Table of Contents
- Background
- Registration
- Where to Stay for The Two Oceans Marathon
- Expo + Running Kit Collection
- Race Morning – Sleep + Breakfast
- Race Morning – Running Gear
- Race Morning – Logistics
- Luggage Area
- Start Line
- Running Route
- My Performance
- Hydration/Water Intake
- Finish Line
- Medal Engraving
- My Official Time – Fitbit/Nike Run Club Stats
- Post Marathon
- What should people consider before running Two Oceans Marathon
- What’s Next?
Hello everyone! Let the Cape Town blog posts begin! I went to Cape Town two weeks ago to run the annual Two Oceans Marathon and thought it would be helpful to review the race for anyone interested in doing the marathon!
This is my second half marathon review after reviewing the 2022 StanChart Nairobi Marathon. The StanChart Nairobi Marathon is currently one of my most popular posts so I would like to assume that you all love reading my marathon reviews and recaps! To prepare for the marathon, I used the Nike Run Club again and already shared how I prepared for my first half marathon here
Background
The Two Oceans Marathon is held annually in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday and Sunday during Easter weekend. The Two Oceans Marathon is known as “the world’s most beautiful marathon,” as the route is along the Cape Peninsula in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. For this reason, the sporting event is currently the biggest marathon in South Africa.
This year, the marathon consisted of the ultramarathon (56km) and half marathon (21.1km). I signed up for the half marathon race. They should announce the 2024 dates late October and the website will start a countdown to the event. This year’s marathon happened on 15th (ultramarathon) and 16th April (half marathon) starting at Newlands and finishing at the University of Cape Town campus.
If you are planning on doing the Two Oceans Marathon next year, I hope my review will be helpful and make you feel comfortable about participating in the marathon. If this will be your first marathon and do not know where to start, I shared how I trained for my first half marathon last year as a beginner in this post.
Registration
I would like to say that I got all my communication regarding the marathon through Instagram. I would recommend following them on Instagram to always know any registration details, information or updates regarding the run.
I entered the 2023 Two Oceans Marathon as soon as the registration portal opened. I signed up online on their website at https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za as an individual international entry for the half marathon. As a first time participant, you have to create an account profile with your details. You need to be 18+, have an email address, phone number and passport number to successfully register. To log into your profile, you need your passport number.
Once your profile is created, it is time to register for the run. You have the option of signing up for the ultra marathon or half-marathon. I recommend choosing a size down when choosing your marathon shirt. If you wear large, I recommend choosing a medium shirt.
After signing up, you will receive an email that your entry has been confirmed. The next step is to wait for the confirmation of your entry that will allow you to pay for your spot once approved.
The registration implied that the race is based on a lottery system which implies that the race only offers non-guaranteed entries. The website also stated that the registration deadline was 15th December 2022 but I know the registration portal was still open in March 2023. I know someone who signed up three months later and still got a spot.
If your entry is approved, you are to be notified via email. I did not get the email. I had to log into my profile to see if I received my entry. I did get a spot! 😎
The next step is to pay for your entry. The entry fee is R725 which is approximately KES 5,350 or $40. There are additional optional costs to help with your entry but I only chose the medal engraving fee. I will review this part later but it costs R80 which is approximately KES 600 or $5. My total cost was R805 which is approximately KES 6,000 or $45.
If you are an international participant, I recommend paying using a debit or credit card. I paid using my local debit card. Once your payment is confirmed, you receive an email confirmation.
The confirmation also gives further information on the expo and how to collect your running kit.
Where to Stay for The Two Oceans Marathon
I chose my hotel based on the distance to the conventional center for the expo, the start line and to the finish line. I chose The Rockefeller Hotel & Residence Cape Town as it was simply a 10 minute walk to the convention center and a 3 minute drive. The Rockefeller is also a 16 minute drive to the Newlands start line but roughly 25 minutes because of traffic during the marathon day. The hotel is also a 9 minute drive from University of Cape Town, the finish line, but make this 30 minutes because of traffic and road closures. You will want to stay in a place next to the starting line as you will be up early for the race. If you are looking for a place, I recommend The Rockefeller Hotel because of its proximity, great amenities and great breakfast food. There were also several people in the hotel who were there for the marathon.
Expo + Running Kit Collection
Four months later, I received an email regarding the marathon kit collection. The email contained your official race number, seeding and start time. The seeding time is determined based on your previous marathon finishing times. The faster runners start earlier as they are in front while slower runners start later and are at the back. To ensure you get a ‘better’ seeding time, make sure you submit your official times on previous 10km, 15km or 21.1km runs during registration.
The email stated that the race number and goodie bag collection is at Cape Town International Convention Centre 1 (CTICC 1), 1 Lower Long Street, Cape Town.
The email shared the below timings of the expo and registration:
- Thursday 13th April 2023: 10am to 7pm
- Friday 14th April 2023: 10am to 7pm
- Saturday 15th April 2023: 9am to 3pm (Expo is open to all, but only Half Marathon entrants may collect their race packs)
The expo is the only place to collect your race kit and is free to all participants. I went on the first day to collect my racing kit. It was a twenty minute walk from my hotel and arrived at 6pm. I would recommend going on the first day as it was a weekday and not very busy.
I spent roughly 45 minutes at the expo. First thing I noticed was that there was only one entrance and one exit. I just wish the venue had two exits for safety purposes. There were two lines at the venue: one for ultramarathon participants and the other for half-marathon participants. I was in line for less than two minutes and went to the half-marathon booth. The email stated that I should bring my passport but they never asked for this. You will later receive an email that includes a QR Code, show this code and it helps speed up the collection of your race pack.
Once you show your registration details, you receive a bright red drawstring bag. If you are doing the ultramarathon, your bag will be blue. Your 2023 Two Oceans Marathon race pack includes the following: two race numbers, safety pins, timing chip attached to race number, goodie bag, race t-shirt, tic tac, rice, mango flavored tea bag (Tetley), deodorant (Oh So Heavenly) and a leaflet showing upcoming women’s races. Your race number has a tracking/timing chip. It is important to not interfere with this chip as it tracks when you cross the starting line, 5km. 10.55km, 15km and the finish line.
The shirt is blue with the front showing the route for the half marathon and behind all the sponsors of the marathon. Unlike the StanChart marathon, the shirt design shows that this is a 2023 marathon so the design must change next year. I also noticed that there was no section that includes emergency information or contact.
I shared the below video on my Instagram highlighting what is included in the 2023 Two Oceans race pack.
Once I collected my race pack and goodie bag it was time to explore the expo as there are several vendors who sell products that target runners. There were several shoe vendors like Hoka, Nike and Asics. I currently have the Nike Pegasus 39 but all the options looked great, especially the Hokas. There was also a foot specialist to help find you the perfect running shoe for your marathon.
I also spotted a Garmin Forerunner 265 and was very impressed. I currently have a Fitbit Charge 5 but was tempted to look into this as a future investment for my running. There was also an Under Armor stall and can confirm that they have the best sports bra for long distance running. There were hydration vests as well but I personally do not see this as a need but more of a would-be-nice-to-have.
There were also several areas for photo opportunities and showing the history of Two Oceans Marathon which was educational as a first time participant in this race.
Since the expo was next to the city center and downtown, I simply walked around and got to explore the city more. I almost did 15k steps on this day. You can also head to The Nines or Sonny and Irene for dinner. Both restaurants are a 14 minute drive from the convention center and The Nines had the most delicious asparagus risotto! Both are located in the same building!
Race Morning – Sleep + Breakfast
The morning of the race I slept for 5h 26 min. I usually try to get at least 7 hours of sleep everyday but honestly speaking I did not feel tired but pretty well rested. I would probably recommend sleeping early to get at least six hours.
As for breakfast, I simply had an apple. I usually have a banana and yogurt before my run but only had an apple. I wished I requested my hotel to have an early breakfast option to include a banana and yogurt.
Race Morning – Running Gear
My biggest concern was contemplating running with a jacket or not as Cape Town is generally windy. I wore a jacket but decided to simply put it in my luggage. For the shirt, I wore The Two Oceans Marathon shirt, Under Armor sports bra and The North Face leggings. To prevent chafing while running, I recommend wearing leggings. For the first time ever, I had no friction and did not apply anything on the inside of my thighs. I recommend The North Face leggings but I would like to believe that other leggings would work fine. For shoes, I wore my Nike Pegasus 39! I also had a pink running belt.
Race Morning – Logistics
Two weeks before the marathon, Two Oceans communicated start times for the different seeding times via email. As I was to start at 6:38am, I recommend arriving at the start venue half an hour before your seeding time. I took a taxi to the start venue, Main Road Corner Dean Street. It is important to note that once you arrive at the start venue, there is roughly a 10 minute walk to the actual starting line. This is why I recommend arriving at the venue half an hour before your start time. There will be marshalls in the area to guide you and other runners as well so there is no way to get lost.
I would also recommend using the washrooms at home before arriving as the pot-a-potties had long lines. Some people opted to use the bush but for comfort just use the washroom at home. To avoid missing your starting time, either come early to use the washroom or use the washroom at home.
Luggage Area
If you are interested in leaving your luggage, simply show your race number and they will place your luggage in a plastic bag. The luggage area was nearer to the other entrance, not the Main Road Corner Dean Street entrance. I think there was only one luggage dropoff but it was not busy at all, at least when I dropped off my luggage as it took less than a minute.
At the end of the race, simply show your race number and you will be handed your luggage.
Start Line
Once you reach the start area, there will be different areas marked with all the letters for the different seeding times. Again, everything was well organized and you will not be lost or confused. No one was confirming your seed time so I think it is possible to easily switch your seed time. The start times for the different seeding times were only 2 minutes apart. The start time for the first batch of runners was 6:30am while the last start time was 7am.
There is a letter showing the different seeding times. My batch (Group E) started the run at 6:38am on the dot. According to my official results, I started at 6:38:02am.
It was still dark during my start time at 6:38am but ten minutes into my run the sun was out!
Running Route
I wish I took pictures to share but I was honestly in the zone. I will just share the running route that was at the Expo.
I should also mention that I was informed that headphones are not allowed during the race so I did the entire half marathon in ‘silence.’ It was not bad at all as it did allow me to hear the crowd cheer for us.
My Performance
The first three kilometers I decided to really take my time and start slow. My main strategy was to save my energy for the last 5 km. Importantly, I knew that the marathon is hilly and wanted to save my energy for the hills. According to Nike Run Club, my average pace for the first 5km was 6’45” which is slower than my usual pace.
As you can see, my average pace declined at 3km as there was a hill between 2km and 4km. This was expected but I knew my average pace would be better after I had conquered all the hills.
After the upward hills, it became fairly flat but we were now faced with downward hills. I enjoyed going down as my speed generally improved and was running a kilometer in less than 6 minutes. I also started to really enjoy this moment as the crowd started to become bigger and there was a loop that made it possible to see other runners ahead of you. In this moment, you get motivated and pumped knowing that will be you soon.
After completing 10km in 1 hour (I was hoping for 56min) and seeing the hill around the 13th km, it hit me that this would not be a sub-2 half marathon for me! It was okay but I felt that the hill around the 13th km was the hardest and most challenging. I wanted to walk and slow down but persevered doing the slowest jog. Nike Run Club can corroborate my slow performance in this section. My slowest run was around the 13th kilometer.
I have to admit that the last 6 kilometers were my favorite part of the run! It is very easy to lose hope and give up after the extremely challenging hills but my body had recovered and at ease. The first part felt like a challenging warmup and now the run officially started for me. I really hyped myself to complete these last kilometers.
In my head, I was convincing myself that 6km means only 40 minutes remaining. You can see that my fastest km was on the 17th km as I had mentally psyched myself for the last part of the race.
I also noticed that during the last six kilometers more people were receiving medical attention and walking. It is not the ideal view as it tempts you to consider walking but you have to motivate yourself that the finish line is close.
I planned to go faster during my last 3 kilometers but honestly speaking I changed my goal to simply finish the run, not walk and improve my StanChart time. I think the last 2 kilometers you can hear the microphone from the finish line and you get excited to run and finish. The crowd is booming, spectators are cheering for you and strangers are yelling your name. The crowd is there for you and you have no choice but to cross that finish line.
I had no choice but to record my last meters when I saw the finish line. I could not believe that I made it! I smiled as soon as I saw the green grass painted with the different logos of every sponsor involved in the marathon. I finally removed my phone and had to record. I apologize for my heavy breathing. 🙈
Hydration/Water Intake
There was a refreshment station at 3km, 9km, 11km, 15km, 17km, 18.5km and 19.5km. There was water, powerade and coca-cola at all the refreshment stations. I did not see any snacks in the refreshment station. The refreshments were in small plastic cups. I have to admit it was a little bit challenging drinking water from the cups as sometimes I would snort the water and thought I was about to be taken out. I think I actually prefer water bottles to water cups. It made me really consider hydration vests even though I thought of them as nice to have running gear.
I did not consume any of the powerade or coke offered in the refreshment stations.
The below map shows all the refreshment station points. It is the km with a navy blue dot.
Finish Line
After you cross the finish line at University of Cape Town Rugby Fields, there were volunteers handing over the medals. I have never been so happy to say thank you to a complete stranger. Below is the video of the special moment of me receiving my medal. I was all smiles 😭😅
Each participant receives a medal for completing the marathon. The medal has an image of the Two Oceans Marathon logo at the center, the top part states that this is “the world’s most beautiful marathon.” Beneath this text, it says 21.1km. At the bottom, the text says Cape Town. The lanyard was light blue with the 2023 Two Oceans Sports Marathon logo.
I spent my time taking several pictures with my medal because I was so proud of myself for completing this marathon. Below is a short boomerang I took with my medal.
There was a medic tent if you needed further medical assistance at the finishing grounds. I did not see any food vendors around the finish line but you do receive a 300ml bottle of water and a can of Coke Zero (no sugar).
Medal Engraving
As soon as you leave the main finish line area, there are banners pointing to different directions. I went to the medal engraving tent to ensure my medal was engraved with my time.
You have to have paid for the engraving during registration to have your medal engraved. They do not accept payment on race day. The engraving took less than a minute as it was not busy. The back of your medal is engraved with your time. This is how the engraved medal looked like
If I am honest, I was a little bit disappointed with the quality of the medal engraving. I expected an actual engraving, a flat surface that has lines cut inside and you can feel the texture but all I got was a print. I thought that this felt very meh! 🤷🏿♀️
My Official Time – Fitbit/Nike Run Club Stats
My official finish time was 2:07:06 min while my net time was 2:06:49 min. Even though I did not manage to get a sub 2 half marathon, I improved by 2 minutes! Last year, my official StanChart Marathon time was 2h 9min.
My Fitbit and Nike Run Club usually have different statistics but this time they were pretty close to my official time. My Nike Run Club was pretty close to my official time (2:06:58 min) but I did more than a half marathon (21.34km). On the other hand, my Fitbit’s official time was 2:06:43 min but I completed 21.37km instead of 21.1km.
Post Marathon
After completing the run, participants exit the UCT campus but if you are to uber just keep in mind that it is a pretty long walk to the uber pick up area. After my run, I went back to my hotel then had the iconic afternoon tea at Mount Nelson Hotel. I just wanted to have desserts, tea and relax. It was very worth it!
What should people consider before running Two Oceans Marathon
- If you plan on listening to music remember that no headphones are allowed but few people carry their music speakers!
- If you want others to track your run, make sure you download the SportSplits tracker and claim your profile. This app allows your friends and family to track your progress on race day. By downloading the app, they can track you from start to finish.
- I would recommend doing a medical check before running the marathon. Better safe than sorry!
- Do more outdoor and challenging hilly runs as Two Oceans Marathon included hills as part of the running route.
- Go through the marathon’s website and your email confirmation to be familiar with all the details, starting point and time.
- There were no COVID restrictions for the marathon
- If you are a slow runner and still running while the roads are open, you will be considered a pedestrian as the cut off time is 3 hours!
If you are planning on visiting Cape Town, consider coming in April during Easter weekend to do the Two Oceans Marathon as well.
What’s Next?
As for now, I hope to take part in the Nairobi Expressway Marathon as my next marathon. My goal is to complete this marathon in exactly 2 hours. Manifesting and putting it out there!
Thank you for reading this far! I hope I have inspired you to try out the next marathon in your local town.
Evelyn Adhiambo says
Great, detailed and helpful review for those aspiring to participate in the marathon in future.