Local contenders have been given an additional boost ahead of the Cape Town Marathon in September, as they prepare to chase international stars and record times, with organisers unveiling a flatter, faster route this week.
Any SA athletes who dipped under 2:16:00 (men) and 2:38:00 (women) would receive an additional R10 000, on top of any prize money they earned, it was revealed.
Race ambassador Elana Meyer believed the tweaks made to this year’s route would not only make this incentive an achievable goal for numerous local contenders, but would also ensure elite athletes could challenge for records, particularly with pace setters expected to push the field up front.
“The new course is flatter, which will make it faster, and the times should be quicker throughout the field,” said Meyer, a former Olympic 10 000m silver medallist on the track and multiple world record holder on the road.
“With another world-class line-up expected to compete this year, there will definitely be a good chance of seeing records broken on the day.”
At last year’s race, Kenyan Shadrack Kemboi secured victory in 2:11:41, less than two minutes outside the fastest time run on a standard course on South African soil (2:09:50), set by David Tsebe in Port Elizabeth in February 1990.
Former Olympic 5 000m silver medallist Isabella Ochichi of Kenya won the women’s race in 2:30:20, clocking the fastest time in South Africa in 25 years.
The elite field for this year’s IAAF Silver Label race in the Mother City, expected to produce even quicker times with organisers targeting Gold Label status, would be announced next month.