WE’RE a little under a month away from the annual Cape Town Marathon which takes on a completely new look today.
Entries have closed. So if you’re thinking of “making a plan” or “pulling some strings” because “I know some people” – forget it. That ship has sailed.
Renée Jordaan, Cape Town Marathon race director, said there had been “an overwhelmingly positive response from the running community” to this year’s event.
“Everyone is hungry for an in-person race. Runners who face travel restrictions or are unable to experience the race in Cape Town this year are also glad to be able to run the 5km or 10km Virtual Peace Runs or the Virtual Half Marathon,” said Jordaan.
Covid-19 safety protocols have necessitated a rethink of race weekend on October 16 and 17.
Chief among the changes is the absence of spectators along the route for any of the events.
“We know that spectators provide such an incredible vibe along the route and we will miss them along the course this year.
“But runners are still in for a treat because the route refreshment points crews will entertain, motivate and cheer them on from start to finish. Running enthusiasts can (also) follow the event’s live broadcast, and their loved ones on the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon app.”
The feature race, the 42.2km marathon on Sunday, will start at Fritz Sonnenberg Road outside the Cape Town Stadium. There will be a staggered start with athletes setting off in batches of 300 to ensure social distancing.
The cut-off time for runners to cross the finish line is six-and-a-half hours.
A revamped prize-giving will feature only the top three men and women. No lucky draw this year, sadly.
Lauren Kansley, from the Ommiedraai Friends running club, will be running the marathon for the firth time.
“This is the second one that I am doing during the pandemic. In November I travelled to Istanbul to run the Turkish Marathon and I was impressed by their focus on safety and Covid regulations.
“I am very grateful to run in my home town this year and preparations have been going well,” she said.
“I always enjoy the focus that marathon training gives you and nothing feels better than finishing on that blue carpet at CT Marathon. I can’t wait!”
Hilton Murray and his wife Anita, from Bellville Running Club, are counting the days to the marathon.
The pair are popularly known as Team Blitsie. Much like people cycle in tandem, the Murrays run together. Hilton pushes his wheelchair-bound wife in her jogger from start to finish. And he gets very excited when he talks about it.
“We’ve been running (together) for six years, and we’ve done more than 1000km all over the country. Everybody loves Anita because of her bubbly personality,” said Hilton proudly.
Leanne de Bassompierre is jetting into town from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
She’s been on a work assignment in Gabon, and putting in the miles on the beaches of Libreville. Some times she clocks 29km a day.
“I have loved the training. I started off slowly after having a hysterectomy in December, days after recovering from Covid. It’s made me realise how strong my body actually is,” she said.
Also in the field for this year’s marathon will be a group called Adventure For A Cause, who are literally taking the long road to the start line.
The 32-strong team will be running the 1520km journey from Johannesburg to Cape Town from October 8 to 15, in a bid to raise funds for charity.
“This year is going to be our eighth race. To date we have raised R5.4 million for the Make a Difference (MAD) leadership foundation,” said organiser Dayle Raff.
Forget the fact that the Cape Town Marathon has not even been run yet; forget the fact that Christmas is still more than three months away.
You may also want to look past the fact that we still need to count down to midnight on New Year's eve; entries for next year’s marathon are already open.