You’ve probably seen him serving meals with a quiet smile but what you might not know is that Sidney Cleophas has run more races than most people have had Sunday roasts… and now, at 67, he’s chasing his biggest finish line yet: the Boston Marathon.
Western Cape, South Africa (19 April 2025) – There are stories that make you stop mid-scroll. Stories that remind you what grit looks like. Stories that show us that the human spirit really can go the distance… and then some.
Sidney Cleophas’s journey is one of those.
You might recognise him as the friendly face behind the scenes at dinner parties and functions, always smiling, always calm. But beyond the apron and quiet charm is a man who’s clocked over 150 marathons… including 36 Two Oceans and 27 Comrades finishes. Oh, and 31 of those Two Oceans were done consecutively. He’s one of only 22 runners on the entire planet to achieve that.
And now, at 67, Sidney is lacing up for something entirely new… his first international race: the Boston Marathon.
Sidney’s running journey started in the most relatable way possible, as an observer. Back in 1987, during an Easter weekend shop in Claremont with his wife, he watched runners cross the bridge and felt something shift.
“That moment sparked something in me,” he says. He joined the Pinelands Athletics Club and ran his first Two Oceans the very next year. And he hasn’t stopped since.
But Sidney’s road didn’t start on that bridge.
Born in Pniël, a small town in the Cape Winelands, his early years were far from easy. With his mother working as a housekeeper to support him, Sidney was raised by a series of families, attending five different primary schools across the province. Each place, each home, each teacher added something to the quiet determination he carries today. After matriculating at Alexander Sinton High, Sidney worked for South African Railways and then Telkom, where he qualified as a technician and stayed for 37 years. But his passion for hospitality never left, and many Capetonians know him from the tables he served with grace and care.
His running stats are wild! A 10km in 36 minutes. A full marathon in 2 hours 46. A Comrades in 7 hours and 6 minutes. And perhaps most importantly, the ability to keep showing up, year after year, for over three decades.
At the heart of Sidney’s story is family. He and his wife Evon have been married for 45 years, and they raised three children, Lauren, Lynn and Clint. In 1999, their son Clint tragically passed away in a car accident at the age of 19. It’s the kind of loss no parent ever fully recovers from, but Sidney carried on, running with grief and running with love.
And now he’s taking on Boston.
A new city, a new route, a new dream, self-funded, but not alone. Friends and family have launched a BackaBuddy campaign to help support the journey: Run Sidney Run. Because they believe in him. Because they’ve seen the hours. The early mornings. The worn-out trainers and the medals quietly hung in his home.
This story is a reminder that greatness doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it shows up in silence, in early starts and long roads. Sometimes, it’s the quiet guy at the event who has run further, harder and with more heart than most of us can imagine.
Sidney, once a pantryman, now a powerhouse on the road, quietly proves that consistency beats flash and heart outpaces hype.
And for the rest of us?
Maybe it’s time we stop waiting for the perfect moment and start moving. Run towards what sets your soul alight. Hold close the people who shaped you. And remember: it’s never too late to take on something big, even if your journey’s already been a long one.
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