Cape Town - The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s revised marathon route has received the green light from the City of Cape Town.
The route approval, for the race on 16 October, is the culmination of months-long consultation between the race organisers and the City, to find the perfect balance between meeting the Abbott World Marathon Majors’ route requirements and minimising the traffic impact on the City and affected areas on Race Day.
“This is an important milestone and one of the major hurdles we had to cross,” says an elated Clark Gardner, Group CEO of Faces.
“It took significant time and planning to create a detailed route mitigation plan in conjunction with professional traffic engineers to ensure that our impact on public access and Cape Town’s traffic remains minimal. We are grateful for the City’s positive collaboration and support, and are fired up to continue with our race planning over the next 11 weeks.”
As a result of the adjustments, the start and finish will move to Helen Suzman Boulevard. Runners will immediately head towards the Southern Suburbs via the elevated freeway’s N1/N2 outbound lane, offering unparalleled views of the City, Table Mountain and harbour.
Athletes will run through District Six for the first time. The revised start means that runners will only pass City Hall in the 2nd half of the race, at the 30km mark. The Buitengracht Street bridge will no longer feature.
In a continuation of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s award-winning green event initiatives, the 2022 race will be sachet-free. Water, Coca-Cola and Powerade will be dispensed into cups - which will also be recycled separately - while athletes who prefer to run with hydration packs, bottles or cups will have refill facilities available along the route.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon was one of the first sporting events - and the second Sanlam-sponsored event - to be declared carbon neutral in South Africa in 2014 after Sanlam engaged with the JSE to pilot a carbon offset trading project.
Over the years, the event also spear-headed various other green event initiatives. It ranged from event waste recycling to supporting SA charities that focus on sustainable environmental interventions. It also promoted the “carry-your-own” initiative by having water refill stations in place for participants who want to run waste-free.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s Race Week will start with the opening of the event’s Expo and Registration at DHL Stadium in Green Point on 13 October.
The 5km and 10km Peace Runs will both take place on Saturday, 15 October, joining the 22km Trail Run and 46km Trail Marathon for an action-packed day. Race Week will culminate with the marathon on 16 October.
IOL Sport