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Event Information:
The
Two Oceans Marathon is a 56 km / 35
mile ultramarathon held annually in
Cape Town, South Africa on the
Saturday of the Easter weekend.
Claimed to be "the world's most
beautiful marathon", the race is run
against a backdrop of spectacular
scenery through the Cape Peninsula.
The
race starts in Newlands, and follows
a more or less circular route
through Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, over
Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek,
and eventually finishes at the
University of Cape Town campus.
Nearly 8,000 runners entered the
2007 event. A very popular half
marathon (21 km) (13.1 mi) is also
held on the same day as the
ultramarathon. In 2007 the half
marathon attracted nearly 11,000
entries, making it the biggest half
marathon in South Africa.
Approximately 6,000 runners also
took part in various fun runs the
day before the race.
Located on the shore of Table Bay,
Cape Town was originally developed
by the Dutch East India Company as a
victualling (supply) station for
Dutch ships sailing to Eastern
Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan
van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April
1652 established the first permanent
European settlement in South Africa.
Cape Town quickly outgrew its
original purpose as the first
European outpost at the Castle of
Good Hope, becoming the economic and
cultural hub of the Cape Colony.
Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush
and the development of Johannesburg,
Cape Town was the largest city in
South Africa.
Today
it is one of the most multicultural
cities in the world, reflecting its
role as a major destination for
immigrants and expatriates to South
Africa. As of 2007 the city had an
estimated population of 3.5 million.
Cape Town's land area of 2,455
square kilometres (948 sq mi) is
larger than other South African
cities, resulting in a comparatively
lower population density of 1,425
inhabitants per square kilometre
(3,690 /sq mi).
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