The Mother cities scenic marathon has released their plans to take the running to even greater heights. Exciting times are on the cards for the future of this event. With big expectations to take the race from just over 2000 runners this year, the organisers plan to make the event as big as those in London, NY and Boston in the next 10 years.
This year, the London marathon had the same amount of runners as the Cape Argus cycle race at just over 35’000 athletes competing. The marathon route was designed to show off Cape Town’s rich heritage by running the route past some of the best-known sites that the city has to offer. Running in full view of Table Mountain all day long, runners will pass sites like the Castle of Good Hope, UCT and the Roads Memorial and the site of the world’s first successful heart transplant, Groote Schuur hospital. Passing the oldest lighthouse in South Africa the route will take runners past the new Cape Town sports stadium and around the Peninsula.
We managed to have a chat with the event coordinators and they were kind enough to share some of their plans with YCLAD. Having set the period of ten years to take the event from 2000 to 30’000, they plan to double the amount of entrants each year, and they are well on course to do just that. The last few years, there has been a 100% growth each year in entrants taking part in the race. To attract bigger and stronger international competitors, the race organisers will be raising the prize money, incentives and time bonuses to an international and professional level. Currently the prize money for NY Marathon is a very impressive $153’000 for the first place male and female finishers alone. At the moment the event is not catering for the wheelchair bound competitors but they are looking into making future events wheelchair friendly, giving our very own NY wheelchair marathon winner, Ernst Van Dyk a chance to show his stuff on his home turf. With plans to put Cape Town marathon running on the world map, this will be an event to keep a close eye for the future. YCLAD Magazine might just put a runner in next year’s event to give us an insider’s point of few on how things are progressing. So watch this space.
Our best wishes to everyone competing!
-The Sandmann
