By Adnaan Mohamed
Thousands of Totalsports TWO OCEANS MARATHON powered by BYD hopefuls are pounding the roads, chewing up kilometres and dreaming of glory on Cape Town’s famous 56km route.
But there is another race nobody can afford to lose.
The race against the clock.
For ballot winners targeting the 2027 Two Oceans Ultra and Half Marathon, missing a crucial deadline could turn months of sweat, sacrifice and training into a cruel calendar casualty.
The organisers have issued their warning.
And there will be no sprint down the admin straight after the chequered flag.
Ultra hopefuls must complete an official qualifying race between 1 May 2026 and 7 March 2027.
A standard 42.2km marathon must be completed in under five hours, while longer races must satisfy the applicable Two Oceans qualifying standard.
The race must be officially measured and timed, with the distance meeting Athletics South Africa and World Athletics measurement standards.
In other words, runners cannot rely on a GPS watch having a bad day or a race organiser’s creative approach to kilometres.
For Half Marathon runners, the magic numbers are 10km, 15km and 21.1km. An official time from one of those distances must be submitted by 28 February 2027 to ensure correct seeding.
Chris Goldschmidt, Chairperson of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC, urged runners to get their ducks in a row.
“Race Day is the culmination of months of preparation, and we want to make sure that runners have all the information they need to prepare with confidence,” he said.
Wade Bromfield, Event Director, was equally clear: “Please don’t leave it until the last minute.”
The 2027 running festival kicks off with the 8km Night Run on 31 March, followed by the 4.5km International Friendship Run on 1 April and Trail Run on 2 April.
The Half Marathon fires on 3 April, followed by the big one, the 56km Ultra, on 4 April, both finishing at the UCT Rugby Fields.
So runners, lace up, check the diary and get moving.
Because on this particular race, the first finish line is paperwork.
Miss it, and the mountain may never get the chance to break you.
The deadline could do it first.
Miss the date, Miss the start!
Official submissions are made through the Totalsports TWO OCEANS MARATHON website.