Two Oceans Marathon 2027 is a 56 km race on Sunday 4 April, starting at 06:00 at Newlands, Cape Town. The course climbs about 596 m in total and has 19 aid stations.
From Newlands down Main Road to the sea at Muizenberg, along False Bay through Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek, over Chapman's Peak above the Atlantic, through Hout Bay and over Constantia Nek, and home past Kirstenbosch to UCT.
Sunday 4 April 2027, batches from 06:00 on Main Road, Newlands (Dean Street). There is no parking at the start: use e-hailing, the train to Newlands or pre-booked parking, and arrive at least an hour early
UCT Rugby Fields, Upper Campus, Rondebosch. Cut-off: 7 hours from the gun of the last batch; your official time starts with your own batch's gun
It climbs about 596 m in total. The highest point is 224 m above sea level, at km 46.5.
19 stations: water at km 3 and 6, then water, Coke and Powerade at km 9, 12, 15, 19, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 44, 46, 49, 52 and 54. Food at km 25. Medical at km 12, 19, 28, 33, 39, 42, 46, 49, 51 and 54. Positions from the 2026 race guide
km 3 · 6 · 9 · 12 · 15 · 19 · 22 · 25 · 28 · 30 · 33 · 36 · 39 · 42 · 44 · 46 · 49 · 52 · 54
Gold: top 10 men and women. Silver: under 4 hours. Sainsbury: under 5. Bronze: under 6. Blue: under 7
You need a qualifier: a marathon under 5 hours (or a longer race) run between 1 May 2026 and 7 March 2027. No headphones, including bone-conduction. If Chapman's Peak Drive is closed, the race goes over Ou Kaapse Weg instead, a call that can be made on the day. The 2027 route map isn't out yet: this is the 2026 course
06:00 · km 0
The ultra starts in batches from 06:00 on Main Road, Newlands, at Dean Street, a block from Newlands Cricket Ground, with the back of Table Mountain above you. The sun comes up at about 07:00.
km 1 to 21 · Main Road
Main Road all the way to Fish Hoek: twenty kilometres through Claremont, Kenilworth, Wynberg, Plumstead, Diep River, Retreat and Lakeside. After a small rise over Wynberg Hill (72 m at km 3), it is flat or gently downhill to the sea.
km 6.5 · since 1970
The first race ran on 2 May 1970: Dave Venter led 26 runners away on a 35-mile course, 15 finished, and the entry fee was 50 cents. The winner, Dirkie Steyn, ran barefoot. Noel Stamper of Celtic Harriers named it the Two Oceans Marathon in 1972. In 2027, 21,000 runners line up for the ultra.
km 15 · Muizenberg
At Muizenberg you see the sea for the first time: False Bay, the warm side of the peninsula, with the bathing huts of Surfer's Corner on your left. Agatha Christie came out here to surf in the 1920s. Het Posthuys, on your right at km 15.6, went up in 1673 and is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa.
km 16 to 17 · St James
Main Road squeezes in between the mountain and the railway line, right beside the water. On your right at km 16.1 is Rhodes Cottage, where Cecil Rhodes died in 1902; on your left at km 16.7, the painted bathing boxes and tidal pool of St James.
km 17.5 to 18.5 · Kalk Bay
Simon van der Stel recorded the name Kalkbaai, lime bay, in 1687, after the mussel shells the settlers burned here to make lime. The harbour on your left was finished in 1918, and the fishing boats still land their catch there. The cafés and pavements of Main Road give some of the loudest support on the False Bay side.
km 19 to 21 · Fish Hoek
Past Clovelly and along Fish Hoek beach, then at km 21 you turn right onto Kommetjie Road and leave False Bay behind. Station 6 is at km 19, in Fish Hoek.
km 21 to 24 · Kommetjie Road
Kommetjie Road crosses the Fish Hoek valley, which runs right across the peninsula from False Bay to the Atlantic. When sea levels were higher it was a channel, and the southern peninsula was an island. In Peers Cave, in the hills on your right, Bertie Peers and his father found 12,000-year-old human remains in 1927.
km 24 to 29 · Noordhoek
A short loop by Corsair Way, Frigate Crescent, Dort Walk and Chebec Crescent brings you to Noordhoek Main Road and four gently rolling kilometres past the farm village. Station 8 at km 25 is also the food station, and halfway comes at km 28, at Noordhoek Common.
km 29 to 33.3 · the first big climb
From Noordhoek the road climbs about 140 m: first to Little Chappies at km 30, then, after a short dip, the main climb to the top at km 33.3, 168 m above the sea. Behind you, Noordhoek Beach curves away towards Kommetjie.
km 30 to 38 · Chapman's Peak Drive
The road was cut into the mountain between 1915 and 1922 and opened on 6 May 1922, along the line where the Cape Granite below meets the sandstone above. The name goes back to 1607, when an English ship becalmed in Hout Bay sent its pilot, John Chapman, ashore for provisions. If the road is closed, the race goes over Ou Kaapse Weg instead.
km 33.3 · the top
The top of Chapman's Peak, with the Atlantic below you: the second ocean. Across Hout Bay, the Sentinel stands over the harbour. From here it's five kilometres and 160 m downhill to Hout Bay, which is harder on your legs than the climb was.
km 38 to 42 · Hout Bay
Jan van Riebeeck named the bay for its forests in 1652: hout is Dutch for wood. The bronze leopard on its rock at the water's edge is on your left at km 38.3. Hout Bay Main Road is the race's party zone: people line it from the bottom of Chapman's Peak all the way up to Constantia Nek.
km 42.2 · the marathon mark
At 42.2 km, on Hout Bay Main Road, you have run a marathon. Another 13.8 km to go, and the hardest climb of the day starts here.
km 40 to 46.5 · the big climb
The climb that makes or breaks the race: Hout Bay Main Road rises more than 200 m from the harbour to Constantia Nek, the saddle between the back of Table Mountain and the mountains of Constantia. It saves the worst for last, about 160 m in the final three kilometres. The top, 224 m at km 46.5, is the highest point of the course, and a trophy goes to the first runner there.
km 46.5 to 50 · Rhodes Drive
Over the top and down Rhodes Drive through the forest, with the Constantia valley on your right. Simon van der Stel founded Groot Constantia there in 1685, and its sweet wine, Vin de Constance, was shipped to Napoleon in exile on St Helena. A short rise from km 48.5 to 50.
km 50 to 52 · Kirstenbosch
On your left is Kirstenbosch, a botanical garden since 1913, on land Cecil Rhodes left to the nation: 528 hectares on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. At km 50.2 you pass Van Riebeeck's Hedge, wild almond trees planted in 1660 along the edge of the Dutch colony; parts of it are still growing. Station 18 is at the main gate, km 52.
km 53.5 to 55.6 · Union Avenue
Union Avenue runs below Newlands Forest. Just before the end comes Chet's Hill, a short rise of about 15 m named after Chet Sainsbury, race director from 1981 to 2008. On any other day you wouldn't notice it.
km 56 · UCT
Into the University of Cape Town and onto the rugby fields of Upper Campus, below Devil's Peak. UCT began in 1829 as the South African College; Upper Campus was built on Rhodes' Groote Schuur estate between 1928 and 1930. Medals: gold for the top 10 men and women, silver under 4 hours, Sainsbury under 5, bronze under 6 and blue under 7.
Route: GPS tracks from the 2026 race, checked against the organisers' 2026 route map. Hydration stations: the 2026 race guide