Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Set for Racing Fireworks in 2026

 

Cape Town, South Africa – All eyes will be on Cape Town on Sunday 24 May, when the 2026 edition of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon takes to the streets of the Mother City. Africa’s premier marathon will see 27,000 marathon runners lining up, including the strongest field of world-class elite runners and wheelchair athletes ever assembled for an African marathon. Around 32% of the marathon entrants will be running the event for the first time.

 

The marathon field will also include 8,500 international participants from 145 countries, with the largest contingents from the United States of America (1571 entries), the United Kingdom (712) and Germany (358). The leading African countries represented are Zimbabwe (263), Botswana (177) and Kenya (133). The international contingent this year is boosted by the event hosting the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Champs, with 1,800 of the world’s best age group marathon runners racing for global honours.

 

A further 17,500 participants will take part in the accompanying 10km and 5km Peace Runs, as well as the Cape Town Trail Marathon, 22km and 11km trail runs, which take place on Saturday, 23 May. All races start and finish in the Green Point precinct adjacent to the DHL Stadium.

 

Showcasing African Excellence

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is nearing the completion of phase 2 of the candidacy process to become an Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) event. This will bring Africa its first Major, and put the Mother City’s marathon on the same level as marathons in New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo and other cities, while making it one of the most sought-after global marathoning destinations. In his opening welcome to the pre-race media conference on Friday, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Clark Gardner, expressed his pride at all the event has already achieved.

 

“When we started on this marathon journey, one of our primary objectives was to honour the magnificent performances of the African elite marathon runners. They were the ones that inspired us to showcase African excellence, and so we set out to give them a marathon on African soil that is worthy of their participation,” said Gardner.

 

“Today, we’re thrilled to welcome an elite field for 2026 with seven World Athletics Platinum Label and 13 Gold Label athletes, including the greatest ever marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge, as well many of the best runners in the world. This is certainly the fastest and best field to ever start a marathon on the African continent, and allows us to honour the great performances of these elites over many years all around the world. Now they get to race at that same level on their home turf, feeling the African warmth, hospitality and vibes. We wish all our runners a great run on Sunday.”

 

Elites Raring to Go

Several of the leading contenders in Sunday’s race were unveiled at Friday’s media conference, and all expressed their joy at being part of the journey towards the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon becoming a Major. First up was the legendary Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic Marathon gold medallist, two time marathon World Record-breaker and winner of 11 Major titles around the world.

 

“They say North, South, East or West, home is best… Cape Town is in Africa, and I belong to the African continent. This is my home, this is my soil, and I am a child of Africa. That’s a big reason that I am here, to show my support for Cape Town to become a Major marathon next year,” said Kipchoge.

 

“The culture of running here in South Africa is really amazing – when I wake up at 6 o’clock to run, I see everybody out there, and the same thing in the evening. I also had the opportunity to go to Langa, and saw how much the children love sport. This is really the country of sport, and the perfect home for a Major marathon,” he added.

Another Kenya legend, former two-time women’s World Marathon Champion and oldest winner of an AbbottWMM race, Edna Kiplagat, echoed her countryman’s positive thoughts on Cape Town. “I’m so grateful to be part of the elite race here in Cape Town. It is a great milestone that you have all worked to achieve, and I believe we are going to have a great race on Sunday.”

When asked about the longevity of her career – she is now 46 and racing at the top end of the women’s elite circuit – Kiplagat said it was thanks to her support structures. “I’ve had the greatest team who have been helping me with everything that I do, and I’m so grateful, because whenever I’m preparing for a race, they make sure everything goes well. I’m lucky that the support I get has really helped me to achieve all my goals, but I still have more ahead of me, including here in Cape Town.”

 

Wheelchair Racers Ready to Roll

The media conference included some of the leading contenders in the wheelchair race being invited on stage, and Switzerland’s Manuela Schär, a former winner of every AbbottWMM title, including a clean-sweep of all six race in 2019, said that it is great to be back in Cape Town. “I spent a beautiful vacation here, in 2017, so I have the best memories of Cape Town and its great energy. I just had so much fun, and I always wanted to come and race here, but the timing was always a bit bad with other events and racing on the track. So, I’m really glad that I’ve made it here this year!”

Equally effusive about Cape Town is the United Kingdom’s David Weir, an eight-time winner of the London Marathon, who reminisced with media conference co-host, retired wheelchair racer and long-time friend Ernst van Dyk that he has been wanting to come here for many years. “Ernst has been inviting me to come here for years, and now that I’m no longer racing on the track, I could make it at last.”

 

“Our sport has improved so much over the years, and being part of the Majors has really helped. It’s been amazing to be a part of the Majors circuit, and fantastic to see Cape Town about to be added to the circuit. We’ve got a strong field here this year, so the race could be close, and I’m really looking forward to it,” added Weir.

 

Action-Packed Weekend

The running action gets underway on Saturday, 23 May, with the five shorter distance events that form part of a festival weekend of running at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. The 43km Trail Marathon starts first at 6:30am, followed by the 22km Trail Run at 7:15am and the 11km Trail Run at 8:10am. While the trail runners head up on to the slopes of Table Mountain and its neighbouring peaks, the road athletes will line up for the 10km Peace Run, starting at 7:30am, with the elite women heading off first, followed by the elite men at 7:37am and the rest of the field from 7:42am. The 5km Peace Run will start at 10am.

 

Sunday’s marathon action begins with the inspirational Peace Flame Ceremony at 7:20am, and then the Wheelchair Invitational race sets off at 7:50am, followed by the Elite start at 8am. These all take place in Fritz Sonnenberg Road, next to the DHL Stadium. Next, the AbbottWMM MTT Age Group World Champs entrants will start in Beach Road, near the Mouille Point Lighthouse, at 8:05am. The rest of the marathon field will then start in five waves – three in Fritz Sonnenberg Road and two in Beach Road – from 8:10am until 9:06am. The final cut-off for the marathon will be at 3:50pm.

 

With a total of 44,500 athletes in running action over the weekend, all events on the programme will feature staggered wave starts to minimise congestion on the roads and trails, and to ensure the safety of all participating athletes. Thanks to chip-timing technology, athletes will not lose time if starting in a later batch, as each wave will be timed separately.

 

SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED PRIZE PURSE

The prize purse for the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has been significantly increased, with the top 10 men and women, plus main race age group podium finishers (not to be confused with the Age Group World Champs) splitting a pot of R3,598,000 – 40% up from last year’s 2,578,000.

 

The increased prize for the winner is now $35,000 (approximately R595,000, working on an exchange rate of R17 to the US Dollar), up from the $25,000 first prize on offer in 2025. Second place will now earn $20,000 instead of $15,000, while third place is worth $15,000 instead of $10,000. The top 10 men and women, as well as the top five male and female wheelchair athletes, will be paid in US Dollars, as per standard practice in AbbottWMM events.

 

The wheelchair athletes have also seen their prize purse increased by around 35%, with the total prize purse climbing from R612,000 to R833,000. The wheelchair winners will now pocket $10,000 instead of $8000, while second place is up from $4000 to $5500, and third is worth $4500 instead of $3000.

 

The incentive for breaking the men’s or women’s course record has also been increased by 33%, from $15,000 to $20,000, and the organisers have thrown in an extra R250,000 incentive for a new World Record! Local athletes will also have something to race for, with the first three South African men and women claiming R25,000, R12,500 and R7500 respectively, while the first three Western Province athletes will be rewarded with prize money of R3000, R2000 and R1000. Furthermore, if a South African marathoner can break the SA Record, he or she will pocket a cool $10,000 incentive.

 

The combined prize purse for 2026, across the marathon, wheelchair race, 10km Peace Run and three Trail Runs, has been increased 37% from 2025’s R3,554,500 to R4,862,500. When all the record incentives are added, the total prize purse on offer amounts to a massive R6,602,500!

 

INFRASTRUCTURE OF A MAJOR EVENT

The organising team behind the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon works tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the event, and that requires a considerable amount of people, vehicles, signage and other infrastructure, including the following:

·     13.5km of fencing on the route

·     7200 traffic cones

·     600 marshals on marathon route

·     293 security personnel on route

·     205 toilets on route

·     167 Road Closure signs

·     143 Parking Restriction signs

·     970 No Stopping Lollipops

·     135 Hay Bales on sharp bends

·     5 emergency misting zones (if high temperatures are expected on event day)

·     Almost 200 vehicles on the route before and after the event to ensure infrastructure, marshals, water stations and road closures are in place, and then collected post-event.

 

CATCH THE RACING ACTION LIVE

The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be live-streamed on the event’s YouTube channel, @thecapetownmarathon, at the following times:

·     Saturday 23 May: 10km Peace Run – from 07:20 to 08:20

·     Sunday 24 May: Marathon – from 07:35 to 11:35 (followed by a live stream of the finish line until cut-off at 15:50)

Note: The broadcast will be carried through to various countries around the world by several partner broadcasters.

 

For more information, please send an email to media@capetownmarathon.com or visit www.capetownmarathon.com.