The Two Oceans Marathon (TOM) is pleased to announce that entries for the 51st edition of the iconic Cape ultra and its accompanying half marathon will open on 11 February 2022 at 12pm (midday). The event will take place on Easter Weekend, with the Half Marathon taking place on Saturday 16 April, and the Ultra being run on Sunday 17 April.
This long-awaited announcement about entries will be welcome news to all the thousands of runners hoping to once again run the World ‘s Most Beautiful Marathon, after the race had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions in South Africa. However, runners need to act fast, as entries will close again at 5pm on 20 February, and then all entries will go into the Ballot System, with successful entries to be drawn on 21 February.
Due to the expected demand, the Ballot System will be used for both the Ultra and Half Marathon, in line with international best practice. At different stages of the balloting process, the draw for successful entries will be weighted in favour of various categories of runners, including Blue Number Club members, Yellow Numbers (those doing their 10th, 20th, etc) and club runners (versus non-licenced runners). Runners entering via the ballot only pay once their name has been successfully drawn in the ballot, and please note that runners may only enter one event, either the Ultra or the Half Marathon.
Ballot Draw Dates
All draws take place 21 February 2022, at the following times:
- Ultra Marathon Draw 1: 10am
- Ultra Marathon Draw 2: 2pm
- Half Marathon Draw 1: 10am
- Half Marathon Draw 2: 2pm
International and African runners do not enter via the ballot system, and can pay for and secure their entries straight away once entries open on 11 February. These entries will close when capacity is reached.
After general entries close on 20 February, the only way to get into the 2022 Two Oceans Marathon or Half Marathon will be via a Charity Entry, procured through one of the official charity organisations affiliated to the event, and these entries will open on 22 February at 10am. (Entry fees for Charity Entries will be uploaded once final charity partners have been confirmed.)
How To Enter
Go to the race’s homepage at www.twooceansmarathon.org.za when entries open and click ‘Enter Here.’ Create a profile if you do not yet have one on the system and then follow the prompts. If you already have a profile, log in and do the entry process.
Entry Fees
The 2022 entry fees have been ratified by the TOM Board and approved by Western Province Athletics. Take note that all South African runners for the Ultra need to be licensed and belong to a running club.
Entry Type
Ultra
Ultra T-Shirt included
Half Marathon
Half T-shirt is R195
Licensed SA Runners
R700
R375
Unlicensed SA Runners |
N/A
R435 (R375 + R60 for temp licence)
Africa Runners
R860
R690
International Athletes |
R2575
R1800
Ultra Marathon Qualifiers
For health reasons, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, qualifying for the TOM Ultra is mandatory, and TOM strongly encourages runners to complete a physical road race as their qualifier. However, any officially timed and measured marathon or longer distance, whether in the form of an officially organised physical or virtual race, run after 1 July 2021, can be used as your qualifier. In the case of a virtual marathon, an official time would be as generated by a smartwatch, a timing app on a smartphone, or a timing platform. Unfortunately, you cannot simply run on your own and time yourself, your qualifying time must have been generated during a virtual event, and the Race Office will be conducting spot checks to verify qualifier information submitted.
For the Ultra Marathon, the qualifying time for a standard marathon distance (42.2km) is 5 hours. For qualifying times run on distances greater than a standard marathon, please go to www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/event_route_info/seeding
Half Marathon Seeding
In the Half Marathon, qualifying times are used to seed you so that faster runners line up at the front, with slower runners further back. We strongly advise that you to provide a seeding time, otherwise you will unfortunately start towards the back. Seeding is based on a previous 10km, 15km or 21.1km run after 𝟏 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏: www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/event_race_day/seeding-2/
Startline Seeding
Due to COVID-19 regulations, the race will likely to be using multiple batches of 500 runners, starting two minutes apart, and runners will be seeded accordingly. It is not possible to give exact seeding tables as yet, but your seeding time will be used to place you in a batch appropriate to your running speed, and you will be advised of your batch closer to race day.
COVID-19 Protocols Relevant to Entering
On the advice of the TOM medical team, the below COVID-19 protocols will be observed. Kindly note that these may change with new development in the COVID-19 pandemic and the medical science related to it, as well as Disaster Management Act regulations:
- You will have to upload proof of vaccination. If you are not vaccinated, you must present proof of a negative PCR/antigen test within 48 hours prior to attending any physical event, including Expo and your actual Race, at your own cost.
- Please log in to your profile not more than 48 hours prior to any physical TOM event, including Expo/Race Pack Collection, to complete your COVID-19 pre-screening online. (We will send you reminders.)
Should you answer ‘yes’ to any COVID-19 risk factor during pre-screening, or fail the temperature check at Expo and Race Pack Collection, you will need to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test, at your own cost, taken not more than 48 hours prior to the physical event in question. Failure to do so will, unfortunately, result in you forfeiting your entry. Therefore, please remember to keep updating your profile and contact information.
In the Event of Race Cancellation…
In the event of the TOM 2022 being cancelled due to COVID-19, all runners who have paid will have their entries deferred to the next running of the Two Oceans Marathon.
For more information on entries or other race information, please read our FAQs at https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/event-info/faqs/ or contact us at 021 2000 459 (general queries) or 087 133 2285 (race-related queries), or email info@twooceansmarathon.org.za.