04.10.25

THE ROUTES

Map overlay featuring a serpent face with a marked path from Green Point to Noordhoek, highlighting elevations of 2300m, 1200m, and 0m, and distances of 42.2km, 21.1km.

THE COBRA MARATHON

  • Distance Covered: 42.5 km

  • Start/Finish: 07h30 Constantia / Green Point 17h00

  • Elevation Gain: ~ 2328m

  • Highest Point: Table Mountain Summit (1087m)

  • Lowest Point: Green Point (~0m)

  • Key Climbs: Vlakkenberg, Table Mountain, Kasteelspoort, Signal Hill

  • Terrain: Coastal Singletrack, Boulder Fields, Mountain Ridgelines, Jeep Track, Scree, Rocky Descent, Fynbos

  • Aid Stations: 4 Strategically placed

  • Time Limit: 9 Hours (17h00)

  • Cut-offs: Constantia- 12h00am | Kloof Nek- 16h00


    GPX FILES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SOON

Graphic featuring a snake design overlaid with a yellow line map route from Green Point to Constantia, marked with elevation levels from 0m to 1100m and distances from 0km to 21.1km.

THE COBRA
Half-MARATHON

  • Distance Covered: 21.5 km

  • Start/Finish: 09h30 Beau Constantia / Green Point 17h00

  • Elevation Gain: ~ 852m

  • Highest Point: Table Mountain Summit (852m)

  • Lowest Point: Green Point (~0m)

  • Key Climbs: Table Mountain, Kasteelspoort, Signal Hill

  • Terrain: Mountain Ridgelines, Jeep Track, Scree, Rocky Descent, Fynbos, Coastal Trail

  • Aid Stations: 2 Strategically placed

  • Time Limit: 7.5 Hours (17h00)

    GPX FILES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SOON

AT The edge of the world.
THE COBRA MARATHON BEGINS.

The Vineyard Labyrinth
(COBRA FULL START LINE)

The first route is closed. The fires took their toll.
So we found another way. A route, never been run before.

Through the gates of Constantia Uitsig, the trail begins quietly. But this is no gentle start. You’re entering The Vineyard Labyrinth. Seven farms, centuries of history and terrain that never settles.

Buitenverwachting rises early, rolling into Klein Constantia, then up into the ridge lines of Groot Constantia, the oldest estate of them all.

The climbs aren’t steep, at first. But the vert creeps up quietly. They don’t stop. They wind. They rise. They push.

This is where part of the story of the Cape was written. In vine, in soil. Now, you run through it.

And then the vineyards fall away.
The land turns. The air shifts.

Vlakkenberg looms. It’s steep. It’s savage. And it ends all illusions. Each switchback is a dare. Each breath, a debt.

At the summit, there’s no celebration- only the descent. Brutal, narrow, unrelenting.

You reach Constantia Neck — the halfway point, and the start of the Cobra Half-Marathon. If they’re already running. Can you catch them?

Are you predator? Or prey?

You’ve Survived the FIRST Strike.
Now Endure the Reckoning.

Exhausted male runner sitting on rocky path, wearing athletic gear, with mountainous landscape and cloudy sky in the background.

The Reckoning
(COBRA HALF Start Line)

You’ve already bled effort, and now the trail bleeds altitude. The jeep track from the Nek is a psychological and physical crucible. The terrain is runnable- but should you? 

The mountain presses back with quiet force. Do you hold back, conserving for what’s to come? Or do you endure the bite, fight for position and burn what you have left? 

As you cross the Old Iron Bridge, the climb steepens and spirits rise. To your right Cecilia Ravine opens up like a cathedral of stone.  You are near the summit.

Coastal hiking trail with cliffs and ocean view

The climb to Table Mountain is brutal. The plateau, breathtaking. You pass De Villiers Dam and the Overseers’ Cottages, then push along the concrete road past the Alexander and Victoria Reservoirs. Here, the Cobra momentarily coils. You settle into a rhythm again – legs ticking, mind steady.

Crossing between the Hely-Hutchinson Reservoir and Woodhead Reservoir, you enter the haunting silence- the Valley of Isolation. Eyes on the trail, heart in your throat – you half expect the Cobra to strike again.

Then comes the bite: technical single track, winding and narrow, bringing you to the legendary Diving Board. With the Valley of the Red Gods on your right and Camps Bay and Bakoven sprawling below, you’re perched on the spine of the Twelve Apostles. The view is glorious.  

You may think the climb is over.  But the trail still teases. You flirt with cliff edges. Dance across loose rock.  Then comes the plunge.

A person running on a mountain trail with a lion-shaped cloud in the sky.

Kasteelspoort - a steep, technical descent where you race against gravity and time. The city gleams below as you drop towards salvation.

A brief reprieve greets you on the Pipe Track – flowing trail to collect yourself and find your legs again. But it doesn’t last.

You reach Kloof Corner. Table Mountain looms above, watching like a god.  After crossing the M62, a short descent down Kloof Road leads to the final stretch. The tar ends. The trail returns.

You snake below Lion’s Head on the Top Road trails.  To your left, Clifton and the Atlantic Ocean. To your right, Signal Hill rising like the final challenge. The path around Signal Hill is rolling, sharp, and unforgiving. 

Your legs scream. Your chest heaves. But you keep moving - past Fresnaye, Sea Point, Three Anchor Bay – the finish so close you can taste it.

But the Cobra isn’t done. The last lash of the tail: a fast, winding singletrack that spits you out in Green Point, dust-covered, soul shaken – and if you’re lucky, still standing.

A man smiling and holding a Cape Cobra medal with a mountainous backdrop.

You climbed through Silvermine, crawled over Vlakkenberg, bled on Table Mountain’s Spine and rolled down Kasteels.

Unrelenting grit and vertical warfare. Punishing ascents and technical descents with fynbos in your teeth. You’ve earned your place among legends.

This isn’t a trail marathon. It’s a mountain born reckoning.

See you at the start line.