Two Oceans is really two races stitched together. The first 28km of the Ultra is about as kind as road running gets. The second 28km, over Chapman’s Peak and Constantia Nek, is about as unkind. Your Two Oceans training plan has to prepare you for the second half, and teach you the discipline not to waste yourself in the first.
Here’s the short answer. For the 56km Ultra on Sunday 4 April 2027, you need a sub-5 hour qualifying marathon, a steady build of long runs to around 30-36km, regular hill work, strength training, a practised fuelling plan and a proper taper. For the Half Marathon on Saturday 3 April 2027, think of a 12-week half marathon block with extra emphasis on hills, because this 21.1km (13.1 miles) finishes higher than it starts. From mid-October, you have roughly 24 weeks. That’s plenty of time, provided you use it well.
In this guide:
- Two Oceans 2027 dates, cut-offs and rules
- How long it takes to train for Two Oceans
- Choosing between the Half and the Ultra, and setting a realistic goal
- The Two Oceans Ultra training plan: how to prepare for 56km
- Two Oceans Half Marathon training
- How to train for Chapman’s Peak, Constantia Nek and Southern Cross Drive
- Strength training
- Fuelling and hydration
- Two Oceans pacing strategy
- How to taper, and what to do in race week
- Using Two Oceans as part of your Comrades build-up
- Recovering after Two Oceans
- Common Two Oceans training mistakes
- FAQs
Two Oceans 2027 dates, cut-offs and rules
The 2027 Two Oceans Half Marathon is on Saturday 3 April and the Ultra is on Sunday 4 April, with both finishing on the UCT Rugby Fields. The two races are held on consecutive days of the same weekend, each with its own start.
The organisers have also increased capacity to 21,000 runners for each race. More runners means more people in the batches around you, which makes disciplined early pacing even more important. The dates, capacities and entry details are on the official Two Oceans Marathon 2027 entries page.
| Half Marathon | Ultra Marathon | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday 3 April 2027 | Sunday 4 April 2027 |
| Distance | 21.1km (13.1 miles) | 56km (35 miles) |
| Cut-off | 3 hours 30 minutes | 7 hours |
| Intermediate cut-offs (2026 rules) | 18km | 25km, 28km and 42.2km |
| Qualifier needed? | No (a race time helps your seeding) | Yes: marathon under 5 hours, or a longer-race standard |
| Minimum age on race day | 16 | 20 |
| Start | Newlands Main Road | Newlands Main Road |
Both cut-offs are measured from your own batch’s gun to the finish mat, and batches are roughly 1,000 runners each. The intermediate cut-off points come from the 2026 race rules, which list the checkpoints but not their closing times. Check the 2027 race instructions when they’re published.
A few rules affect how you train, not just how you race:
- No headphones. Earphones and headphones are banned on safety grounds, and that includes bone-conduction headphones. If you rely on music to get through long runs, start leaving it at home now.
- No mobile seconding. Supporters can’t follow you along the route or hand you anything from a car. You’ll live off the official refreshment stations, so train with what they serve.
- Start in your own pen. You may start in your allocated seeding pen or a slower one, never a faster one. Starting in a faster pen can get you disqualified.
How long does it take to train for Two Oceans?
If you already run regularly, roughly six months is a sensible runway for the Two Oceans Ultra, and 12 weeks of focused training is enough for the Half. From mid-October 2026 to early April 2027 you have about 24 weeks, which suits both.
For the Ultra, those weeks aren’t all “Oceans training”. The first chunk is about building a base and running your qualifying marathon. The race-specific work, with the longest runs and the most hills, comes in the final two to three months.
| When | Ultra focus | Half focus |
|---|---|---|
| October to December | Consistent easy running, strength work, a gradual build in long runs | Build a running habit and a base of easy kilometres |
| January to February | Run your qualifying marathon, start regular hill sessions | Start a 12-week half marathon block in early January |
| February to mid-March | Peak long runs of around 30-36km, hilly routes, fuelling practice | Hills, tempo work, long runs on undulating routes |
| Mid-March to race day | Taper | Taper |
If you’re starting from scratch, or coming back from a long break, be honest with yourself. The Half is a brilliant first big goal. Running the Ultra on a rushed build is how people end up walking from Hout Bay with sore knees and a grudge against Chapman’s Peak.
Two Oceans Half or Ultra: how to choose your race and goal time
Choose the Ultra if you can run a marathon comfortably under five hours and have the time to train for six months. Choose the Half if you’re newer to running, short on training time, or want to race hard rather than survive.
Neither choice is the “lesser” one. The Half has its own sting, Southern Cross Drive, and running it well takes real fitness. The Ultra is a different animal: an ultra distance with two serious climbs in the second half and a lot of downhill on tired legs.
Setting a Two Oceans Ultra goal time
Your marathon time is the best predictor of your Two Oceans time. As a rough guide, a comfortable sub-3:30 marathon points to a fairly comfortable sub-5 hour Two Oceans. If you’re running closer to the 5-hour qualifying standard, your realistic goal is a safe finish inside the 7-hour cut-off.
The Ultra rewards finishers in time bands measured from your batch gun: sub-4 hours, sub-5, sub-6 and sub-7, plus awards for the top 10 men and women. Pick the band your current marathon fitness supports, not the one you’d like to tell your friends about. You can always chase the next one in 2028.
Setting a Two Oceans Half goal time
For the Half, start from a recent flat half marathon time and add a few minutes for the hills. It’s a net uphill course, finishing higher than it starts, so you climb more than you descend. A sub-2 hour runner on a flat course should not expect to run the same time here unless they’re in better shape than when they ran it.
The Two Oceans Ultra training plan: how to prepare for 56km
A good Two Oceans Ultra training plan is built on four runs a week: one higher-intensity session (often hills), an easy run, a long run and an easy run the day after it, plus three strength sessions. The long run builds steadily towards 30-36km at its peak, and every fourth week is a lighter recovery week.
A Two Oceans Ultra training week
Here’s the shape of a typical week in the build. The details change with your level, but the balance shouldn’t.
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Strength session |
| Tuesday | Hill session or tempo run |
| Wednesday | Strength session |
| Thursday | Easy run plus strength session |
| Friday | Rest |
| Saturday | Long run on a hilly route |
| Sunday | Easy run |
Easy means easy: a pace you could hold a conversation at. You get fitter in the recovery between sessions, not during them, so the easy runs are what let you absorb the hard ones. Run them too fast and you arrive at your Saturday long run already tired, which is exactly the wrong way round.
In my programmes, strength training goes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday stays free so you’re fresh for the long run. And there’s a recovery week built in every four weeks. Do not be tempted to do more in those weeks. They are where the fitness lands.
How long should your longest Two Oceans training run be?
For most runners, the longest Two Oceans training runs should sit around 30-36km. A standard sub-3:30 marathon programme peaks at long runs of about 25-30km, so for Two Oceans I’d typically push that out to the 30-36km bracket during the peak four to eight weeks.
You do not need to run 56km in training. Your qualifying marathon counts as one of your big efforts, and the extra distance on race day is carried by your fitness, your pacing and your fuelling. Running much further than 36km in training adds fatigue and injury risk without adding much fitness.
Think in time on your feet as well as distance. With a 7-hour cut-off, Two Oceans can keep you on your feet for a very long time, so long runs on hilly routes, at a controlled pace, prepare your legs and your head for being out there for a long time.
How to qualify for the Two Oceans Ultra
To run the Ultra, you need an officially timed marathon in under 5 hours, or an official longer race within its standard (for example, 50km under 6:30 or 56km under 7:00). The qualifier must be on an officially measured course with official timing, run within the qualifying window. The window and the profile-update deadline are set on the official Ultra page; for the 2026 race, the deadline was 15 March. Don’t leave it that late.
Treat the qualifier as a training run with a purpose, not a race you have to empty yourself for. Run it in January or February, at a pace that gets you comfortably under the standard, and you’ve banked a key long run without wrecking the following weeks.
A faster qualifier does help your seeding, though, and a better batch means less weaving in the opening kilometres. If you’re capable of running well under 4 hours, it’s worth running the qualifier with a little more intent.
Two Oceans Half Marathon training
Training for the Two Oceans Half Marathon is standard half marathon training with a hill bias. Build to four runs a week with a long run that increases towards about 18-21km, include regular hill sessions, and do your long runs on undulating routes.
What makes this half different is that it’s a net uphill course with real climbs. The biggest is Southern Cross Drive, a long, steep drag that the organisers themselves describe as seemingly never-ending. Then, just when you can smell the finish, Chet’s Hill takes one more bite out of you before UCT.
Practically, that means:
- One hill session a week from about eight weeks out, alternating short repeats with longer, steady climbs.
- Long runs that finish with a climb, so you practise running uphill on tired legs.
- A tempo run most weeks, which builds the strength to hold pace on the flatter sections where you make up time.
The Half doesn’t need a qualifier, but you can submit a 10km, 15km or 21km race time to improve your seeding. For 2027, races run after 1 May 2026 count, as long as the time is officially measured. A local 10km or half in January or February gives you a seeding time and a useful fitness check at the same time.
My Half Marathon Training Roadmap is a 12-week programme, so starting it in early January lines up neatly with 3 April.
How to train for Chapman’s Peak, Constantia Nek and Southern Cross Drive
You train for the Two Oceans climbs with weekly hill sessions, hilly long runs and specific downhill practice, because the descents do as much damage as the climbs. Start the hill work gently and build it over the final three months.
The Ultra climbs
Chapman’s Peak is the first big climb, coming after Noordhoek at around the 30km mark. It starts with “Little Chappies”, gives you a short reprieve, then climbs properly towards the top before a long, steep and heavily cambered descent into Hout Bay. Constantia Nek follows after Hout Bay, in the low to mid-40s of kilometres, and the official race page calls it the second and most taxing climb of the day.
The order matters. You climb Chappies with a marathon still to run, and you hit Constantia Nek when you’re already deep into an ultra. Your training has to make you strong on climbs when tired, not just strong on climbs.
The best hill sessions for Two Oceans
- Short hill repeats: 60-90 seconds up a moderate hill at a strong effort, jogging back down to recover. These build strength and power for climbing. My guide to hill repeats and calculating the gradient shows you how to pick the right hill.
- Long steady climbs: 8-15 minutes of continuous climbing at a controlled, sustainable effort. This is what Chapman’s Peak and Constantia Nek actually feel like.
- Hilly long runs: if you’re in Cape Town, run parts of the route where it’s safe to do so. If you’re not, find the longest climbs near you and put them late in your long runs.
How to train for the downhills
The descent into Hout Bay is where a lot of Two Oceans races are quietly lost. The camber and the gradient hammer your quads, and you pay for it on Constantia Nek and in the final 10km.
When you run downhill, lean slightly forward and increase your cadence, so your foot lands closer to under your body and you avoid crashing down heel-first. That reduces the braking load on your quads. Practise it on your long runs so it’s automatic by race day.
Strength training for Two Oceans
Strength training is not optional for Two Oceans. Two sessions a week makes you more economical on the flats, stronger on the climbs and more resilient on the descents.
The evidence backs this up. A systematic review in Sports Medicine found good evidence that strength training improves running economy and time-trial performance in distance runners, and suggested two to three sessions a week using a variety of methods.
Focus on the muscles that carry you up and down hills: squats, lunges and step-ups for your quads and glutes, calf raises, and single-leg work for stability. For the Ultra in particular, include exercises that load the quads as they lengthen, such as slow step-downs, because that’s exactly what Chappies and the run down from Kirstenbosch ask of them. My article on strength training for ultra runners goes through the key exercises.
Keep the strength work going through the build, and ease it back in the taper rather than dropping it suddenly.
If you want a simple place to start, my free strength plan for runners is one session a week at home with no expensive gym equipment, with clear descriptions, the exact reps and short videos for every exercise.
Fuelling and hydration for Two Oceans
For the Ultra, aim to take in carbohydrate steadily from early in the race, and practise exactly what you’ll use on your long runs. For the Half, a little carbohydrate during the race helps if you’ll be out there for well over an hour.
Research summarised by sports nutrition scientist Asker Jeukendrup suggests up to about 60g of carbohydrate per hour for exercise lasting two to three hours, and around 90g per hour for ultra-endurance events, using a mix of carbohydrate types to absorb it (Gatorade Sports Science Institute summary). Very few runners can stomach the top end on day one. Your gut needs training, just like your legs.
So use your long runs to practise:
- What you’ll eat: gels, chews or real food, at the amounts you plan to use on race day.
- When you’ll eat: little and often, starting early, rather than waiting until you feel flat.
- What the race serves: the Half’s refreshment stations offer water, Coke and Powerade. With no mobile seconding allowed, train with what you’ll actually get, or carry your own.
The Ultra has around 19 refreshment stations along the route, so you don’t need to carry much fluid. Drink to thirst and keep the carbohydrate coming. Never try anything new on race day, not even a gel flavour.
Two Oceans pacing strategy
The golden rule of Two Oceans pacing is to bank a little time in the easy first half, not a lot. If you go too hard through the first 28km, you’ll give it all back, and more, on Chapman’s Peak and Constantia Nek.
Pacing the Ultra
The opening kilometres climb gradually through Wynberg, so they feel harder than people expect. After that, the run along False Bay through Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay to Fish Hoek is flat and fast, and that’s the section that tempts runners into trouble.
| Section | How to run it |
|---|---|
| Start to Wynberg | Settle in, don’t chase pace on the early drag |
| Muizenberg to Fish Hoek | A few seconds per km faster than goal average, no more |
| Fish Hoek to Noordhoek | Save your legs on the climbs, get into a rhythm |
| Chapman’s Peak | Run by effort, slower than goal pace; protect your quads on the descent |
| Hout Bay to the marathon mark | Steady rhythm, arrive with a small time buffer |
| Constantia Nek | Roughly 40-50 seconds per km slower than goal average; do the least damage possible |
| Over the Nek to Kirstenbosch | Get back to goal average pace quickly |
| Kirstenbosch to the finish | Use the downhill carefully, then give what’s left on Chet’s Hill |
On the long downhill past Kirstenbosch, be careful. Your legs have taken 50km of punishment, and going more than about 20 seconds per km faster than your average goal pace is where I find my legs start wanting to cramp. A buffer of 15-30 seconds per km over the final stretch is plenty.
My aim for any runner is to reach the top of Constantia Nek still feeling like a runner. You won’t feel amazing, but if your goal is still alive at Kirstenbosch with a few kilometres to go, the finish pulls you home. My Two Oceans Ultra route and pacing guide walks through the course kilometre by kilometre.
Pacing the Half
Start conservatively. Because the course is a net uphill, you need to make up time on the downhills and flats, and you can only do that if your legs are still fresh. Run the early climbs by effort, use the downhill sections, and save something for Southern Cross Drive. Once you’re over it, there’s good running to the finish before Chet’s Hill. My Two Oceans Half Marathon route and pacing guide covers each section.
How to taper for Two Oceans (and what to do in race week)
If Two Oceans is your main race, taper over three weeks: cut back your long run first, then gradually reduce your weekday running, so the final week is light and you arrive fresh. If you’re a Comrades runner using Oceans as a training run, a much shorter taper of a few days to a week is enough.
During the taper, keep a little intensity in your running. Short, sharp efforts keep your legs feeling lively. It’s the volume that comes down, not every bit of quality.
In race week:
- Check your batch and start time in your race instructions, and know when your pen closes.
- Plan your logistics. The Half and Ultra both start on Newlands Main Road and finish at UCT, and roads close early.
- Eat and sleep normally. Increase your carbohydrate intake in the last day or two, but don’t stuff yourself.
- Lay out your kit, including the fuel you practised with and your race number for front and back.
Using Two Oceans as part of your Comrades build-up
Two Oceans can be a superb Comrades training run, provided you treat it as one. In 2027 there are ten weeks between the Ultra on 4 April and the Comrades down run on Sunday 13 June, which is more breathing room than in some years.
The danger is racing Oceans flat out and then trying to salvage your Comrades build on tired legs. Here’s how I want you to fit it in:
- Count it as a big effort. I recommend only three marathon-or-longer efforts between January and May, with at least three weeks (preferably four) between them. Two Oceans is one of those three.
- Keep your Comrades long run to 45km. My usual cap for Comrades long runs is 50km, but if you run Two Oceans, keep your longest Comrades training run to 45km.
- Run it controlled. Run at a pace that leaves you able to train again soon, not at your Two Oceans best.
- Taper briefly. A few days to a week of lighter running is enough, rather than a full three-week taper.
- Recover properly afterwards. Take a week off to rest and recover after Oceans, and leave at least three weeks before your next long run.
For the bigger picture, my guide to Comrades Marathon training lays out the full season. If Comrades is your real goal, my Comrades Marathon Roadmap takes you from qualifying through to race day, so Two Oceans becomes a stepping stone rather than a setback.
How to recover after Two Oceans
After the Ultra, give yourself at least a week of rest or very easy movement before running normally again. After the Half, a few easy days is usually enough.
The descents leave most Ultra runners with very sore quads for a few days. Walk, stay mobile, eat well and sleep. Ease back in with short, easy runs, and only return to hard sessions and long runs once your legs feel normal on easy runs.
If you have sharp, localised pain that doesn’t settle, or pain that changes how you run, see a physiotherapist or doctor before you start training hard again. That’s especially important if Comrades is ten weeks away.
Common Two Oceans training mistakes
Most Two Oceans disappointments come from the same handful of mistakes, and all of them are avoidable.
- Racing the first half. The flat road to Fish Hoek feels effortless. It isn’t free. Every second you steal there is repaid with interest on Chappies and the Nek.
- Training on flat routes. If your long runs never include a serious climb, Two Oceans will find you out.
- Ignoring the downhills. Strong climbing legs with untrained quads still fall apart after Hout Bay.
- Running every run too fast. Easy days that drift into moderate leave you too tired for the big sessions.
- Leaving the qualifier too late. A rushed qualifier in March disrupts your peak training.
- Doing too much. More kilometres are not always better. Arriving healthy and slightly undertrained beats arriving injured.
Two Oceans training plan FAQs
How many weeks do you need to train for Two Oceans?
For the Ultra, allow about six months if you can, including time to build a base and run a qualifying marathon. For the Half, 12 weeks of focused training is enough if you’re already running regularly.
What is the qualifying time for the Two Oceans Ultra?
You need an officially timed standard marathon in under 5 hours, or an official longer race within its standard, such as 50km in under 6:30. It must be run within the official qualifying window, so check the Two Oceans website for the 2027 dates.
Is the Two Oceans Half Marathon harder than a normal half?
Yes. It’s a net uphill course with significant climbs, especially Southern Cross Drive, so most runners are a few minutes slower than on a flat half marathon. Training on hills makes a big difference.
When is Two Oceans 2027?
The Half Marathon is on Saturday 3 April 2027 and the Ultra is on Sunday 4 April 2027. Both finish at the UCT Rugby Fields in Rondebosch.
Get the right Two Oceans plan for you
Two Oceans rewards the runner who respects it: patient in the first half, strong on the climbs, and smart on the descents. A Two Oceans training plan built around your current fitness, not a generic one, is the surest way to get there.
If you’re running the Half, my Half Marathon Training Roadmap gives you 12 weeks of structured training. If you’re running the Ultra, or using Oceans on the road to Comrades, my Comrades Marathon Roadmap covers qualifying races, long-run strategy and strength training. Do the work, run your own race, and enjoy that view from the top of Chappies. It’s one of the best in road running.
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