Ultra marathon queen Gerda Steyn celebrating after Two Oceans win

"They say there are two things that are certain in life, death and taxes. I would like to add a third thing that is certain: If Gerda Steyn decides to run the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon she is going to win it."

That was how CapeTalk's John Maytham introduced Steyn, who bagged her record-breaking seventh consecutive Two Oceans Marathon win in 3:27:43.

"On Saturday morning, I woke up with all the nerves and all the emotions that go through your mind. I did think: `I feel ready, I feel prepared. Nothing went wrong. I'm not ill. I just have to go and do the job now'."

Was there a moment in the race where she knew she was going to take it?

"So, just after the marathon mark, I noticed the lady who was still with me coming into Hout Bay. I was able to open up a gap. And that was the last that I seen of her.

"And I felt really, really strong climbing up Constantia Nek. And I had to just convince myself that if I can keep running strong, I'm going to do it. So that's how it played out. And I'm very, very fortunate with the result."

Champions training together

Steyn went into detail about how she and the winner of the men's race, Arthur Jantjies, who finished in 3:09:25 - trained together.

"We both were training in Dullstroom in Mpumalanga. I knew that they were a group of three athletes training together and I know that for me, almost all the time I train on my own. And I thought let me just connect with them... And so we were doing quite a few of our long runs together."

Steyn said she knew it was Arthur's third ultra-marathon. "So, I think for them to also hear from someone who's had a lot of experience was really helpful. And for me on the other hand it was really, really helpful to have company on my run. So I think we complemented each other really well."

Next is the Comrades

"First on the list is to make sure I recover well enough to go into a new training block and then before we know it, we'll be lining up again for the Comrades Marathon."

This year, the Comrades is an Up Run and takes place on 14 June. Steyn has won the Comrades four times.

To listen to the full interview on CapeTalk, click the media player below: