Two Oceans Ultra Marathon

The Two Oceans Marathon is a 56km Ultra marathon raced through Cape Town. It includes about 1000m of climb, and takes in the view of both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

I have been training for several months for this event, and on Saturday 4 April, I and approximately 11000 other people were on the starting line, hoping to finish this amazing run. It is difficult to describe how I was feeling before the race. Excited but a little scared. Definitely lots of nerves. At that distance you don’t know what could happen, and this was my second attempt at that distance.
At the start with my friend Grant

The first 26k are relatively flat, a lot of which is along our wonderful coast, but after that the race really starts. There is approx 7km during which you climb about 600m (in comparison “Heartbreak Hill” in the Boston Marathon is just 27m climb). It was tough, and the speedy downhill the other side was just about as tough.
Going strong

When you hit the marathon mark you still have a big hill ahead (usually it would be considered a short and small hill, but not after 42km), and 16km to run. To be honest I can’t really explain how I got to the end. I ran with a great bus that really helped to keep us moving forward, and I learned about what “digging deep” really means.
Near the end – feeling the pain

When I crossed the finish line (at 6h53), I feel elated and like I have overcome a massive personal challenge. I felt that I can do anything. But also a little overwhelmed and emotional. It was physically exhausting and a little like a dream. But I did it, I ran a 56km ultra-marathon!

My friend Steve summed up it up perfectly “pain and pleasure signals all mixed up”. I cannot say it better.

Crossing the finish line

PS: Here is the route if you are interested: https://www.strava.com/activities/279019154