The Two Oceans Marathon is a 56 km / 35 mile ultramarathon held annually in Cape Town, South Africa on the Saturday of the Easter weekend. Claimed to be "the world's most beautiful marathon", the race is run against a backdrop of spectacular scenery through the Cape Peninsula.
The race starts in Newlands, and follows a more or less circular route through Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, over Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek, and eventually finishes at the University of Cape Town campus. Nearly 8,000 runners entered the 2007 event. A very popular half marathon (21 km) (13.1 mi) is also held on the same day as the ultramarathon. In 2007 the half marathon attracted nearly 11,000 entries, making it the biggest half marathon in South Africa. Approximately 6,000 runners also took part in various fun runs the day before the race.
Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa.
Today it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa. As of 2007 the city had an estimated population of 3.5 million. Cape Town's land area of 2,455 square kilometres (948 sq mi) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,425 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,690 /sq mi).
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