Cape Town Marathon is”on”

by Stephen Granger

It’s all systems go for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, following Wednesday’s (September 15) 30-days-to-go announcement that the mass event is ‘on’.

South Africa’s leading marathoners, Stephen Mokoka and Gerda Steyn will spearhead the elite field against top opposition from the rest of the continent in an event that gives athletes across Africa the opportunity to return to racing on the continent following the pandemic-related curtailment.

As Africa’s sole World Athletics gold label race, Cape Town Marathon has been at the forefront of marathon leadership on the continent and this year’s event will be no exception. Apart from an impressive elite field committed to racing in Cape Town next month, race organisers have planned a raft of specific interventions to ensure compliance with strict COVID protocols to enable the race to take place.

COVID realities dictated that last year’s race was an elites-only affair, limited to South African athletes competing simultaneously in three cities. This year sees a return to something approaching ‘business as usual’ and many of Africa’s top marathoners can’t wait to race again in a top-level event on their continent.

Two world-class Cape Town events – the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which takes place a week prior to the Cape Town Marathon, and the marathon itself – are the first mass participation events to be given the post-COVID thumbs up by South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Nathi Mthethwa.

“We received the letter of approval to hold the mass event from the Minister less than 24 hours before our media launch,” explained Cape Town Marathon ambassador, Elana van Zyl. “We are delighted and looking forward to welcoming runners back to our event.”

Race organisers have had to jump through many hoops in order to secure final approval to host a maximum of 10 000 in the marathon, including the cancellation of the popular 5km fun run and 10km Peace Run.  Instead, runners not able to race 42km can enter a virtual 5km, 10km or half-marathon run.

“We started working on our risk mitigation plan a year ago,” explained race director Rene Jordaan. “We looked at all the points where direct contact could occur and together with City of Cape Town officials and Athletics South Africa mapped out plans to reduce the risks. We met with the minister in June and from the outset, he was very supportive.

“The plans needed to be approved by a number of authorities, including Department of Health and the National Coronavirus Command Council and we needed to make significant changes in the running of the event in order to comply.

“The biggest change is at the start of the race, where runners will start in separate waves of no more than 300 at a time. The elites will start at 06h15 with the final wave starting 35 minutes later. All runners will be timed ‘mat to mat’, meaning their clock will start when they begin running. And we have moved the start from the traditional site on Beach Road to the Stadium precinct, where there is far greater space for social distancing.

“We have had to make some adjustments to the route to avoid the elite runners clashing with back-markers,” Jordaan continued. “The most important change is that the beautiful stretch along the Atlantic seaboard will now come at the end of the race, which will lift the spirits of runners when most they need it.

“A major enforced change is that no spectators will be allowed at the finish or the refreshment stations, where they were previously encouraged, and instead of runners grabbing their water refreshment as they pass the tables, they will be handed their refreshment by our volunteers.”

Race GM, Barry van Blerk, emphasized that only those runners and officials returning negative COVID tests would be allowed to participate. “We have arranged for rapid antigen testing to take place at the stadium in the 48-hour window prior to the race,” explained Van Blerk. “Runners will have to phone to book a slot for a free test before they can receive their race pack and gain access to the Expo.”

Van Zyl is delighted with the elite field this year. “We have a great mixture of experienced marathoners and young hungry lions,” she said. “South Africa’s Melikhaya Frans can do particularly well – he recently ran a great 10km time in Gqeberha and he is in the shape of his life, but has not really broken through at marathon distance yet.

“On the women’s side, there is more than one going for a win, with Gerda and Lucy in the field.  And (Cape Town athlete) Annie Bothma, who won the race last year and the SA Championships in 2019, is still a young athlete who has yet to achieve her potential.  The Ethiopian athlete Nurit Shimels Yimam, who placed second in 2019 in an Olympic qualifying time, is back and will want to regain a podium position.”

Much of the focus and excitement of the marathon in recent years has revolved around the overall winner, notably in 2018, when ‘local hero’ Stephen Mokoka won in record time and in 2019 when Edwin Koech came out on top ahead of Daniel Muteti by just five seconds in a battle of the Kenyans.

Not so this year. While Mokoka heads a strong line-up, the women’s race is likely to command centre stage, as is often the case when South Africa’s ‘golden girl’ of distance running, Gerda Steyn, is in action, particularly as she is up against one of Kenya’s top marathoners in Lucy Karimi.

Former ultra-distance star, Steyn has excelled over shorter distances in recent years and it came as no surprise when she eclipsed Colleen de Reuck’s 25-year-old national marathon record with a stunning 2 hr 25min 28 sec run in Sienna in Italy earlier this year, before going on to achieve her country’s best Olympic Marathon result, with an impressive 15^th position in gruelling conditions.

And with her time over a minute faster than Kenyan Celestine Chepchirchir’s Cape Town Marathon race record of 2:26:44, set in 2019, there is every chance of Steyn achieving a record-breaking win at Cape Town.

“I’m beyond excited to be running my first marathon on home soil!” enthused Steyn. “I can’t wait to run Cape Town Marathon with 10 000 friends.  To run a marathon which could become one of the world’s marathon majors in future, on a fast course, will encourage me to run fast – that will definitely be my expectation.

“Marathon times are becoming faster and I’m looking forward to see how fast I can run at Cape Town!”

Ranged against the South African is Karimi, who has won no fewer than eight of her sixteen marathons and boasts a personal best time a minute faster than that of Steyn, following her 2:24:24 third place in a marathon in Geneva, Switzerland, in May this year.

Karimi’s consistency and confidence suggest the Kenyan will be a significant threat to Steyn. “I feel no pressure on me because I have trained very well and I’m coming to win!” said Karimi.  “I’m looking for a fast race in Cape Town. Gerda will have more pressure than I will as she will be running in her home country with greater expectations.”

Mokoka was unable to complete the Olympic marathon, having led the race through half-way and having stayed in contention till the final quarter.  He will be eager to make amends and make it two out of two at Cape Town, while Muteti returns to the ‘Mother City’ in an attempt to go one better than his second place to his Kenyan compatriot, Koech, in 2019.

Fastest in the field is another Kenyan, Eliud Kipatanui, who ran 2:05:21 at the Berlin Marathon in 2015, but it remains to be seen if ‘the other Eliud’ can recapture his best form in Cape Town.

Van Zyl has no doubt that the 2021 edition of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will prove another triumph for the sport. “We have a jam-packed field, which will lead to a fantastic race and provide fantastic television coverage for the continent and beyond.”

Entries for the marathon at https://capetownmarathon.com/ close on Friday 17 September or earlier, when the cap of 10 000 entries is reached.