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It is with shock and unbelief that I read that the 2015 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon will be run over Ou Kaapse Weg. The sad truth that Chapman’s Peak, Houtbay and Constantia Neck will not form part of the route, to be replaced by Ou Kaapse Weg, Tokai, Constantia and the gruelling Southern Cross drive. I have in fact participated on all previous occasions when the race was run over Ou Kaapse Weg. From 2001 to 2004. So from experience I know what to expect. In my humble opinion the Ou Kaapse Weg route is much harder than the Chapman’s Peak Drive route. The total ascent over Ou Kaapse Weg is almost double that over Chappies. Furthermore, Ou Kaapse weg is earlier in the race (26km) versus Chapman’s Peak (31 km). The ascent up Ou Kaapse is a gruelling hill of about 7km. Adding to that, the descent from the top down to Tokai is a very steep hill that can really hurt the quad muscles. And then late in the race you have to face Southern Cross Drive that feels like a never ending hill with a very steep part way at the end to join with Rhodes Drive.
My advice will be to run the race much more conservatively than planned. The run over Ou Kaapse is going to take a lot of strain out of you. In running Ou Kaapse Weg too hard, one will pay a huge price towards the end of the race. I will recommend that one start the race easy, conserve a lot of energy over the first 25km, run Ou Kaapse Weg conservatively and if one feels strong after the descent , you consolidate your pace going into Southern Cross Drive. One will have to be careful though, as Southern Cross can blow the final punch if Ou Kaapse has not done so already. One will also have to take into account that the second half will most probably be much slower than the first half. My estimate is that one will have to add between 5 and 10% time to the 2nd half. If you run conservatively, you might be able to enjoy the last part over Rhodes Drive, the section past Kirstenbosch and finally the last 3km on the M3 towards UCT. But be careful, the steep downhill towards Kirstenbosch can be extremely painful if you’ve run the race too hard up to that point.
I am looking forward towards my 17th run of the race. This will be extremely challenging – a real test of one’s strength, fitness and endurance. A good strategy will make the difference between an enjoyable versus a very hard race.
Also see:
http://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/sites/default/files/attachments/pages/Elevation.png
Jaco Botha
Permanent Number: 3441
