Returning to the start line of The Total Sports Two Ocean Marathon this year we have Irvette van Zyl "aka The other South African in the ladies elite field", as Irvette jokingly recalls the 2022 race and how Gerda pipped her in the last 3km to take the win and break the course record. In today's conversation - our most candid and authentic one to date (our apologies for all of the audio blips) - we hear about the past two years of injuries, and challenges that she's faced in her fight back up to the top.With her incredible CV of experience in road running and the insights gained within the period of struggle, she was our top pick for a single episode on the TTOM and why it remains Africa's finest ultra-marathon.We chat:Race day planning and what to expect from the next 2 weeksNutrition and race day fuelling The route and what to expect from the dayPro tips including the best seconding spots and choosing the racing line to avoid the ITB_biting camberAlternative training and staying fit recovering while recovering from injuryInspiring sentiments and words of inspiration to get you psyched up to run your best TTOMNeed more info? Remember that in Season 2 (2023) we covered a 6 episode series on the Total Sports Two Oceans - feel free to go back and re listen to the magic from all our previous Two Oceans experts.All the best for this years race!Want to connect with us? Feel free to pop us an email on info@makingarunner.com or follow us on social media @makingarunner on Instagram or Facebook.