The World's Most Beautiful Marathon
Two Oceans Marathon
Two Oceans is Cape Town at its show-off best: 56 kilometres past False Bay, over Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek, finishing under the oaks at UCT. Add a 21,000-strong half marathon and a week of side events, and it's South Africa's biggest running festival.
Runners on Chapman's Peak Drive during the Two Oceans Ultra
- Distance: 56 km Ultra on Sunday; 21.1 km Half on Saturday.
- When: The first weekend of April (4 April 2027 for the Ultra).
- Cutoff: 7 hours for the Ultra, gun-to-mat from your start batch.
- Qualifier: A sub-5:00 marathon (or equivalent) is required for the Ultra.
- Entries: Both flagship races run through a ballot — 21,000 places each in 2027.
History
Born on the Cape Peninsula
The Two Oceans Marathon started in 1970 as a humble 35-mile training run for Comrades hopefuls — the Celtic Harriers club race drew just 26 finishers. Half a century later it fills Cape Town with roughly 50,000 runners across a five-day Event Week, and its 56km Ultra is one of the most sought-after entries in world running.
The name comes from the course's geography: the route skirts the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean waters around the Cape Peninsula. The marketing tagline — "the world's most beautiful marathon" — is one of the rare ones nobody argues with.
The Route
56km of postcard scenery (and two real climbs)
The Ultra loops the southern peninsula: out along False Bay through Muizenberg and Fish Hoek, across to the Atlantic side at Noordhoek, and then the two landmarks every Two Oceans runner talks about:
- Chapman's Peak — the spectacular cliff-side road above the ocean, climbed just after halfway. In years when "Chappies" is closed, the route diverts over the tougher Ou Kaapse Weg instead.
- Constantia Nek — the race's sting in the tail, a long grind that starts around the 42km mark, exactly when a standard marathon would be ending.
From the top of the Nek it's a fast, forested descent to the finish on the University of Cape Town's rugby fields. The Half Marathon shares the finish and the atmosphere, minus the peninsula's mountain passes.
Don't let the scenery fool you: the Ultra saves its hardest running for after 40km. Two Oceans is won and lost on Constantia Nek, not Chapman's Peak.
Qualifying & Entries
How to get to the start line
The Ultra requires proof you can go the distance: a marathon in under 5:00 (or an equivalent time over a longer race) run in the qualifying window, plus a minimum age of 20 on race day. South African runners also need a club membership with a permanent ASA licence. Our 2027 qualifying guide covers the standards, seeding batches and dates in full.
Demand outstrips even the 21,000-place fields, so both flagship races run through a ballot — for 2027 it's a single entry covering both events, with the draw in August. Runners with ten or more Ultra finishes earn a Blue Number and a priority entry window. The 2027 dates and entry details have the full timeline.
Race Day
What to expect on the day
- Early start: The Ultra sets off from Newlands before sunrise; you'll watch dawn break over False Bay somewhere around 10km.
- The cut-off: 7 hours, measured gun-to-mat from your own batch's start — but in-race cut-offs along the route are calculated off the final batch, so back-batch runners need to keep moving early.
- Medals worth chasing: golds for the top finishers, then time-based medals down to the blue for beating the final cut-off. A finish is a finish — every one of them is earned on the Nek.
- The crowds: Fish Hoek's main road, the Hout Bay welcome and the UCT finish are as loud as anything in South African running.
- Race week: A Night Run, the International Friendship Run, trail races and the Half make the whole week a festival — plenty of ways in for supporters and shorter-distance runners.
Beginner Advice
Tips for first-time Two Oceans runners
- Start with the Half. It's a world-class race in its own right and the best way to learn the event before committing to 56km.
- Qualify with room to spare. Your marathon time sets your start batch, and a comfortable qualifier means cleaner roads and calmer cut-off maths.
- Train for the last 16km. The race really begins at the marathon mark. Long runs that finish on tired, climbing legs are the single best preparation.
- Respect the descent. The drop off Constantia Nek punishes quads that only trained uphill.
- Enter the ballot properly. Note the dates, choose your event carefully, and have your qualifying details ready — plenty of fit runners miss race day on admin alone.
Your next step
Make Two Oceans your goal race
The Ultra rewards patience: qualify with a comfortable marathon, train on hills, and arrive in Cape Town with time to spare on the cut-offs. The Half is the perfect first taste of race week.