RUN AROUND THE COUNTRY
WHETHER YOU’RE THE TORTOISE OR THE HARE, SOUTH AFRICA’S MARATHONS ARE PICTURESQUE, CHALLENGING AND FUN. ALL YOU NEED ARE SOME REASONABLE SHOES AND MAYBE A CERTAIN AIRLINE (cough) TO GET YOU TO THE RACES.
Road running is a very democratic sort of sport. As far as gear goes, as long as your feet are shod you’re good to go – no matter how much people tell you that you have to have a fitness tracker, “running belt” (which is really just a lame euphemism for a moonbag) or chafe-preventing nipple shields. Though for the non-runners among you, those nipple shields are a real thing. Cracked nipples are the hidden scourge of running, as many have discovered at great personal cost.
Watching someone who is not a natural athlete puff their way through a marathon is an extremely inspiring thing. It may take them three times longer to finish than it took the winner, but they still finish. It’s something anyone can do. Not that the discipline of training or grinding your way through a long distance is easy, but it can be done no matter your shape or size.There’s a beauty and a freedom in that, and it’s rather appealing.
No two roads are the same, and that means that no two races are either. Elevation changes, bends in the road, the road surface, weather conditions, heck, even the landscape or the view (for the runner-poets among us who can manage more than just staring at their feet, imploringly them to keep going just a few more steps) – these all add a bit of spice and make every half-marathon, marathon or ultra-marathon a unique challenge. It’s kind of what makes them addictive:That your first competitor is yourself, the second is the route, and only in a distant third are the people plodding on all around you.
Being the large, diverse, outdoorsy sort of place South Africa is, there are loads of road races of varying distances to pit yourself against – and they’re in nice bits of the country too. If you have a race bucket list, make sure these are on it.
Two Oceans Marathon, Cape Town
When: 11th April 2020
Distance options: 56 km and 21.1 km
Web: www.twooceansmarathon.org.za
It makes sense that arguably the world’s most beautiful city would also host its most beautiful marathon. Cynics might scoff at that, but when you consider the route includes Kalk Bay, Chapman’s Peak, Hout Bay and Constantia Nek – well, people pay to do that route on a tour bus, so…
Anyway, the Two Oceans Marathon is world renowned, and with entries limited to about 13,000 runners for the ultra
marathon and 16,000 for the half marathon, the demand is hot. So much so, that the organisers undertake draws to assign entries each year – 29,000 people can’t be wrong.
Soweto Marathon, Johannesburg
When: Date TBC, November 2020 Distance options: 42 km, 21 km, 10 km Web: sowetomarathon.com This tough urban marathon starts and ends at the FNB Stadium and takes runners on a tour of the streets of Soweto – sites along the way include Walter Sisulu Square,Vilakazi Street and the Hector Pieterson Memorial.The race is well supported by locals, with a party atmosphere along much of the route, though you probably won’t feel much like you’re partying as you pound the tarmac and sweat it out in the heat. It’s a big race, with 15,000 runners allowed entry for the 42 km and 21 km distances each, and 10,000 for the 10 km race. Let’s put it this way:You’ll make a lot of new friends.
Mandela Day Marathon, Pietermaritzburg
When: Date TBC, August 2020 Distance options: 42.2 km, 21 km, 10 km Web: mandeladm.org.za
More than just a route, the Mandela Day Marathon honours the life of former President Nelson Mandela.The race starts at Manayi Hall in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg, where Mandela made his last public speech before his imprisonment on 25th March 1961, and ends outside Howick at what is now the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, where he was arrested by Apartheid police on 5th August 1962. It’s a tough route with a fair bit of altitude gain, particularly the first half of the race stretching from Pietermaritzburg to Hilton. The race has a great spirit about it, and has one of the best finishing stretches thanks to the iconic and beautiful Capture Site art installation looking over it.
Knysna Forest Marathon, Knysna
When: Date TBC, June/July 2020 Distance options: 42 km and 21 km Web: www.oysterfestival.co.za Don’t expect to set your personal best on this course because it’s properly hilly. But your screaming quadriceps will be worth the sheer beauty of the route, which starts in a clearing and takes runners deep through the dense forest, before opening up to an amazing view of the Knysna Heads over the lagoon. It’s quite spectacular.
There’s a fantastic community feel to the race. As the environment is close to pristine, runners share rides into the forest in local taxis, and are treated to hot drinks and snacks next to fires so they can keep warm before the start. If you haven’t made five friends before the start of the race, you’re doing it wrong.
Big Five Marathon, Waterberg
When: 20th June 2020
Distance options: 42.2 km and 21 km
Web: big-five-marathon.com
To spice things up a bit, you could take your marathon as a trail run. And if you’re going to do that, just do it properly and make it a run through Big Five country.That’s right, with armed rangers guarding your route, the Big Five Marathon takes runners on a beautiful route through the veld of Entabeni Game Reserve, in the Waterberg area of Limpopo.
The course is challenging – expect deep sand, dirt tracks, gravel and steep ascents and descents – but the scenery and wildlife on view is fantastic, and it’s a fairly exclusive event, with a shade over 300 runners having lined up in 2019 across both distances. No surprises that the race sells out very quickly each year. International runners can only register for the race as part of a holiday package, but permanent residents of South Africa can sign up for the race only by popping an email to marathon@albatros-adventure.com. Get on it already and start strengthening those ankles.