Time is running out for Comrades and Two Oceans hopefuls looking to pre-enter the Aurum Klerksdorp Marathon with entries closing at 10am on February 12.
The two-lap marathon on a relatively fast and flat course provides North West and Gauteng residents with a perfect opportunity to meet their qualifying requirements for the country’s two premier ultra-marathons.
The Two Oceans takes place on April 11 and the final cut-off date for qualifying for the popular Cape Town event is March 9. Anybody hoping to take part in the scenic run along the Cape Town coastline needs to complete a standard marathon in under five hours.
With almost a month to go until that closing date, the Klerksdorp Marathon provides runners with an opportunity to attempt their qualifier and probably still have enough time to recover and try again before the cut-off if they have a problem.
The Comrades Marathon takes place on June 14 and entrants have until May 4 to run a standard marathon in under 4:50.
The Aurum Klerksdorp Marathon starts and finishes at Wesvalia High School and provides runners with 5km, 10km, 21.1km and 42.2km options, but the marathon distance is expected to attract the most interest and will probably enjoy the biggest entry.
The longer Klerksdorp route is a two-lap 42,2km event with relatively few hills which should give Comrades and Two Oceans hopefuls a good opportunity to post quick times.
While the backmarkers may be sweating over the cut-off and stressing about earning the right to compete in Cape Town or KwaZulu-Natal later this year, the local North West speedsters up front will be hoping for quick times to help in their selection for the provincial team to go to the SA Marathon and Half Marathon Championships.
In 2019 Jeffrey Moabankwe crossed the line as the men’s winner in 2:24:40 while Leilani Scheffer claimed the women’s marathon win in a time of 2:53:48. The half marathon races were won by Joel Mmone and Rone Reyneke.
The marathon and half-distance events start at 5.30am with the 10km and 5km runners setting off at 6.30am. The entry fee for the 42,2km is R160 and R120 for the half distance, R60 for the 10km and R30 for the 5km. There is a R40 charge for temporary licences for unlicensed athletes. Athletes who miss the online entries deadline on February 12 will be charged and extra R40 (excluding the 5km).
Online entries and more info available at bit.ly/KlerkMara2020Enter
This event is timed by FinishTime.
