It’s that time of the year again, when marathon runners of all ages descend onto Cape Town to run their races.

Crazy, I know.

For those of you who, like me, will be taking to the sidelines to cheer on the brave, or for those who have solid plans to not get involved at all, there are some things you need to know.

First up, there will be around 26 000 runners participating in this year’s Two Oceans Marathon – 1 000 times more than the 26 runners who competed in the inaugural event in 1970.

Next up, some useful pointers:

Start point : Main Road in Newlands.
Quarter way mark (14 km): In Lakeside, just past the Sandvlei turnoff.
Halfway mark (28 km): On Noordhoek Road before Chapman’s Peak
Marathon mark (42.2 km): Near the cemetery on Constantia Nek.

You can check out more information on marathon points here

Then you need to know that safety comes first, which means a whole set of roads across the Cape Peninsula’s leafy suburbs will be closed, so you’re going to need to plan your chosen activities accordingly.

Below is a map of the route for the ultra-marathon:

Got it? I’ll be hanging out at the 22km mark if anyone wants to come for some condense milk and Vida coffee.

Finally, if you’re planning to drive somewhere, below are the road set to be closed, and times:

Road closures on 30 March 2018:

• Newlands

M3 – Union Avenue (9:30 – 13:00)
Newlands Forest Fire Station Entrance to UCT

Princess Anne Avenue (10:30 – 13:00)
Access to and from M3 Northbound closed

Road closures on 31 March 2018:

• Newlands

Main Road, Newlands.  (3:30 – 6:45)
Klipper Rd and Letterstedt Road, Claremont

Protea Road, Main Road and the M3 (5:30 – 6:45)
Paradise Road, Protea Road to Edinburgh Drive
NB: There will be no access to the M3 via Protea Road & Newlands Road

M3 Southbound (5:30 – 8:00)
From Princess Anne Ave to Kendal Road

Kendal Road (5:30 – 8:00)
Between Spaanschemat River Road & Edison Road

M3 – Union Avenue
Rhodes Drive / Newlands Ave to UCT

Princess Anne Avenue (6:30 – 14:00)
Accesses to and from M3 Northbound closed. Rhodes Memorial will be accessible to the public

• Ladies Mile (5:30 – 8:00)

From Doorddrift Road to Ladies Mile Extension

Ladies Mile Extension (6:00 – 8:30)
Between Spaanschemat River Road & Constantia Main Road

• Constantia

Parish Road (6:15 – 8:30)
From Constantia Main Road to Southern Cross Drive

Constantia Main Road (6:30 – 8:00)
Between Pagasvlei Road and Constantia Village Shopping Centre Entrance (Both directions)

Southern Cross Drive (6:15 – 9:00)
From Brommersvlei Rd to Rhodes Drive

• Plumstead, Muizenberg, Fish Hoek

Main Road: Newlands to Plumstead both carriageways (5:30 – 7:15)
From Letterstedt Rd to Gabriel Rd

Main Road: Plumstead to Muizenberg (6:15 – 8:00)
Gabriel Rd to Atlantic Rd – Southbound lane (direction Muizenberg) closed, traffic diverted over Boyes Drive

Main Road: Muizenberg to Fish Hoek (07:00 – 09:15)
Local access only between Muizenberg (Atlantic Road) and Kalk Bay (Clairvaux Road).

Kommetjie Road: Fish Hoek (7:00 – 9:30)
From Main Road to Corsair Way, Sun Valley, motorists to share westbound (direction Kommetjie) lane. Runners use the eastbound lane. Drive with caution.

• Sun Valley (7:00 – 10:00)

Corsair Way: Sun Valley
Kommetjie Road to Frigate Crescent. Both lanes closeD

Frigate Cresent: Sun Valley
Corsair Way to Dory Walk

Frigate Cresent: Sun Valley
Corsair Way to Dory Walk

Dory Walk: Sun Valley
Frigate Crescent to Chebec Crescent

Chebec Crescent: Sun Valley
Dory Walk to Dhow Street

• Ou Kaapse Weg (7:00 – 10:00)

Both Directions: Expect Delays – Stop / Go control at Noordhoek Main Rd.

• Noordhoek, Silvermine, Chapman’s Peak

Noordhoek Main Road (7:00 – 10:30)
Northbound lane closed. Traffic to share southbound lane. Drive slowly with caution

Silvermine Road (7:00 – 10:30)
From Village Lane to Noordhoek Main Road

Chapman’s Peak Drive (3:30 – 12:00)
Chapman’s Peak Drive will be closed to traffic.

• Hout Bay

Hout Bay Main Road (7:30 – 11:30)
From Chapman’s Peak to Victoria Road Circle

Traffic coming into Hout Bay during the Two Oceans Marathon 2018 will be detoured away from Victoria Road Circle to Valley and then Disa River Roads. Runners will be in the southbound lane (direction Noordhoek).

Hout Bay Road (7:45 – 12:00)
From Victoria Road Circle to Disa River Road

Hout Bay Road (7:45 – 12:15)
From Disa River Road to Constantia Nek

• Kirstenbosch

Rhodes Drive (5:30 – 13:00)
Constantia Nek to Canterbury Road Circle. Both directions closed to traffic

Rhodes Drive (6:30 – 13:00)
Canterbury Road Circle to Union Ave
Traffic may only travel south. Runners will be in lane heading towards Cape Town (their left).

That should be enough – see you on Saturday.

[source:thesouthafrican&twooceansmarathon]