Photo by Der Berzerker from Washington, DC, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
South Africa › Cape Town › Races
Two Oceans Marathon
56K ultra, Half marathon, 10K in Cape Town, normally held in March or April. A mixed half marathon course — Easter-weekend ultra over Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek; strict cut-offs.
The Two Oceans Marathon at a glance
| Distances | 56K ultra, Half marathon, 10K |
|---|---|
| Main distance | 21.1 km (half marathon) |
| Usually held | March or April |
| Course | Mixed |
| City | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Typical conditions | 23°C high / 15.1°C low, rain on ~15% of days |
Easter-weekend ultra over Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek; strict cut-offs.
Entering the Two Oceans Marathon
Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.
What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.
Weather at previous Two Oceans Marathon races
Across the last ten years, Cape Town in March or April has averaged a daily high of 23°C and a low of 15.1°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 15% of days.
These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.
How to prepare for the Two Oceans Marathon
How long to train
Build for 12 to 14 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For half marathon the block should peak at a longest run of 18–20 km, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Ten days of reduced volume is enough of a taper at this distance; keep one short session at race pace in the final week.
Training for this course
The course mixes surfaces and gradients, so build a training block that does the same rather than repeating one flat loop. Vary where you run week to week so nothing on race day is unfamiliar.
Conditions in March or April
Conditions are usually good for racing: highs average 23°C and lows 15.1°C in March or April, which is close to ideal for half marathon running. Dress for the temperature about ten degrees warmer than it actually is, since you will warm up within two kilometres.
Fuelling
A half marathon needs one gel or its equivalent around the hour mark for most runners, and a normal breakfast two to three hours before the start. Practise the same timing in at least three long runs so race morning is a repeat, not an experiment.
Race week
Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — half marathon fields move slowly through bag drop and security.
Distances and where the race is run
- 56K ultra
- Half marathon — 21.1 km
- 10K — 10 km
The pin marks Cape Town city centre, the area the Two Oceans Marathon starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.
Train on these roads: 10K routes in Cape Town · long runs in Cape Town · GPS art routes
Other races in Cape Town
- Sanlam Cape Town Marathon — Marathon, 10K, October