This currently unidentified man running in Nicke van Wyk’s 2026 Two Oceans half marathon race number is officially the first person to be bust by AI for bib banditting. I have contacted van Wyk to let her know about her ‘world first’ but have not received a response at the time of writing. I would of course like to get the name of the man who is running in her number as well.

Nicke van Wyk narrowly beat out Terysha Naiker and Kate Keightley-Smith for the honour. However, van Wyk’s bandit can be proud that he was not only the first but also the most masculine bandit on the podium with a 99% gender swap probability compared to 95% for Naicker’s and 92% for Kate Keightley-Smith’s bandits.

As a point of comparison, two of the original Braless Brahs, Luke Jacobs and Morgan Newman, both scored 99% probabilities. This will no doubt result in a braless chest bump of delight the next time they run together.

READ MORE: Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online

READ MORE: Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit

The AI tool was built as a proof of concept by Francois Botha. Francois started running in 2019 when his wife fell pregnant, “Everybody warned me that my life would be over once children arrive and I wanted to complete at least one marathon before then. Contrary to expectations my life didn’t end after all and I continued running. 4 Two Oceans, 2 Comrades (11:47 down, 9:58 up – yay, hill sprints!) and I guess about 20 marathons in total.”

Francois has helped me out with some technical support and race result scraping in the past. After the Brahgate story broke, Francois chimed in with one of his “regular facetious comments that with enough photos and computing power, AI should be able to catch these people.” The following day he WhatsApped me some screenshots of “something he was playing around with” and said he “had an itch to scratch”.

The terrible Cape Town weather after this year’s Two Oceans (where Francois scraped home with a perfectly paced 6h57) also helped, “AI, for all its faults, is very good at processing large amounts of data quickly and this was the perfect problem. Then two rainy long weekends arrived. I realised I had my hammer ready and now I’d found my nail, so I got to the hammering part.”

By day, Francois is a Quantitative Finance Developer for one of South Africa’s large insurers. He provides the succinct job description that, “This basically means I write number crunching software.” Francois further explains, “Lately AI has become a big focus and the pressure is on our entire team to upskill ourselves. Therefore I look around for problems that could possibly be solved with an AI approach.” And with AI and bib banditting both being hot topics these days, I guess you could say that Francois found the perfect use case.

I asked Francois to explain in layperson’s terms how he approached this challenge, “I didn’t solve this all from scratch. I stood on the shoulders of giants and used pre-trained models (mostly found on HuggingFace), so this was a case of assembling the best building blocks. The goal was to identify runners that entered as male but looked female in the race photos and vice versa.”

After downloading as many race photos as he could, an object detection model was used to process each photo and separate each runner in the photo. Once each runner is isolated, two subsequent models are used to detect the race number and apply a gender classifier (which assigns a likely gender with a level of confidence).

There were however some challenges, “Some guys with impressive beards were classified as females. Running in Team Vitality pink didn’t seem to help!” This is a false positive which highlights the risk of inherent bias within AI models. Another initial challenge was that if a race number was partially obscured the tool thought it was a shorter race number resulting in some false positives with some Blue Numbers incorrectly being flagged (those with 10 or more finishes who have lower race numbers with fewer digits).

The tool was continually refined and improved “Through the noise, I was able to correlate the race entries’ gender (via detected race numbers) to the assumed gender. There were quite a few obvious cheaters and Running Mann had already caught some of them. There were also some obvious data glitches in the entries. But eventually the scale of the bib banditing problem became obvious and many genuine bib bandits were identified (both men and ladies, for what it’s worth).”

As for what’s next I’ve thrown a few more challenges Francois’ way. First up he’s looking at an age classifier to pick up baby-faced 60-year-olds and wrinkly teenagers. I’ve also created a backlog for other types of cheating and devious behaviour that I’ve observed. This includes two people running in the same number, runners using their ultra race bib in the half marathon, runners who’ve removed the timing chip from their number, those who’ve removed or covered the name on the bib and runners who are suspiciously covering or obscuring their race number.

However, Francois does want to point out, “My goal isn’t to be Big Brother or a policeman. If I didn’t do it first, someone else would. I wanted to scratch my own technical itch while highlighting that the technology exists to catch dishonest runners. Hopefully this alone will serve as a sufficient deterrent for future wanna-be bib bandits.”

Cheaters be warned, there’s a new code-slinging sheriff in town – and he’s just getting started!

The post First Bib Bandit Bust by AI (and the man who built the tool) appeared first on The Running Mann.

They say a picture says a thousand words. Here’s exactly one thousand words explaining how this photo of an unnamed female bib bandit in Must Love Hills kit is relevant for integrity, ethics and morals.

The timing chip from #65036 has been removed. Whether this is sensible or devious is debatable but at least this bandit won’t compromise the official results and ship’s log. Removing the timing chip does however indicate premeditation and that the bandit and bib provider knew what they were doing was wrong.

The bib belongs to Reece Maharage. According to his LinkedIn profile, Maharage is an “Admitted Attorney” and “LLM candidate”. So basically, he is someone who should know better and is in the business of distinguishing right from wrong. Maharage is also the son of former Two Oceans Marathon NPC chairperson Rodney Maharage.

During Maharage’s tenure (which ran from before the 50^th anniversary event in 2019 to the Covid lockdown), there were many controversies and allegations of corruption including one of Maharage’s companies being awarded the printing contract for the 50^th anniversary hard copy book (there are still thousands of unsold books in storage and 6,000 books were written off), another of Maharage’s companies being awarded a R1.7 million contract to renovate the then newly acquired Two Oceans House (which in itself was a dubious purchase) and the illegal payment of Two Oceans Marathon NPC directors as employees.

READ MORE: https://www.runnersworld.co.za/news/oceans-may-not-survive-beyond-2020-says-race-founder/

Rodney Maharage was recently expelled from Celtic Harriers for bringing the club into disrepute. I was also told by several people that Maharage was Toni Cavanagh’s mentor and confidant as she desperately clung onto power and tried to prevent the formation of the interim board after the 2025 Two Oceans disaster.

But we haven’t even got onto the strangest part of this story yet.

To the right of our smiling bandit is a woman wearing a Must Love Hills sweatshirt and a green cap. This is apparently Kendra Stewart.

Kendra came onto my radar when she submitted a “Formal Complaint: Conduct of Stuart Mann” to the Two Oceans Marathon chair and vice on behalf of the Must Love Hills run crew (I will share the full contents of this complaint in a future article but suffice to say it was trite nonsense).

Now it is worthwhile reminding readers that Luke “7^th placed lady” Jacobs is a prominent member of the Must Love Hills run crew and another serial cheat, “your boy” Morgan Newman, also closely associates with the group. In fact the pair were recently seen serenading karaoke songs with the Must Love Hills crew without a care in the world at the Langa 10k a week after BrahGate broke. I should also mention that I have plenty of other (as yet) undisclosed cases of cheating from other Must Love Hills members and a video clip of the crew interfering with the second placed lady in the ultra.

READ MORE: Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online

READ MORE: Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit

I understand that Stewart acts as secretary for the Must Love Hills run crew. Stewart is also an employee of Faces and Cape Town Marathon (who are still upset about this comprehensive investigative article I published). Stewart works within event marketing as the “Head of Digital Content”. As such she knows the rules and protocols of eventing in Cape Town. She’ll be aware of permits and restrictions as well as that, before the 2026 event, Two Oceans had a very strained relationship with the City of Cape Town.

Yet, here is carefree Kenda running amok in the middle of the road supporting her banditting crew member and getting in the way of other participants. There is another woman to her right (with a bag on her shoulder) who I would assume is another Must Love Hills miscreant further blocking the road in selfish disregard for the other runners*.

* Based on some further investigations, I believe that the supporting lady running next to Kendra Stewart is likely Imaan Tambe who is the wife of one of the Must Love Hills coaches, Tahir Tambe. I also have received evidence that Tahir Tambe participated in races as a female bib bandit.

The Must Love Hills cheer zone itself is completely unauthorised and violates the permit conditions that the Two Oceans Marathon has with the City of Cape Town. Of specific concern are the speakers and microphone which were loudly blaring over the entire weekend. That residents also had to endure loud swearing is another problem that does not seem to phase Kendra and her crew (I have a video clip of the swearing and have seen a formal complaint from a resident).

I would not expect most people to realise that having an unauthorised support zone violates permits conditions, can result in serious sanctions for an event like Two Oceans and potentially places the future of the event at risk. However, Stewart is in the industry and cannot claim ignorance.

So here you have someone who has taken the time to write an ethical complaint to the Two Oceans board (without disclosing that she works for Cape Town Marathon) when there is a picture of her obstructing runners while supporting a run crew member who is running in a banditted bib with the timing chip removed that was given to her by another run crew member who is a legal professional and who is the son of a former Two Oceans Marathon chair.

You literally cannot make this stuff up.

Sometimes it is appropriate to get biblical. This is especially true when covering issues of integrity, ethics and morals. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7 verse 3, comes to mind, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Kendra Stewart and her beloved Must Love Hills run crew are the Timber City of misplaced morality. Unfortunately, everything they’ve done since BrahGate indicates that they’ll gaslight and deflect rather than take out the chainsaw of accountability and nail down any actual actions to address cheating and ethics within their own run crew.

Afterword: Some more questions for Kendra

Here are the unanswered right of reply questions I sent to Kendra Stewart on 1 May. Likewise requests to Must Love Hills members to provide the identity of the bandit have been ignored.

I also sent a follow up with an additional question on 10 May.

The following right of reply WhatsApp message was sent to Reece Maharage on 20 April. It was not replied to but did feature in Kendra’s ethical complaint dossier.

EDIT: The bandit has been identified as Adele van Aswegen. In Strava she gives a special shoutout, “That MLH cheerzone is everything!”.

READ MORE: The Running Moan: Why Bib Banditting is Wrong

The post Doubling Down on Integrity: A Question for Kendra Stewart appeared first on The Running Mann.

Who polices the running police? I can confirm that at least 3 provincial technical officials (from 2 different provinces) are amongst the list of tipoffs and confirmed Two Oceans bib bandits that were sent to me. These are the same people who take joy disqualifying recreational runners for technical reasons or because they woke up one morning and decided to make a particularly bizarre interpretation of a rule meant for elite athletes in diamond league events (as happened in Limpopo with #CapGate last weekend).

There have been some truly inexplicable decisions and edicts emerging from the bowels of our provincial athletics unions recently. Unfortunately I just don’t have the capacity at present to properly investigate and address each one. Suffice to say that South Africa is the only country in the world where national and provincial bodies try to govern and regulate recreational running. All good and well when you have capable people who are putting the best interests of the runners and the sport first but that is clearly not happening at present.

Pedantic and draconian referees are killing the sport. Enforcing World Athletics rules that were never meant to apply to recreational runners is just plain stupid. Trying to control every superficial aspect of the sport (like club long runs) when all athletics administrative layers are a viper’s pit of corruption, maladministration and incompetence is gaslighting of the highest order.

Remember that between 12% and 15% of every race entry fee, 100% of your annual license fee and 100% of every temp license goes to the administrators. They take a lot. But what do they give back in return? Disqualifications, headaches and unnecessary stress.

The role of the race referee should be really quite simple. Ensure a fair race for those competing for prize money and a safe and enjoyable race for the other 99% of the field. It really is as simple as that. Telling runners that their running cap is supposedly illegal on race morning and forcing someone to run without head protection for 50km in the Polokwane heat is negligent.

Instead of being the fashion police and insisting that clubs get approvals for their long training runs, here are some things our administrators can focus on which would be a much better use of their time:

• Censure and put those in jail who hosted fraudulent events like the Mpumalanga R1million scam and the missing Soweto Marathon prize money.
• Ensure that checks are put in place before events so that elite athletes are guaranteed their prize money.
• Get rid of the convicted rapist that is apparently still integrally involved in AFS via his wife who recently appointed herself as acting president of the union.
• Investigate the conflict of interests that exist within most provincial unions.
• Educate race referees about the rules and sensible application thereof.
• Do a practical rewrite of the ASA rules. Differentiate between the application of rules at tier one events for elites (of which there are very few), prize contenders at lower grade events (normal club organised races) and recreational runners (where only safety rules should apply).
• Do background and criminal checks on every administrator. Other than convicted rapists we’ve had a convicted fraudster (who stole money meant for developing athletics facilities in the Northern Cape) as acting CEO for ASA for years.
• Ensure that James Moloi is prosecuted for the well-published fraud he is alleged to have committed. Ensure that checks and balances are put in place so that this can never occur again.
• Bring athletics into the 21^st century with a national database of results, known cheats, etc.
• Make athletics more accessible by allowing electronic attendance of meetings and AGMs, and allow electronic voting for all elected positions.
• Actually spend time and effort developing running talent in South Africa. At present all emerging talent comes from private and corporate sponsorships.

The post Who polices the running police? appeared first on The Running Mann.

Where does the 2026 False Bay 50 rank in terms of bad weather runs? Having 309 previous marathons as a point of comparison, I’ve run a few where it’s rained more and rained harder but that is definitely the strongest wind I’ve ever encountered.

The only marathon I’ve done that rivals False Bay 2026 was back in 2008 when I was in the USA for work and ran a double-lapper around an air force base in Warner Robins, Georgia. As such it was exposed to the elements. The first-lap was great – perfect running conditions. I ran an 87 minute split and thought I would cruise around for a comfortable sub-3.

Then the weather came. The temperature plummeted to below zero and stinging sheets of sleet and rain meant that not only did we get a lot of “Georgia on our Mind” but we got even more Georgia in our faces. I hit the wall badly and ended with a 3h18. When I crossed the line, the organiser handed me a medal and asked, “How did that go?” I answered “Uh durr durr durr durr durr.” because I couldn’t reply as my face was completely numb from the cold (my mouth felt like I’d just been given local anaesthetic by an overzealous dentist).

But my running career is insignificant compared to some legends on the road. Fortunately Louis Massyn, fresh from his 48^th Two Oceans medal and with his 51^st Comrades finish loading, was also running False Bay this year. We were running at a similar pace and had a few good chats on the road to Gordon’s Bay (when the wind died down enough to make conversation even possible).

Where did Saturday’s weather rate on Oom Louis’ meteorological rankings?

I asked the expert, “Have you ever run in worse or more challenging conditions than we had yesterday?”

Approaching 700 marathon and ultra finishes and with almost six decades of running experience, Louis could only think of the two other runs that could compare. “Once in Bloemfontein we had bitterly cold weather where we had cold wind and even light snow and sleet.”

The other was Two Oceans 1993, “That year we ran in gusty winds and rain which was worse than yesterday. It rained from start to finish – around Chappies was the worst. When we finished at the Villagers grounds in Brookside, the rainwater was ankle deep all over.”

I was in matric that year and was handing out cans of Coke to all the runners at the finish line (I might even have unknowingly given one to Louis) and can remember the deluge well. Our family home was about a kilometre from Brookside and when my father crossed the line, he said a very brief “Hello” and then ran straight home for a warm shower. Fortunately the cutoff was still 6 hours in those days so I just had to ensure another 2 hours of “community service” before I could get warm and undercover.

Louis qualified his 3^rd place “Weather Conditions” finish for the 2026 edition of the False Bay 50 with, “The conditions really improved towards the finish – which was great!”

I think Louis speaks for all of us who conquered Clarence Drive when he concludes, “The organisers did a great job under the conditions. The refreshment stations were extremely excellent and route control traffic was great – overall this was a job well done!”

So there you have it. Saturday 2 May 2026 may not have been the worst weather conditions Louis Massyn has ever experienced but you’re likely going to have to run several hundred marathons more and for a couple of decades longer before you experience anything similar.

The post False Bay 50: Ranking the weather appeared first on The Running Mann.

Whilst there has been a lot of focus on bib banditting, I recently received tip offs from multiple people about bib swapping for the purpose of qualification cheating. Interestingly they were from the same Pretoria-based club, Zwakala Athletics Club.

In this case, I am pleased to report that all parties admitted their deceit and the club itself has been 100% forthright – and took immediate and appropriate action.

Wife Swapping

The first case involved a husband-and-wife team of Sipho and Itebogeng Ntuli. Sipho is the President of Zwakala AC. In August 2025 he ran the Sydney Marathon to complete his seventh World Marathon Majors star.

It was reported to me that the wife, Itebogeng, had not run the 4h52 qualification time she claimed at the Wonderpark Akasia Marathon in January. The official online results show Itebogeng with a 4:52:43 and Sipho with a 5:53:25 finish time.

Would the race day photographs back this up?

All good with the early race photographs, there are some lovely pictures of a husband and wife enjoying an early morning run together. The couple stay together until just after halfway when they split up. And that is where the problems start…

Before the split Sipho Is wearing #9773 and Itebogeng #9774. After the split Sipho Is wearing #9774 and Itebogeng #9773. An in-race bib swap occurred, clearly for the purpose of securing Itebogeng a fraudulent qualifier time.

After making contact with Sipho and sending him right of reply questions, I received the following acknowledgement of guilt.

A Bad Seed

The second case involved a normal member, Leonea Foka. There were two accusations here:

1. That she’d got a man to run a qualifier for her at Om Die Dam.
2. That she’d submitted a totally fraudulent qualification time for Two Oceans.

When I asked her about the Om Die Dam time and photographic evidence indicating that her time was that of a male, apparently David Monene, and that Monene apparently ran in her number and she in his, she said, “For Om die Dam my race number was swapped in the car by mistake with someone I was traveling with cause there was no name on race number hence I didn’t use those results anywhere I’m sorry for all that and next time I will do everything for myself to avoid such mistakes”.

Fair enough, these mistakes happen and there is indeed no record that this incorrect Om Die Dam time was submitted as a qualifier. However, she had submitted a 4h40 qualification time at the Vaal River City Marathon from September 2025 for Two Oceans which one source said would have been impossible as she was injured and not running at the time. The time itself appears totally fictitious as there is no record of her running the 2025 Vaal River City Marathon.

Here the excuse is more dubious, “on Two oceans someone who was helping me putted Vaal as my qualifier by mistake which I was not aware of it until after my run”.

At Two Oceans, you have to have run a marathon under 5 hours to validate your entry so it would be implausible to think your entry got magically validated otherwise. I followed up my initial questions with, “Did you run a qualifier under 5 hours at all [during the qualification period]?” She replied with a rather strange, “Yes sir I did even this coming Friday I’m going to do Wally sub 5.”

It does not appear that she was entered for the Wally Hayward Marathon (held on 1 May, three weeks after Two Oceans and therefore not relevant to the Two Oceans qualification period). However, she did have her Zwakala membership suspended between that message and the Wally Hayward Marathon as we’ll find out in the next section.

Swift Action from Zwakala

I really sympathize with a club in a situation like this. One or two members can severely damage the reputation of an otherwise upstanding club. I contacted the club with the bad news via one of their social media channels and got an almost immediate response, “Good morning. Thank you so much for your DM. I’ll pass your message to the relevant platform. I’m sure the Exco will respond regarding the situation.”

Shortly thereafter I was contacted by Thabo Mokebe, who introduced himself as the Secretary General of the Zwakala Athletics Club. Mokebe said, “This is to confirm that we received a message from our social media team in relation to your message about alleged race cheating by some members of our club. As a club, we take such allegations very seriously, and we would like to request your assistance with any information that can assist us to urgently investigate and implement necessary remedial action accordingly.”

In a case like this I play with a fully open hand and sent Mokebe the correspondence I’d had with Foka, the right of reply questions I’d sent to Ntuli and all photographic and other evidence I’d obtained.

On seeing the evidence, Mokebe committed, “I am going to convene an urgent exco meeting in the afternoon in order for our exco to take decisive action particularly since the matter involves our President. I will update you on the outcomes of our exco meeting tomorrow morning.”

Mokebe followed through as promised. I received the following message early the next morning:

“OFFICIAL STATEMENT: ZWAKALA ATHLETICS CLUB ADDRESSES ALLEGATIONS OF RACE QUALIFICATION IRREGULARITIES

The Zwakala Athletics Club has been made aware of allegations regarding race qualification irregularities involving three of its members: one executive committee member and two club members.

The Club views these allegations with the utmost seriousness and explicitly condemns any conduct that undermines the integrity of the sport.

In response to these reports, the Club has moved swiftly to suspend all three individuals from club-related activities, effective immediately.

This suspension will remain in place pending the outcome of a comprehensive investigation and formal disciplinary process.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding the statutes and regulations of all Athletics South Africa (ASA) and relevant athletics governing bodies. The results of the disciplinary proceedings will be shared with all stakeholders as they become available.

Regards Thabo Mokebe

Secretary General

Zwakala Athletics”

Case Closed

I was very impressed with how Mokebe and the rest of the Zwakala executive handled this situation. They have also promised a much more diligent approach when validating qualifiers (and have a team of ten on the Comrades qualification validations).

Run crews whose members were caught out banditting (and whose bandits had a major impact on other runners and the Two Oceans event itself) can learn a thing or two about taking accountability, immediate action and an overall mature approach to dealing with cheating within their ranks.

I expect that this is a “one and done” story: case closed, lesson learned and no follow up stories required.

Afterword: Two Oceans Marathon Formal Disciplinary Process

Just to be clear an article like this is written in my personal capacity and all tipoffs and information were sent to me directly. There is also a formal disciplinary process within Two Oceans that will be followed. All allegations and incidents that are reported directly to me are added to a central list for investigation. Those accused of cheating are given the opportunity to dispute the allegations or provide mitigating circumstances.

I would write the same article if I were to get similar tipoffs around cheating at other major races like Comrades or Cape Town Marathon. Consistency is key. If I pulled a Two Oceans Marathon article that I would otherwise write if it were for another event, that would be a bad indictment on my own integrity.

The results of all formal investigations and the overall disciplinary processes are likely to be communicated once complete. Exactly what is communicated is a decision for the Two Oceans Marathon disciplinary subcommittee and the board as a whole.

In a case like this a two year ban from the event is a formality. Normally a disqualification is done as well but in the case of Itebogeng Ntuli and Leonea Foka they both finished well outside the 7 hour cutoff so no disqualification is necessary.

Acknowledgement

With thanks to Sean McFie from SMacPix for happily providing all the photographic evidence for this article. When I told Sean about the nature of the article and whether he’d like the photos to be credited as it may be a controversial article he replied, “You are welcome to credit us, we vehemently opposed to cheating.”

The post Two Oceans Cheating: Wife Swapping & Bad Seeds appeared first on The Running Mann.

As I write this (wearing my Running Mann hat) I can tell you (wearing my board hat) that there are 91 reported cases of bib banditting in the Two Oceans half marathon and four in the ultra marathon. I am sure that there are some more that haven’t been uncovered – yet – but the overall number is likely somewhere between 100 and 200.

This is still a tiny fraction of the overall field. Most people follow the rules and abhor those that don’t. If you banditted you are in the minority. This is not a case where everyone is doing it. There will always be one or two people who “didn’t know I was doing anything wrong” but the majority of those who banditted (and those who defend the bandits) are consciously delinquent. 

There have been some high profile cases of bib banditting internationally but after this Two Oceans half marathon, Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield exploded onto the scene after finishing 7^th and 10^th in the women’s race respectively and put the problem into the spotlight. So what is the problem with bib banditting and what can be done to prevent it?

READ MORE: Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online

Cheating Others out of their Rightful Places

The impact on Karin-Mari Dötze of men running in women’s race numbers has been well documented. Dötze thought she’d been relegated from 10^th to 12^th and had the best day of her running career ruined by the aforementioned morons. However, the impacts are often more subtle and not as noticeable.

READ MORE: Karin-Mari’s Story (How Two Morons Stole her Special Moment)

There are many other victims. Take for example Janene Carey, a competitive 50+ lady who runs for the Boxer Superstores team. In 2025 she thought she’d won the Masters Category at the Cape Town Marathon 10k Peace Run only to find out that an unknown entity, Karlene MacMinn, was the official winner.

After her initial enquiry was brushed aside by the organisers, Janene and her fellow competitors, kept pursuing an official answer from the race office. Due to their persistence, Karlene MacMinn admitted that someone else had run in her race number. However, this was another magic moment ruined by the ‘victimless’ crime of bib banditting – not to mention the time, trouble and frustration that Carey had to go into to get what was rightfully hers.

Incidentally, Carey crossed the line as first 50+ lady at this year’s Two Oceans half marathon but instead of savouring her victory said, “I held my breath, wondering if the same may happen.”

After this year’s event, I was investigating a serial cheat who bragged of running a fast time as a “64-year-old woman” at Two Oceans 2025 (he banditted again in 2026 and is on the official disciplinary list). It looks like our young male granny was in-fact removed from the results last year but a quick investigation shows that the 3^rd placed grandmaster lady in 2025, Wandra Marais, is in fact a dude. I would assume that the real 3^rd place finisher, Annatjie Botes from Nedbank SWD, missed out on her podium and prize money.

Sometimes, it’s not about the podiums or prize money but just plain old simple pride. This year’s 10^th placed 50+ man in the Two Oceans half marathon is either using some kickass night cream or his balls have only very recently dropped (actually it’s also possible that neither may be true). Likewise, either ActionPhoto are using a very powerful wrinkle filter or the or the 11^th placed Master is another cheat (he also folded his bib over to hide the age tag in further subterfuge).

Someone needs to tell Lentikile Kgaswane that he can brag to his friends and family about getting a Top 10 age category finish in the largest and richest half marathon in the country. I don’t know if the little-known Madibogo Running Club have ever had a Top 10 Two Oceans finisher before but this was another celebratory moment denied. Unfortunately, like Karin-Mari Dötze, Lentikile Kgaswane still thinks he finished 12^th.

The Medical Reasons

A few years ago a runner collapsed on the finish line at Two Oceans. They were rushed to the medical tent and were about to be given medication that would have killed them. Fortunately the collapsed bandit came around just in time to refuse the medication. It could easily have been very different.

I’ve spoken to many race organisers over the years and they all agree that the absolute worst thing that can happen is to have someone die at your event. A preventable death would be even worse. On top of that there is the lifelong trauma and regret for the person that administered the lethal dosage. 

At a recent WPA road race, a runner did pass away during the event. The runner was banditting and the wrong family was phoned and informed that their relative had died. That’s a pretty shit experience all round. Not to mention that the organisers now have to play detective to try and determine whose corpse they have in front of them.

Inspirational and vocal athlete, Lee-Ann Elliot, recently shared this personal context on a post highlighting the dangers of banditting, “Say someone ran under my bib and something happened, emergency responders would administer insulin meant for a T1 diabetic (potentially lethal for non-diabetics) and as I am a recovered heroin addict I have a note to not give me opiates/pain medication.”

Here’s another account from running legend Kim Pain (who was engaging with me to put out an educational message about the dangers of banditting to Jeppe AC), “Years ago at the Dis-Chem 21km a Jeppe member took someone else’s number and didn’t substitute into his name and collapsed at the finish. I was doing a triathlon in Germiston and when I finished my phone was congested with messages and phone calls coming through. The Jeppe runner was aggressive with the medics pulling out the drips and they were trying to contact family. Thank goodness I managed to get onto it but to make matters worse his wife was in Botswana so I needed to get hold of other family members and friends.”

After the disastrous 2025 event courtesy of Cavanagh and Cronies, combined with several years of maladministration, this year’s Two Oceans was officially on probation with the City of Cape Town. At one stage it was touch and go whether we’d be having a 2026 event at all.

Let’s take a worst case scenario, it’s a bad weather day and medical issues are higher than normal. The medical team are already under strain. The previous evening, some dickhead decides to run in his buddies’ number in a beer fuelled bout of brashness around the braai. He starts undertrained, overconfident and with a massive hangover*. There is pride and ego at stake as he stands to win a bet for a case of beer and keep the party going if he finishes under 2 hours. He’s on track until he collapses metres from the finish line with a heart attack. The medical team rush to resuscitate Richard Head. They save his life but sadly it’s at the expense of another legitimate runner who doesn’t get quick enough attention after suffering from heat exhaustion.

* Although the half marathon male / female split is roughly 50 / 50, I would estimate that over 90% of the banditting is done by men. One wonders how many of these are last-minute testosterone fuelled decisions that, once again, just places more risk and strain on the medical team.

Another runner, Mr R Sole dies and it turns out that he too was running in a banditted bid. The press gets hold of the story: This is a pattern! How did this happen? Where are the controls? Someone must pay! The organisers are negligent! The City is sick of giving last chances to the problem child of Cape eventing. Till death do us part… Misters Richard Head and R Sole have the final say. Bye-bye Two Oceans.

Organisational & Logistical Reasons

An event like the Two Oceans keeps a diligent “ship’s log” of all voyages. In addition, those who complete 10 finishes earn a coveted Blue Number which comes with a raft of privileges and personal accolades. Banditting makes a mess of the rich history and record keeping at Two Oceans. It damages the integrity of the race and takes away from the achievements of others.

I’m sure that there are some people who are happy to claim an honour that they have not earned. These are the same kind of people that defend bandits and banditting with “Yes, buts…”. The kind of people who prefer to gaslight and deflect rather than take accountability. None of those people deserve to own a Blue Number.

There was one cretin who got someone else to run his 9^th Two Oceans ultra last year. This was reported but sadly Cavanagh and Cronies did not take any action against this or other blatant cheating at the 2025 event (it was only when the new board was formed after the AGM that 2025 cheating was addressed). This year Mr. Cretin ran his alleged “10^th” ultra marathon – there is a photo of him proudly holding up his Blue Number on the UCT grounds like a chump.

READ MORE: No More Free Passes: Inside Two Oceans’ New Stance on Cheating

Fortunately his running club (and massive credit to them) let myself and the race office know what had transpired. Mr. Cretin is a disgrace to all the men and women who’ve legitimately earned their Blue Numbers. The Two Oceans office are currently in the process of trying to get that Blue Number back*.

* If you’re wondering why this cretin has not been named and shamed, I have a very distinct line between Running Mann the blogger and Stuart Mann the board member. If something is sent to me directly (which well over 90% of the cheating allegations have been) then it’s fair game for Running Mann content. If something is sent directly to the Two Oceans office (or to both the office and myself) then I treat it as proprietary and not for publication without explicit approval.

On top of this, bib bandits cause massive unnecessary headaches for both the board and staff members to sort out various issues like those mentioned above. This time could be much better spent on tasks that would actually improve the race and serve the runners.

There are some other less sexy but no less important risks and impacts here like the impact to insurance and liability protection (and future costs), overall event and result integrity, course safety and athlete flow, and protections against scamming and fraudsters.

It’s Just Plain Wrong

Maybe I should have led with this: Bib banditting reeks of entitlement. You are not special. Just because you went to a private school and / or have a few thousand Instagram Followers (this seems to be the social media platform of choice for cheats and their acolytes) and / or had parents who didn’t teach you right from wrong does not mean that you are more special than the 99% of people who accept and follow the rules.

It is wrong to run in someone else’s number. It is against the rules. This is well and clearly communicated. If you chastise the corruption of our politicians but conveniently carry on in your own private corruption you are part of the problem.

The traffic lights may be out and you’re late for a meeting but do you drive in the yellow line because your time is more important than everyone else’s? It’s a simple question of integrity.

If you want to colour outside the lines, do so in your own drawing book. If you don’t like the house rules, don’t run races whose rules you disagree with. The justification from some quarters for banditting is a bit like bringing a bottle of vodka to a Muslim wedding and then complaining about the unfairness of the system when you are publicly called out for it.

Take Accountability, Don’t Blame the System

I am always interested in the response to plain old home truths and facts. Luke Jacobs is an admitted cheat. In fact he is a serial bandit – there is clear evidence of him banditting at Two Oceans 2025 and he finished in the Top 30 ladies at the 2023 Gun Run. He also works within the running and eventing industry. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway. Likewise Morgan Newman committed fraud by replacing the “Lindsay” with “Morgan” on his bib and he is also a repeat offender.

View More: “Your Boy” Morgan Newman gives what is perhaps the most insincere apology in the history of “I’m sorry I got caught” insincere apologies: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXv2trAqHAw/

And yet there is very little accountability from their close personal friends, training partners and run crew tribe. Instead they’ve chosen the Trumpian gaslight and deflect defense mechanism mode. A predictable but a sad indictment on the guilty and their close associates.

READ MORE: Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit

There is the supply and demand “but I just wanted to run” argument. If all the parking bays are full, do you park in the handicapped space?

It is just not fair to the 99% of law and rule abiding runners that the tiny, vocal minority continues to flagrantly break the rules because of their own entitlement. Don’t blame the system for your own wonky moral compass.

Yes, it would be great if you could do substitutions at the expo. But you couldn’t in 2026. There are good reasons for that. Cape Town Marathon is not offering substitutions at all in 2026 – does that make banditting all right at CTM this year? I have my doubts whether the Luke Jacobs and Morgan Newmans of the world would stoop to lowering themselves to stand in line at an expo to get a legitimate race number.

Expo (or as late as possible) substitutions should reduce the problem but it will not eradicate entitilism. Personally, I would charge an ‘expo substitution surcharge’ that would go directly to charity so that anyone who still chooses to bandit would have to answer to the social stigma of “stealing from charity.”

Likewise having different colour race numbers for gender will not magically solve this problem. Age categories are clearly indicated on the tags but, as already mentioned in this article, you still get wrinkle-free 60 year olds barreling up Southern Cross Drive with reckless abandon. As has been pointed out to me privately by several members of the LGBT+ community, “solving” this problem by making gender easily identifiable on the bibs may create another bigger problem for an already marginalised minority*.

* Another sad indictment in this polarised age is that we can no longer display country names on the race tracking app or flags on the bibs due to the organised victimisation of runners from certain countries.

Other Solutions & Deterrents

For his own self-actualisation, tech guru Francois Botha is busy building and training an AI model to detect gender disparity from photographs and race numbers. It is already more than 90% accurate. Once this is done it can relatively easily be trained to pick up age disparities.

The good old name and shame method is still a viable option and a powerful disincentive to cheating. I remember doing a mandatory corporate ethics training course many years ago where one of the points that stuck with me was, “If your friends and family read about this in the news what would they say?” I am a firm believer in name and shame and will continue to write about and expose those who taint the great sport of running with their cheating and dishonesty.

There are also a lot of basic statistical methods that can (and have) been used to detect cheating. Like a good magician, I won’t give up any of my tricks here but I think a good 60%+ of banditting can be picked up with simple algorithmic work.

Speak up: I get a lot of tip offs from club mates and acquaintances of cheats. Keep our community honest. If you know someone has cheated or ‘special favoured’ themselves, report it. In the past nothing has been done but there is now a zero tolerance policy for cheating at Two Oceans and Comrades. I am sure several other major events will (or already have) followed.

Likewise, if someone offers or asks for an entry for a sold out event – call them out on it*. Let’s bring morals, ethics and integrity back – and call out those who think the rules don’t apply to them, no matter how charismatic or popular they are.

* And kudos to Demitri, moderator of the Cape Town Runners Community Facebook Group, who recently announced that anyone guilty of this would be banned from the group, no questions asked.

Education: I personally don’t think general education works very well. It’s necessary but I suspect the only people who read posts and articles imploring people to “Run Honest” are those who are already following the rules. It’s impossible to make something totally idiot-proof as they just keep producing better idiots. It’s a bit like having to put labels on cups saying, “Caution: Coffee may be hot.”

What I do think works is direct, on the spot education.

As an example many years ago on the Fourways Road Runners WhatsApp group, someone popped a message to try and get a last minute sub to a sold out race. One of our senior members took the time to deliver some “education” about why this was wrong and that running in an illegal number could also bring the club into disrepute. The message was well received, disseminated throughout the club and I have never seen the same question being asked again – despite a regular influx of new members.

At Two Oceans, bib banditting is far rarer on the ultra (where one has to be a licensed club athlete) than on the half marathon, where the vast majority of banditting occurs from unlicensed athletes. Therefore, another consideration is give preference to licensed athletes and only allow unlicensed athletes to enter the half marathon if the allocation is not pre-filled by licensed athletes.

What Happens Next?

So far as the Two Oceans process goes, that is clear cut. There is a formal disciplinary process that is followed for every allegation of cheating. Every alleged cheat is contacted and given the opportunity to dispute the allegation and / or provide mitigating evidence.

All disputes are referred to the Disciplinary Sub Committee (SC) for a decision which, as freely disclosed previously, I chair*. Likewise, all uncontested allegations are discussed. The maximum sanction possible in the Two Oceans Marathon rules are a disqualification from the event and a two year ban. Based on the decisions the SC took in disciplining 2025 cheats, I would expect that this would be the sanction for most of the confirmed cheats.

* So to answer a FAQ I’ve received, “Who made you the f$%^en running police?” In the context of Two Oceans, the Two Oceans Marathon NPC board did.

The next big test will come at the Cape Town Marathon. As previously discussed, there are wise old heads in most running clubs who police themselves*. Certain running crews have been very vocal in deflecting the attention from their prominent run crew members’ transgressions and have been lamenting the missed opportunity for “educational moments”.

* Having said that, I am investigating two separate cases of cheating, one involving the president and other the chair, of a running club.

Let’s hope these same run crews put their money where their mouth is and take the time and trouble to educate their members of the morals, ethics and dangers of bib banditting. It’s not what you say but what you do that counts. Actions speak louder than words.

To conclude on a personal note, I would love to start shifting attention to other topics. I’d love to start doing some stats. There are inspirational stories waiting to be written and humorous race reports from all around our beautiful country to share. But duty calls and if there are special children out there who still feel that the rules don’t apply to them, my inbox is always open.  

The post The Running Moan: Why Bib Banditting is Wrong appeared first on The Running Mann.

I have some great news to share. There is indeed a silver lining to the BrahGate saga: This morning Karin-Mari Dötze, the 10^th placed lady at this year’s Two Oceans half marathon, officially signed with Nedbank and became a sponsored athlete.

Dötze was negatively impacted when two men illegally banditted in women’s race numbers and displaced her and Alexa Townsend from the online results. Although she was never removed from the official Top 10, she saw the online results and assumed that two women from lower batches had run faster than her and displaced her in the Top 10.

Although Jeppe AC are sad to see Karin-Mari switch the black and white dynamite of Jeppe for the Green of Nedbank, Kim Pain from Jeppe was philosophical when she broke the good news to me this morning, “I just wanted to let you know that Karin-Mari has received sponsorship from Nick Bester and the Nedbank team. We at Jeppe are sad to lose her but we know that it is what is best for her. We are so proud of her and wish her well with her sponsorship at Nedbank to which we will follow her closely.”

Of course I immediately got on the phone to Nick Bester, both to thank him and ask about his latest signing. Explaining his move Bester said, “I think at this stage of my career, I’m continuing for one reason and that is to help athletes achieve and to reach their goals. I can see when an athlete has got potential, especially in their attitude, the build of their body, the way they speak.”

In terms of what a signing to the Nedbank team brings, Bester explained, “We’ve got great people supporting us like Nedbank, Dischem, Biogen, Thirsti Water, Bavaria and of course Nike technical apparel and footwear and Nike Vision.”

He also emphasised, “Women’s running in South Africa needs a boost. There are far too few women that perform well – so we have to invest in women.”

Bester was actively involved at this year’s Two Oceans and heralded the return to form of the planet’s second largest ultra marathon and South Africa’s largest half marathon. He explained, “Nedbank put a huge effort this year into helping Two Oceans get back on their feet. A massive Nedbank team component of 54 athletes flew down for this year’s event.” Bester continued, “We put a massive effort in from the Netbank running clubs to help Stillwater Sports and the new board build Two Oceans back to the heydays when I was running back in the 80s and 90s.”

On the importance of the Two Oceans weekend Bester said, “Two Oceans is one of the main races that people watch on TV. And that creates and draws sponsors which helps the athletes to make a living out of the race.”

What was his first impression after meeting Karin-Mari, “I like the way Karin-Mari is speaking, she’s motivated, she’s positive and she is definitely a benefit to the team. Nedbank Running Club would love to see how we can help Karin-Mari become one of the top athletes in South Africa.”

I would have loved to publish this article earlier but I had to wait until the end of the school day to get a comment from primary school teacher Karin-Mari herself, “I am a little bit speechless. This all happened really quickly. I am so grateful for this opportunity.”

She is looking forward to the new opportunity but regrets leaving Jeppe AC, “I spoke to Kim [Pain] about this, because I was really happy at Jeppe, and they were so good and supportive for me, but I want to take my running to a next level. This opportunity is an answered prayer. I really prayed for an opportunity and now I have it right in front of me. I am really excited for this new journey. I am going to take it with both hands and give it my all. I am really grateful that Nick Bester from Nedbank reached out. This is such a big blessing for me.”

So there you have it. While Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield flaunted their silver medals on social media, this story concludes with a silver lining for our heroine – Karin-Mari Dötze: A single mother who finished the Two Oceans as the only club runner to crack the Top 10 at the half marathon and scored a professional contract with her victory lap.

New to the BrahGate Saga?: Here’s your Episode Recap

No More Free Passes: Inside Two Oceans’ New Stance on Cheating

Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online

Karin-Mari’s Story (How Two Morons Stole her Special Moment)

Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit

The post Karin-Mari scores a sponsor (silver linings over silver medals) appeared first on The Running Mann.

I had several reports of sightings of Good Hope FM DJ and former Stormers centre on the Two Oceans half marathon route but he was mysteriously missing from the results. Thanks to some sleuthing from readers we have the big Scooby Doo Doo reveal…

Morgan “Ram” Newman now identifies as Morgan “Ewe” Newoman (there is currently some debate as to whether “Ewe” is short for “Ewenice” or “Ewenick”). Newoman, running in the female bib of Lindsay Jacobs, was however still not fully comfortable with his public transition and ‘van der Walted’ his bib with a cut and pasted “Morgan” over the real bib owner’s name. He carefully ensured the font type, size and colour were within spec of the original bib. It’s nice to know that private school jocks are also proficient in the arts and crafts.

READ MORE: Instagram Influencer caught cheating at Two Oceans

As a rugby player with the Stormers, he proudly wore the number 12 on his jersey and still uses the same figure on his social media profiles: “Morgan12Newman”. However, he is less fussy when it comes to race numbers and, with hands quicker than Kwagga Smith in the loose maul, will grab hold of any number he can get his hands on.

A quick search of his social media revealed multiple instances of bib banditting like running the 2024 Two Oceans half in 90263, which was assigned to a German female Sarah Baier, and the 2023 Gun Run in number 1130, as Alex Clark.

Even rarer than finding a picture of Ritchie McCaw entering through the gate is finding one of Morgan Newman running in his own race number. However, after hours and hours of diligently scouring the inner recesses of the internet, I was finally able to uncover the photo below at the 2023 Two Oceans half marathon where he’s running legally.

This year, placing as 1866^th female with a 2:16:12 finish, Newoman was not able to threaten the Top 10 ladies. However, he did find his way back to the Must Love Hills cheer zone to grab a beer and congratulate his old school mate Luke Jacobs on his seventh placed finish.

READ MORE: Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online

Without question Newoman was elated that another alumni, Nic Bradfield, had secured the final female gold. With two Top 10 finishes at the largest half marathon in South Africa, there is no doubt that at the next Old Boys Dinner this formerly competitive rugby school will celebrate the 2026 Two Oceans as the school’s best sporting performance since Covid.

I will not be causing further controversy by revealing the name of the private school that all three of these braless brahs very coincidently attended. However, if you do bump into one of them, it is highly likely that they will tell you which school they went to within the first few minutes of conversation.

All Talk on Good Hope but Silent on Bad Behaviour

Whilst you can hear Newoman’s confident and gregarious voice on the radio, he is more reticent when it comes to answering questions about his lifestyle choices. The following set of questions were sent two days ago both to his email address and active Instagram account. They remain unanswered.

READ MORE: Karin-Mari’s Story (How Two Morons Stole her Special Moment)

The post Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit appeared first on The Running Mann.

[Sunday 12 April, 07:39, University of Cape Town, Finish Line].

There is just one gold medal remaining at the 2026 Two Oceans Marathon. Twenty were handed out at Saturday’s ultra and 19 have been claimed so far at the half marathon. Who will claim the 10^th placed ladies’ position?

Two Oceans hosts the country’s largest, richest and most prestigious half marathon. It attracts a strong international field. All of today’s medals have been won by professional athletes – most of them from other countries. But then there’s a surprise. Instead of yet another purple Hollywood or green Nedbank vest adding to their weekend’s medal tally, a diminutive figure in the black and white of Jeppe Athletic Club rounds the corner and hits the finish straight.

Regular, non-professional club athletes seldom win gold medals at major events. At the Two Oceans half marathon it is extremely rare. And yet it looks like a Jeppe athlete is going to claim the final gold of the day. All the elite athletes have their names emblazoned in large letters across their race bib. The Jeppe athlete is not an elite and it’s hard to read her name as she has a normal, anonymous race number displaying: A65054.

The athlete is Karin-Mari Dötze and she’s just run the race of her life. As she hits the grass she hears an excited voice from the stands crying, “You’re 10^th lady.” A look of surprise crosses Karin-Mari’s face and then she gives a little shake of the head. She can’t have heard that right. But just in case, she empties the tank over the final stretch to make sure that no one pips her on the line.

Those watching on TV have the luxury of on-screen graphics. I expect that there were cheers, screams of delight and a couple of spilt cups of coffee as excited Jeppestown residents jumped up from their couches. The Jeppe Athletics Club WhatsApp group starts going crazy with messages of congratulations. It is an incredibly proud moment for one of South Africa’s great running clubs. A gold medal at Two Oceans is something special for the club to savour.

But our exhausted heroine knows nothing of that. She’s out of breath, hanging onto the railings just past the finish banner. Karin-Mari gave it all on the Cape Town roads. She crushed the notoriously nasty Southern Cross Drive and, in the process, scythed through the elite field despite having the slight handicap of starting just behind the sponsored athletes when the cannon blasted.

To Karin-Mari’s joy, the unidentified voice in the crowd was right. There is one lonely gold medal next to the large pile of silvers and, in disbelief, it is given to her. This is how Karin-Mari recalls the moment, “I was so, so happy. Everywhere they published I am 10th lady. I even got my gold medal. I walked around to the info desk with one of the other Top 10 ladies and asked where we should go for podium and prize giving. They told us we should just listen for our names to be called.”

While waiting for her name to be called, Karin-Mari met up with a friend who took a few photos. Karin-Mari can be seen radiant and beaming on the UCT fields. This is by far the best moment in her running career.

However, just getting to the race involved a lot of planning and logistical juggling. Karin-Mari is Grade 3 teacher at Laerskool Emfulenipark in Vanderbijlpark. She’s a single mom with a 7-year old daughter. Her training regime involved months of early mornings and late nights.

Finding the time to train is one thing, but getting to Cape Town for a goal race during term-time is quite another. Fortunately, Karin-Mari’s mom stepped-up to look after daughter for the weekend. I asked about whether she had a problem getting leave and it turns out the Emfulenipark school principal also played a key supporting role in this story, “My principal is an absolute angel. He gave me time off to run – he actually gave me extra days because the flights had become so expensive.”

Twenty minutes have passed since she crossed the line and the UCT fields are starting to fill up with runners from lower seeding batches. Karin-Mari thought it was probably time to phone home and let her mom and daughter know the fantastic news. Before doing so, she decided to re-check the results as she was still in complete disbelief, “It really felt so unreal. I asked my friend to refresh the results and double check whether I had really placed 10th. When she refreshed the results, I looked at the screen and they had placed me 12th.”

This is a moment frozen in time. A moment where euphoria and jubilation instantly evaporate and are replaced with a dead, hollow feeling, “I thought, ‘they ripped my heart out right there’.”

Runners are stoic and, despite the disappointment, Karin-Mari rationalised, “I know sometimes ladies could run faster from other batches and that they could be placed before me. I told myself it’s okay, if they really ran faster, I’ll just train harder for next year. Everyone deserves their spot if they ran faster.”

The jubilant mood was now sombre and the spring in her step was gone. She left the race “really disappointed and not knowing what now.” Twelfth was a great result for a club athlete but it was not a Top 10 finish at South Africa’s biggest half marathon. No longer in the Top 10 online results, the word had started to spread and the messages of congratulations were replaced with those of condolence by club mates.

Whilst Karin-Mari is dealing with the emotional turmoil in solitude, seventh placed “lady” Luke Jacobs walks back to his run crew’s cheer zone a kilometre from the finish line and enjoys a few beers with his mates. Tenth placed “lady” Nic Bradfield heads to Forries with the cool kids.

[Sunday 12 April, Lunchtime, University of Cape Town, Hospitality Tent]

Most of the dignitaries and invited guests are gone. Just the core team remains. The mood in the hospitality tent is one of exhausted contentment. There are handshakes and high fives all round between the Two Oceans Marathon NPC board members and Stillwater Sports team. On the back foot from the word go, after only being able to start planning from September 2025, we are all immensely proud of what has been achieved. After the disastrous event of 2025, runners are happy and the Two Oceans Marathon is back after an incident free weekend.

I am just about to leave when chair Chris Goldschmidt calls me over. I had been part of the Race Advisory Committee where we carefully allocated runners to appropriate seedings and special care was taken to ensure we did not have a situation where a runner from a lower seeding batch could run a faster time than a Top 10 finisher. That would be embarrassing, messy and hard to explain. As an organising team we don’t want any controversies in 2026.

Chris points to his screen and tells me, “We’ve got two Top 10 ladies from lower batches. One is an international runner.” This was the highest my heart rate got the entire weekend (despite running up most of Constantia Nek).

Guidance was sought from the senior technical official. The official rules had been checked and confirmed: for Top 10 overall places, this is done on crossing the finish line rather than running time*.

* Note: This is different for age category prizes where gun batch to finish mat time is used.

The official hard copy of the results have in fact already been signed off by the senior technical official. Karin-Mari is still in 10^th on these official results but she does not know that. The provisional online and app results are what the public sees and here she is 12th.

Chris and I agree that we’ll have to evaluate how this happened and how to prevent it reoccurring next year but that is a Monday problem. The thought that this was a couple of morons banditting in a woman’s race number never crossed our minds.

[Sunday 12 April, Early Afternoon, At a retirement village in Noordhoek]

Most of the board members take the opportunity to have a quick afternoon nap before heading to their final duty of the weekend – attending the official prize giving at 5pm at the Cape Sun.

I arrive back at my mother’s house where I am staying for the weekend. I probably should take a nap as well but decide to check my emails first. There are several new messages but the one I open first says, “Cheating/misconduct at Half marathon TTOM 2026”

The content reads,

“The attached screenshots show that the male runner (Luke Jacobs) in these pictures ran on the number of a woman named Larissa Parekh. The race result now shows that Larissa is 7th overall.

Please investigate and let me know. This is unacceptable.

The rules state that both runners involved should be disqualified and the result scrapped.”

I immediately send the information and pictures to Chris Goldschmidt and Finish Time, asking out timing partners to change the result to “Query” status so that it no longer appears on the online results.

Karin-Mari is now in 11^th position but she will only find this out on Monday morning.

[Sunday 12 April, Early Evening, Cape Sun, 2026 Two Oceans Marathon Prize Giving Ceremony]

I find prize givings to be very formulaic and boring. It’s like a hill repeat session you have to endure before rewarding yourself with some snacks and a beer. But as this is the last formal function to round off a fantastic event (and there was the reward of beer once the formalities were over), I get an Uber for the long drive from Noordhoek to the city centre.

The prize giving is more interesting than I was expecting. Mosibodi Whitehead keeps the audience entertained with insightful questions to the athletes as they are called on stage. Gerda was of course her normal charming self. With men’s surprise ultra runner winner Arthur Jantjies already on a 8-hour bus trip back to Hopetown, it was left to second-place Onalenna Khonkhobe to entertain the audience. However, there was one interview that stole the show.

With a school day tomorrow, the only junior lady at the prizegiving was 3^rd placed Samantha Gavin. She explained how she wanted to join other family members and run in 2025 but was still too young. Samantha completely enchanted the audience. Her excitement and youthful exuberance brought a fresh energy in the room.

Gerda Steyn, who was sitting just in front of me, might have won her seventh title but she produced her biggest smile of the weekend as a shy schoolgirl answered Mosibodi Whitehead’s questions. Samantha’s unprepared, unstructured answers and youthful innocence captivated the audience. She got to rub shoulders with her heroes onstage in the group photo (she just couldn’t drink any of the Champagne that was popped and passed around).

This was an evening Samanatha will never forget. I didn’t think about it at the time but once BrahGate broke I wondered what would have happened if some entitled idiot had run in another junior lady’s number and knocked her off the podium? Samantha would have been sitting at home doing her homework on this Sunday evening instead of revelling in a once in a lifetime memory.

[Correction on previous article: In a previous article I stated that Karin-Mari missed out on the prize giving function because of the uncertainty around final positions. This was incorrect, the Top 10 in the ultra but only Top 5 in the half marathon were invited.]

[Monday 13 April, Morning]

Karin-Mari gets a message from a friend that she should double check the results because now she’s in 11th and “the Larissa athlete is not there anymore.” She is also told that she should “query the Tegan athlete” because her friend knows that the “Tegan girl is actually injured and would not be able to run those times.”

As ActionPhoto starts uploading their race day pictures, Karin-Mari keeps punching in “69738”. Eventually a message displays that there are “8 images found”. She immediately clicks the “Show Images” button and sees what is clearly a male runner competing as Tegan Garvey. Bewildered, she wonders what to do next.

Karin-Mari chats to one of the Jeppe AC’s stalwarts and a mentor, Kim Pain. On Saturday Kim became just the 4^th lady to ever run 30 Two Oceans ultra marathons and is one of only two ladies who’ve earned a triple laurel at both Two Oceans and Comrades. If anyone will know what to do, Kim will.

[Monday 13 April, Late Afternoon]

I get a WhatsApp message from Kim Pain reading, “I have a very distraught Jeppe member Karin-Mari Dötze who was initially 10th placed lady at the half marathon yesterday…”. Kim asks if I can investigate further.

I chat to Kim. She puts me in touch with Karin-Mari. I chat to Karin-Mari. Her first words are, “It was a really tough and emotional day yesterday…” I get investigating. BrahGate erupts.

[Friday 17 April]

By now the story has gained a lot of traction. An email arrives at the info@twooceansmarathon.org.za address. It is an apology from the 10th placed “lady” Nic Bradfield. I contact Karin-Mari to ask if she’d like to see the apology. She would.

I also say, “In the apology Bradfield asked how he can make this right – do you have any ideas?”. Karin-Mari would like to see the apology. I get permission and share it. As for what can be done, not much. Karin-Mari’s magic moment in the sunshine has been stolen and it can never be recovered.

Karin-Mari says, “I really don’t think that there is something that they [Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield] can do to fix this. It happened and the moment is gone. I just really hope that people next year really think about the consequences so it does not happen again. It’s just not acceptable what they did. Rules are rules and they should start following them.”

She concludes her voice note with, “They didn’t take my money because I’m still going to get my prize. It was not physical; it was a personal thing that was taken away from me.”

Afterword: Can anything be done for Karin-Mari?

Whilst the moment is gone and the memory is ruined; how do we prevent this from becoming just another story about mediocre men ruining women’s sport? There is perhaps one possible silver-lining to the BrahGate cloud. Karin-Mari is probably the only 2026 Two Oceans half marathon gold medallist that was powered by supplements that she paid for herself and ran in shoes that weren’t sponsored.

When I asked her if she has any sponsors at all Karin-Mari replied, “No, hopefully in the future I will get some sponsors. That will really help me.”

There you go. In a world of social media fakery, if you have the means and are looking for a hard-working, honest and dependable representative for your products, you can’t go wrong supporting the only club athlete to earn a gold medal at the 2026 Two Oceans half marathon.

The post Karin-Mari’s Story (How Two Morons Stole her Special Moment) appeared first on The Running Mann.

Luke Jacobs, a Partnership Sales Manager with HYROX South Africa, decided to run the Two Oceans half marathon in Larissa Parekh’s race number. He finished as 7^th lady. As you can see from the photos below he does not run in a sports bra.

Tegan Garvey, the daughter of former Springbok prop Adrian Garvey, gave her number to a “friend”. His name is unknown at this stage (if anyone can provide a positive ID please let me know) but he managed to secure her the 10^th lady position.

Update: The mystery man is Nic Bradfield: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18GMGcsL2Q/

Not only is this clearly against the very well-publicised rules, but it also has major implications for the organisers, medical staff and the two female athletes who had, what should have been the best day of their lives, ruined by a couple of entitled plonkers.

I was contacted by a spokesperson from Jeppe AC about their distraught athlete, the only amateur lady in the Top 10. Two Oceans is the largest half marathon in South Africa and it is extremely rare for a club athlete to finish in the Top 10. I have subsequently been in touch with the real 10^th placed lady, Karin-Marie Dötze (a young mother and primary school teacher), about exactly what the impact is of these selfish acts by Insta bros.

Instead of rubbing shoulders with Gerda and her other heroes at the official prize giving at the Cape Sun on Sunday evening, Karin-Marie was dealing with the crushing disappointment of slipping into 12^th position (ironically Dötze is the Catalan word for 12).

Both men have since been officially removed from the results and will face a formal disciplinary process which is likely to result in a two-year ban from the event for both the bib bandit and the enabler. Karin-Marie Dötze has belatedly been recognised as the 10^th placed female.

Other Cheating Investigations

I can also confirm that 141 runners in the ultra and 252 runners in the half marathon started ahead of their assigned batch. A time penalty of 5 minutes per batch jumped has been applied to all these runners. They will be contacted by the race office and given the opportunity to provide an explanation to have the penalty time reversed. However, it is expected that the vast majority of penalty times will remain intact. Repeat batch jumpers face disqualification and a ban from the event.

In addition, about 20 runners are facing sanction for illegally running Sunday’s half marathon in their Saturday ultra marathon race number and a substantial number of tipoffs have been received about bib banditting during the weekend’s events.

Apologies

I was able to contact Luke Jacobs who issued the following apology, “Hi Stuart, I did not plan on participating this year. While supporting on Saturday I was given an unused entry by an international runner for the following day. I made an error in judgment and did not consider the consequences. I should not have taken part, and I sincerely apologise for any impact on the event and fellow participants. Regards” I have suggested that he apologises directly to the impacted female athletes as well.

Likewise Tegan Garvey was apologetic, “It is super unfortunate for what it had come to and please do accept my most sincere apologies. I am an avid runner who enjoys all half marathons. I was extremely grateful to get an entry and had been training exceptionally hard for the half. However, the day before my hip gave in completely, leaving me unable to even walk. I felt bad as to give up my race entry so my friend ran in my place. Please accept my apologies, I did not want anything to be ruined. I did not consider the severe implications of giving my entry to someone. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It will certainly not happen again.”

I asked Tegan if she’d provide the name of her friend and the nature of their relationship but am still awaiting a response. No response was received from Larissa Parekh, who’d entered the race as a Canadian, at the time of publishing.

A second article will follow.

The post Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online appeared first on The Running Mann.