Two Oceans Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times, Event Details
The Two Oceans Marathon returns in 2015 in its traditional slot on Easter Saturday, which falls on the 4th of April this year, bringing you two of the most unique races in the world in the fantastic setting of Cape Town, South Africa.
Dubbed "the world's most beautiful marathon," the Two Oceans Marathon actually consists of two races, a 56-kilometer ultramarathon and a 21-kilometer half-marathon. Both events are preceded by a number of fun runs and trail runs on Good Friday.
Due to a series of fires, the route for this year's ultramarathon has been altered, with Chapman's Peak giving way for several miles along the Ou Kaapse Weg.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Date: Saturday, April 4
Start Times: The ultramarathon will start at 6:30 a.m. local time, or 5:30 p.m. BST. The half-marathon is ran in several groups, with groups A-C starting at 5:50 a.m. local, group D starting at 6 a.m. and group E at 6:10 a.m.
Both races will start outside the Newlands Brewery, on Cape Town's Main Road.
Course Map
Ultramarathon
As reported by Talkfeed's Brad Brown, event organisers have decided to deviate from the standard route, with Chapman's Peak proving too unstable after a series of fires:
General Manager Carol Vosloo explained the decision:
"This is not a decision that was made lightly. We are responsible for every single runner on Race Day, so all decisions were made with this in mind.
We remained hopeful that Chappies would be available to us until the very end. But it became clear that the extent of the damage done to the mountain, coupled with the vulnerability of the mountain pass to weather changes, would hold a significant safety risk for our runners and volunteers.
"
This isn't the first time the Ou Kaapse Weg has been used as a detour, so runners shouldn't fear the new route will pose difficulties. After the start along the Main Road—outside the Newlands Brewery—runners will continue as normal, via Fish Hoek and into Kommetjie.
But instead of turning toward Chapman's Peak, the new route will follow Ou Kaapse Weg and along River Road, before joining the half-marathon's route at the Ladies Mile/Parish Road intersection. From there's it's a straight line along Southern Cross Drive to the finish at the University of Cape Town campus.
According to the event's official website, the new route means the maximum elevation has been increased to well over 300 meters, with a previous high of just under 230 meters.
Half-marathon
The half-marathon follows the Main Road but turns right onto Protea Road and into Paradise Road, leading to a long straight. Running along the famous Table Mountain, runners will make their way to Bel Ombre before turning left.
Via Spaanschemat River Road, the route will lead to the intersection of Ladies Mile and Parish road, where it merges with the ultramarathon.
For more information and maps of both the route and elevation, visit the event's official website by clicking here.
Event details
Entries have been closed for the ultramarathon, half-marathon and trail runs, but runners can still apply for any of the fun runs or the ultra trails, which have been limited to 500 participants.
Sportsscientists.com's Ross Tucker shared some useful information ahead of Saturday's race:
Full information regarding road closures can be found by clicking here.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
