LAST WORD
The Most Famous Name
Ever wondered where the name of the Two Oceans Marathon originated ? Then join us for a little trip down memory lane , back to the heady days of the early 1970s . – BY SEAN FALCONER
The first Two Oceans Marathon was run in 1970 as the Celtic 35 Mile Road Race , with just 24 hardy runners braving a wet , blustery morning to take on the picturesque route from Newlands through Muizenberg , Fish Hoek and Noordhoek , over Chapman ’ s Peak Drive , through Hout Bay , up Constantia Nek Drive and Rhodes Drive , and down past Kirstenbosch .
With the growing success of the race , Celtic Harriers agreed to make it an official club event , and authorised race founder Dave Venter to look for a sponsor for the 1972 race . That saw him approach keen supporter of the race , Bryan Grieve of The Argus newspaper , who introduced him to The Argus Promotions Department . The newspaper agreed to sponsor the race , with the proviso that it had a definite Cape flavour .
This led to a meeting of Celtic Harriers members at the Grand Hotel in Strand Street , Cape Town , to discuss a new name
for the event . Among the suggestions tabled was Harold Berman ’ s ‘ Inter Oceans Marathon ,’ while Venter proposed ‘ Oceans to Oceans ,’ but it was eventually Noel Stamper who came up with the winning name , the ‘ Two Oceans Marathon .’ This new name was welcomed by The Argus , which agreed to publicise the race , print race numbers and certificates for finishers , and present a new trophy for the winner .
Where the Oceans Meet
Some believe that Cape Point at the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula is where the warm Agulhas Current flowing down from the tropics in the Indian Ocean meets the cold Benguela Current flowing up from Antarctica in the Atlantic Ocean . Meanwhile , others maintain that they meet at the southernmost point of the African continent , Cape Agulhas , about 175km south-east of Cape Town .
The Two Oceans Marathon has always had one foot in either ocean . This is because the race runs past the warmer waters off Muizenberg , Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek on the eastern side of the Peninsula , then passes the much colder waters off Noordhoek and Hout Bay on the western side . Ask any runner who has stopped for a dip along the way and they
will tell you there is a big difference in temperature between east and west !
As a result , while the International Hydrographic Organisation officially recognises the waters of False Bay as part of the Atlantic Ocean , the Two Oceans Marathon prefers to think of the False Bay side of the route as the ‘ Atlantic Ocean touched by the Indian Ocean .’ However , not everybody agrees …
Given the debate over where the two oceans actually meet – Cape Point versus Cape Agulhas – there have been some people who objected strongly to the name of the Two Oceans Marathon . As Harold Berman explains , “ The event was actually threatened with legal action twice in the 1980s , unless we agreed to change the name of the race . These weren ’ t actual lawsuits , just a threat to issue summons , because we were told that we were assuming incorrectly that the two oceans met at Cape Point . We never argued that point , but felt that the name of the event should stay .”
Today the Two Oceans Marathon has been going for more than 50 years and still uses the same picturesque route that Dave Venter designed in 1970 . Whether you think the race passes two different oceans or not , we ’ re sure you will agree that it is indeed the world ’ s most beautiful marathon .
Images : Courtesy Two Oceans Marathon
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