Givemore Mudzinganyama catches ‘the big fish’ at The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon this past weekend.
Zimbabwe-born and Johannesburg-based Givemore Mudzinganyama, 32, who had previously dabbled in the Two Oceans, having run to 12th position in the 2015 Half Marathon and having earned an impressive runners-up medal behind Kane Reilly in the 2018 Long Trail race.
The Preparation
After experiencing considerable success as a trail athlete– including a hattrick of wins at the Cape Town Peace Trail 21km and partnering Edwin Sesipi to victory in the AfricanX team race – Mudzinganyama pondered his future as an athlete.
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“I loved trail running, but you can’t easily make a living in that discipline,” Mudzinganyama admitted. “So after working at the ASICS shoe store in Johannesburg, I opted to become a full-time professional athlete and joined up with Hendrick Ramaala and his club, Entsika.”
But it was a lesson in fishing, which was responsible for Mudzinganyama’s path to the Oceans’ glory. “I was struck by what our manager said at our club’s end-of-year meeting last November,” Mudzinganyama said. “He said that while you could earn some smaller income by running regular shorter-distance road races if you ‘can catch one big fish a year’ you could make a real living.
“He was talking about the big races in South Africa, including Two Oceans, Comrades, Cape Town Marathon and Soweto Marathon. I liked what he said and decided to try to catch my fish in the Two Oceans! Training with Coach (Hendrick) Ramaala’s running group at Zoo Lake has made a big difference and prepared me well for today.”
Winning The Totalsports Two Ocean Marathon
Mudzinganyama’s win was a product of good planning, great timing and superb execution and it didn’t come easily. Shaking off charismatic Nedbank athlete, Dan Matshailwe, in the final quarter of the climb to Constantia Nek, Mudzinganyama surged past Maxed Elite race leader, Lesotho’s Lebello Mopenyane, on the approach to Kirstenbosch.
But Matshailwe’s race was not yet run and he came back with a vengeance. And adding to the mix, last year’s runner-up, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana, finally found his race legs and was flying through the field, setting up a thrilling finish for the second successive year.
It was anyone’s race, but Mudzinganyama was as good as his name, and ‘gave a little more’ when he needed it most, racing home on the UCT Green Mile to win just 23 seconds ahead of Matshailwe, with Mhakwana 21 seconds back in third.
Remarkably, just as was the case last year, the first two across the line were Two Oceans Ultra-marathon debutants, with Mudzinganyama racing further than he has ever done. And although the Mpumalanga-based Matshailwe put in a storming finish after struggling with his quadriceps earlier, the Zimbabwean was never going to concede victory and he held on in superb style to claim victory.
Entiska gained their second gold with Msawenkosi Mthalane crossing the line in fourth, 40 seconds clear of Mopenyane, who had led the race from shortly before halfway until he was overhauled by Mudzinganyama just over 5 km from home.
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3 Dads. 224 Weighted Kilometres. One Goal. Participate at The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon
Amongst the race participants were Scott Parker, Leandro Trindade and Tiaan Visser who we have announced on our social platforms earlier in the year, that they have decided to challenge themselves and run the Cape Town Marathon 2023 wearing 20lbs weight vests and to raise R250,000 for ILoveBoobies ZA NPC, who do great work for a cause that’s very close to their hearts. Click here to donate to their givengain initiative.
