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Eliud Kipchoge has announced that the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be the first stop on Eliud’s Running World, his new seven-continent marathon tour. The 2026 race takes place on Sunday 24 May.
It’s great news for marathon organisers, after the 2025 edition was blown out by gale-force winds and had to be cancelled at the last minute. With the star power of Kipchoge at the start, it also bodes well for the Cape Town Marathon’s bid for World Major status.
But for Kipchoge - who in 2019 became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40 in Vienna in an unofficial exhibition event – the Cape Town start is more than just another race day. The Kenyan superstar says he wants the tour to help “make this world a running world”, with the two-year project designed to take him to all seven continents while raising funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation’s work in education and environmental awareness. Cape Town, he says, is a particularly meaningful place to begin.
“Africa is where my journey as a runner began and where the foundation of my success is deeply rooted,” said Kipchoge. “To start this World Tour in Cape Town is very special. It is about celebrating the strength of African running and inspiring the next generation. To race my first ever marathon on the African continent holds deep meaning for me. I cannot wait!”
Wait, what?
Yes, that little factoid almost sneaked past me too, but it’s true!
Kipchoge’s appearance adds a neat piece of sporting history to the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Despite a glittering marathon career that has included victories in Hamburg, Chicago, London and Berlin, the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be his first-ever marathon on African soil! That is a major coup for a race already enjoying a strong run of momentum.
First run in 2007, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has grown into Africa’s leading big-city marathon and is now bidding to become the continent’s first Abbott World Marathon Major candidate race. The 42.2km race starts and finishes in Green Point, near DHL Stadium, and follows a fast city-and-coast route that takes in central Cape Town, the Atlantic Seaboard and the long Sea Point promenade section that gives runners a late-race test.
All 2026 finishers are set to receive a provisional AbbottWMM star if the event clears its final evaluation hurdles. The race will also host the 2026 AbbottWMM Age Group World Championships, further boosting Cape Town’s credentials on the global running calendar.
Clark Gardner, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, said welcoming Eliud Kipchoge to Cape Town for his first marathon on the African continent carries deep significance for the race and for the continent. “Eliud represents the very best of what running can inspire. To see him race our streets, meet our communities and engage with young runners across the city will be incredibly powerful. Moments like this remind us what is possible when the world’s greatest athletes connect with the places and people that shaped the sport.”
Cape Town’s biggest marathon weekend just got even bigger, and hosting arguably the greatest marathon runner in history is exactly the kind of sporting spotlight the race needs in its bid for Major status.
The next stops on Kipchoge’s world tour are expected to be announced later this week, but Cape Town gets first bragging rights.
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