Race Shape › Running › Cape Town
Running · the Western CapeRunning training plans in Cape Town
Cape Town is essentially at sea level, so your training paces and power need no altitude correction here. What does shape running in Cape Town is the climate — winter rainfall: cold fronts bring rain and wind from roughly may to august — and the fact that the country's altitude races are a different problem when you travel up to them.
Build my Cape Town running plan — freeTell it where you train and it corrects for the altitude automatically.
| Altitude | 25 m |
|---|---|
| Province | Western Cape |
| Pace correction the plan applies | None |
What altitude does to the paces
At 25 m no correction applies, so the "here" columns match sea level. Easy ceiling and threshold pace per kilometre:
| Current fitness | Easy — sea level | Easy — here | Threshold — sea level | Threshold — here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 km in 30:00 | 7:30 | 7:30 | 6:23 | 6:23 |
| 5 km in 25:00 | 6:19 | 6:19 | 5:22 | 5:22 |
| 5 km in 20:00 | 5:08 | 5:08 | 4:21 | 4:21 |
Paces from Jack Daniels' VDOT model; altitude correction of roughly 2% per 300 m above 500 m. A planning estimate — individuals vary.
Training through the year in Cape Town
Winter rainfall: cold fronts bring rain and wind from roughly May to August. Summers are dry and often windy, with the south-easter at its strongest in the middle of summer.
Wind is the constant. Plan exposed long sessions around the forecast rather than the calendar, and use effort rather than pace on windy days — a headwind kilometre is not a slow kilometre.
Racing at altitude
Travelling up to race is the harder direction. The same effort produces a slower pace at altitude, and a coastal runner who races Soweto or Kaapsehoop to their sea-level splits will blow up. For somebody who runs 5 km in 25:00, the plan sets race-day threshold pace like this:
| Threshold pace, training here | 5:22/km |
|---|---|
| Threshold pace at Soweto Marathon (1 680 m) | 5:48/km |
| Threshold pace at Om Die Dam 50 km (1 160 m) | 5:36/km |
| Threshold pace at Loskop 50 km (1 450 m) | 5:43/km |
| Threshold pace at Kaapsehoop Marathon (1 600 m) | 5:46/km |
Common questions
Do I need to adjust my training for altitude in Cape Town?
No. At 25 m the plan applies no altitude correction. It does apply one if you travel to race somewhere high, such as Soweto or the 947 Ride in Johannesburg.
When is the best time of year to train in Cape Town?
Wind is the constant. Plan exposed long sessions around the forecast rather than the calendar, and use effort rather than pace on windy days — a headwind kilometre is not a slow kilometre.
Which races near Cape Town can I build a plan for?
Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, Two Oceans Half Marathon, Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Sanlam Cape Town Gun Run Half — each is built in, with the date, distance and altitude already filled in.
Where do my paces come from?
From a recent race or time trial, run where you train. The plan works out VDOT from it and sets every pace band.
Races within reach of Cape Town
- Two Oceans Ultra Marathon
- Two Oceans Half Marathon
- Sanlam Cape Town Marathon
- Sanlam Cape Town Gun Run Half
Running plans elsewhere in South Africa
- Johannesburg — 1 753 m
- Pretoria — 1 339 m
- Durban — 8 m
- Gqeberha — 60 m
- Bloemfontein — 1 395 m
- Nelspruit — 660 m
- Pietermaritzburg — 596 m
- Polokwane — 1 310 m
- Potchefstroom — 1 350 m
- Kimberley — 1 197 m
- George — 200 m