Two Oceans: ready to run

HUNDREDS of athletes and sports lovers across the globe have gathered in Cape Town to take part in the 2024 Two Oceans Marathon which promises to bring loads of benefits to the city including job creation and an economic boost.

Today will see about 14 000 athletes taking part in the 56km route from Newlands to Muizenberg, St James, Kalk Bay, Chapman’s Peak and Constantia before finishing at UCT.

About 18 000 athletes will take part in the 21.1km half-marathon tomorrow, from Newlands to Claremont, Kenilworth, Wynberg and Constantia, also finishing at UCT.

The race, which is sponsored by many businesses such as Total Sport, KIA and the City of Cape Town, will see a record breaker getting R250 000 and the race winner a Kia to use for a year, from the manufacturer.

JP Smith, mayco member for safety and security, said R672 million was the last event’s impact assessment.

“This event is one of the top eight that contribute R4.5 billion to our economy, creates 35 000 jobs. Multiply that by five for all the families that have food on their table, for people who can go to school, study, and pay their expenses, and have a home, thanks to the events industry,” said Smith.

“Normally we’d talk about the economy and the impact it has first, but I think that’s probably for me the most important thing – it just gets a lot of people together. Many Capetonians, South Africans, and people from outside our country are going to be in Cape Town.”

He said the City is very grateful to the event organisers for coming back to Cape Town.

“And from our side, we try to give them good infrastructure, great organisation and safety. We will have a lot of people on the street this weekend.

“On Saturday and Sunday, we have a significant number of officers out there to protect, make sure it works well, and manage the traffic impact.

“So nobody has to have any road rage. Warning signs have been up for weeks telling people which roads will be closed.

“Now all that has to play along is the weather. That fixes many eyeballs that all look at this on TV. And that brings more people to Cape Town to visit, which creates more tourism, which creates more jobs,” said Smith.

Two of the City’s firefighters will take part in the race, wearing their full protective gear including carrying their oxygen tanks on their backs. They will compete in the half marathon tomorrow.