third Two Oceans Marathon, and the level of congestion on the route was significantly higher than in previous years, contributing to an unsafe environment.
Your urgent attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated. I trust that the safety of all participants is a top priority and hope that steps will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Thank you in advance for your time and support. Please feel free to reach out to me or Dr. van Rooyen should you need any additional information.
Warm regards
I checked in with Belinda this morning (9 May) as to whether she’d heard anything yet, “Hi Stuart still not a word from 2 Oceans. I am seeing the specialist on Thursday for the assessment. I still have 4 weeks to go before we will be able to see if a replacement will be necessary. Lets pray this will not be happening. This has been a terrible 4 weeks. Please continue to put all the accidents at 2 Oceans to an end. I know of 4 incidents with Nelspruit athletes. Blessings and thank you.”
After her initial email, I had given Belinda the direct email addresses of Chairperson Toni Cavanagh, Vice Chair Angelo Kriger and race manager Hilton Kearns. Sadly this still brought crickets with Belinda confirming, “Yes I have forwarded the mail to all the names you gave me. Not even an acknowledgement from them.”
In official court documentation, Chairperson Toni Cavanagh still refers to Two Oceans contravening the CoCT’s permit conditions as “allegations” and seems to be in denial about the issue, “even if Mr Mann were correct in identifying technical non-compliance, and no such concession is made, that would not entitle him to publish defamatory material about the individuals involved.”
The contravention of the CoCT’s permit and the serious implications thereof to the future of the event have been well documented in the mainstream media. Cavanagh’s affidavit statements are despite the very clear response I received from the CoCT as to the seriousness of this issue:
“The City’s Events Permitting Office has been able to confirm that at the Two Oceans Marathon race management allowed more participants to take part in the half marathon on Sunday, 6 April than what was approved in the official permit, which is in contravention of the Events By-law. The contravention of stipulated permit conditions 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. The City is following due process and the Two Oceans Marathon NPC was notified this morning. The Events permitting Office will also be taking action on the breach of permit conditions as stipulated in the Events By-Law.” (Luthando Tyhalibongo, Spokesperson for the City of Cape Town)
READ MORE: Where did all the medals go? (Board greed threatens future of Two Oceans)
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Praying for her speedy and complete recovery.
Issues with TTOM aside: Perhaps you can also enlighten us as to how does this tie into the issues with ASA and its legal liability (current standing given its deregistration) – insurance for us as runners participating in events in the event something like this happens? What support does one get, and from whom in terms of ASA or the provincial athletics body? – certainly this person being a club member who has an annual license.
After Ministry intervention, ASA was re-registered (so at least that’s not a factor). There is supposed to be medical support for licensed runners injured during a race. I know WPA has additional cover that also includes cover on training runs. In addition, the event also takes out cover. What Belinda’s recourse is and how she gets it is another questions. A good start would be for Two Oceans to reply to her emails.
There appears to be a gap between their apparant concern regarding runner safety and actual concern for runners safety.
At least one of them could have acknowledged receipt of the email, and offered some sympathy. It like they are frying to hide, but there is nowhere to go, especially if they have a court case planned. In the High Court nog al.
Sad state of affairs. I Really hope all that are injured will engage WPA , ASA & TOM.
It can’t be that injured runners cannot be helped? I’m sure that all paid up club runners are insured by their home Athletic Province?
Hi Stuart,
I just wanted to personally thank you for standing up for all the runners who took part in the Two Oceans Half Marathon, especially those who were injured. Your voice has brought light to a situation that needed it, and your bravery has not gone unseen.
My mom, Belinda Steyn, was one of those affected. I flew to Nelspruit for three weeks to help her after her operation, leaving my husband and son behind in Hermanus. It’s been a challenging time, but knowing that someone like you is speaking up gives us strength and hope.
We are praying for you—that every unrighteous word or action spoken against you will be stopped in Jesus’ Mighty Name. May you be blessed and protected for the courage and integrity you’ve shown.
With heartfelt thanks,
Annchen Dippenaar
I’m not affiliated at all with TOM committee at all but I ran half for the second time this year.
Yes there were more runners than last year. Both years I saw many runners fall, this year I saw two paticularly bad ones, this was the first time I stopped to make sure the runners were OK before carrying on. one down Constantia where fellow runner was bleeding so I gave him my wet wipes so that he could clean himself and stop bleeding until he came to the medical tent/ water point. The second episode was as we came towards the end at around 18km mark when an elderly gentleman tripped on his own feet and almost took me down with him… Once again I stopped went back and asked him if he was OK and made sure that he was before I carried on.. Suffice to say I also saw the medics attempting resuscitation of the lady that sadly passed away..
I’m sorry about your injury and I wish you all the best as you recover.
However, I’m confused as what is TOM’s team expected to do here?
When we enter this race, it was already on their website that the entries would be 17k, so we all knew this would be a congested race. Everyone that had done this race before, was warning others to watch out for cats eyes etc.
We also sign an indemnity when we enter the race that the organising committee will not be liable for any injuries etc
Two oceans had plenty of things that went haywire this year, but surely we cannot be holding them accountable for injuries that occurred during the run itself?