"I'm injury free and mentally strong" - Nyahora targets top ten finish on Two Oceans debut

Olympian Rutendo Nyahora will take on her maiden Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon on Saturday 11 April and is aiming for a top ten finish. The Zimbabwean long distance runner who first made a name for herself in 2012 as a consistent podium finisher in the SPAR Grand Prix, will line up for the 56km this weekend after making her ultra marathon debut at the City to City Marathon last September. Completing that 50km race in 3:41.09 for eighth position has motivated the Hollywood AC top runner to try her hand  at The World's Most Beautiful Marathon. 

"So far so good. I am happy," she tells #TheTopRunner. "Last year I ran my first Ultra, the City to City Marathon. I ran from Joburg to Pretoria and I was happy with my performance. I also ran Soweto and I did well there too," she says reflecting on her 2:48:46 clocking at the Africanbank Soweto Marathon in November which also earned her eighth position.

Nyahora in action during the Africanbank Soweto Marathon where she took eighth position. Photo Credit: Action Photo.

"Now I am looking forward to my first Two Oceans. City to City motivated me to run the Two Oceans because the aim was to just do a long run and just run to 45kms. But my coach had told me that if I still felt good after the 45km mark, then it’s up to me to run the last 5km. When I reached the 45km I was feeling good, I was feeling strong so I decided to finish the race. From then on, I thought to myself that I am ready for Two Oceans." 

Nyahora, who has been running for over two decades, reveals that her decision to transition to racing the ultras was also informed by the wear and tear on her body. The 37-year-old suffered heartbreak in France at the 2024 Paris Olympics - her second Olympic appearance - when a hamstring injury forced her to bail before reaching the finish line. That experience made her realise that it was time to move up in distance.

Nyahora represented Zimbabwe in two Olympic Marathons - Rio 2016 and Paris 2024. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"I had been battling with hamstring injuries since 2024, before the Olympics and after the Olympics as well. 2024 was not a good year for me. I only started feeling better last year. That is when I decided to focus on longer distances and avoid 10km race because when you run 10km you need to do more speed work in training. Due to my hamstring injury I decided to take a break from running speed," she explains.

If her recent results are anything to go by, then it suggests that this change in approach is already beginning to bear fruit for the mother of two. Although this will be her first attempt at the gruelling 56km race around the Cape Peninsula, Nyahora who is armed with a 2:32:00 personal best over the standard marathon, believes she is capable to producing a top 10 finish at the 2026 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon powered by BYD.

"I am targeting a top 10 finish. It is all about milage, that is what you do when you train for an ultra. That is what I have been doing and so far so good. I am injury free and mentally strong," she says.