Ultra Marathon Entries & Half Marathon Ballot Applications Open On 1 November 2017
Runners wanting to be a part of the 2018 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (OMTOM) should diarise Wednesday, 1 November 2017 now.
The event’s Ultra Marathon entries and Half Marathon ballot applications will open from 10am – and it’s bound to be a busy morning.
Ultra Marathon entries closed in a record 32 days last year, and are expected to reach the 11 000 entry limit even quicker this time around.
However, Blue and Yellow Number Holders (loyal participants who have completed nine or more OMTOM Ultra Marathons) have a guaranteed entry pool of 1 500 entries.
Half Marathon hopefuls will have a bit more time on their side. Runners who have completed more than nine OMTOMs will be able to enter immediately, while the rest of the field will have a 10-day window to submit their Half Marathon ballot application via the OMTOM website.
- Running Club Draw: Once ballot applications close, running clubs will have the opportunity to verify their members before the Running Club Draw takes place on 20 November. Runners who are successful in the Club Draw will have until 25 November to pay for their entry. Running Club members whose names were not drawn during the Club Draw will automatically be added to the General Draw.
- General Draw: The General Draw will take place on 27 November 2017, and successful applicants will have until 2 December 2017 to pay for their entry.
- Anyone missing their payment deadline will forfeit their entry.
While the Half Marathon total entry limit is set at 16 000, over 25 000 Half Marathon applications were received in 2016.
New Payment Platform
An exciting advancement in the entry process for the 2018 event, is that OMTOM has now partnered with Webtickets to facilitate entry payments for all entries via their site, meaning that entrants can pay via any credit card, debit card or with cash at any Pick n Pay or Boxer Store. The development also eliminates the hassle of EFT payments.
“Having Webtickets on board as our payment portal extends our payment options and make the entry system more accessible to a wider demographic of runners,” explains Carol Vosloo, General Manager of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC.
“The move to an external and more robust payment platform also gives us access to the latest electronic transaction technologies, which results in more convenient payment options – including an in-store cash payment option available to our runners.”
Entrants are required to have a Webtickets profile in order to facilitate payment, and all prospective participants must either update their existing OR create a new Webtickets profile.
“The good news is that almost half of our current runner base already have a Webtickets profile,” adds Ms Vosloo.
Runners who cannot or don’t want to pay online will be able to complete their payment at any Pick n Pay or Boxer Store nationwide.
The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon events take place on Friday, 30 March and Saturday, 31 March 2018.
