The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon race office made an additional 2 000 entries available for the half marathon, to accommodate the overwhelming response from runners wanting to take part in the 21km race across the Cape Peninsula.
The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon race office made an additional 2 000 entries available for the half marathon, to accommodate the overwhelming response from runners wanting to take part in the 21km race across the Cape Peninsula.
The field was extended to 13 500 on Wednesday. Runners quickly took advantage of this special dispensation and the extra entries had all been snapped up just after 3pm yesterday. Road running is currently enjoying a boom, with most of the races around the country during December and early January recording increased numbers.
“The response to our half-marathon has been phenomenal. We never expected to reach the cut-off so soon,” said race director Rowyn James. He said it had broken all previous records and reached the 11 500 cut-off mark only two months after entries opened.
The restricted field was initially set in consultation with the City of Cape Town, in the interests of runner safety, both out on the route and at the finish. James said the race office had received the City’s support in increasing the field, provided certain additional measures were introduced.
These include a revised finish layout to ensure a better flow of runners through the finish area and an updated medical plan for both the finish and out on the route. This will include mini-hospitals at strategic points, to allow for a quicker response time.
Ultra-marathon entries currently stand around the 1 400 mark, and compared to this time last year, they have more than doubled. Closing date for ultra entries remains 16 March. Participants wanting to upgrade, downgrade or substitute their entries can do so between 1 February and 16 March only.
