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On Sunday morning, Eliud Kipchoge - two-time Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and the first human ever to run a marathon in under two hours - will race his first-ever marathon on African soil in the Mother City.
But this weekend’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is about far more than one legendary athlete.
Cape Town is currently chasing Abbott World Marathon Major status, the highest tier in global marathon running, occupied by just six races worldwide - Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo.
If the city succeeds, it will become the seventh Major - the first in Africa. That possibility has transformed this year’s race into one of the most closely watched sporting events on the continent.
Cape Town is more than a scenic marathon destination
The scale of international attention reflects just how much is at stake.
More than 1,800 athletes are in Cape Town for the AbbottWMM Age Group World Championships, which take place alongside the marathon, with runners from 102 countries entered. The ballot was oversubscribed, and 8,500 international runners - including 960 from across Africa - are expected on the start line this weekend.
Achieving Major status would fundamentally change the scale of marathon running in Africa, bringing increased tourism, sponsorship and international broadcast attention to Cape Town and South African running more broadly.
And unlike many global marathon cities, Cape Town already has one major advantage: people genuinely want to travel here.
The elite field is unlike anything Africa has hosted before
The race has assembled what organisers are calling the strongest elite field ever gathered for a marathon on the continent.
In the men’s race, 14 athletes have personal bests under 2:08, including Stephen Kiprop and Maru Teferi.
South African hopes rest with national record-holder Elroy Gelant and fan favourite Stephen Mokoka, while the women’s field includes former Tokyo Marathon champion Lonah Salpeter, two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat and Ethiopian stars led by Ruti Aga.
The current course records - both African all-comers records - are under serious threat. Seeing Kipchoge race in Cape Town further signals that the city is now firmly on the international marathon map.
The pressure on this year’s race is enormous
The race’s Major bid has also brought unprecedented scrutiny.
Achieving Abbott World Marathon Major status is a long and demanding process that involves years of operational reviews, international evaluations, and organisational benchmarks. The Cape Town Marathon has spent years positioning itself for this moment, which is why last year’s cancellation due to extreme weather conditions was seen as a major setback.
It has seen organisers rally behind extensive race-day operations to ensure the final race and qualification process go ahead smoothly. Every entrant from the cancelled 2025 race was offered a deferred place in 2026 or 2027, while new weather-management systems were introduced ahead of this year’s event. The marathon now has live weather monitoring and video coverage across the route, pre-agreed decision protocols, multiple contingency teams, two alternative starts and finishes, and 11 potential route diversions depending on conditions.
The Major bid certainly adds an intensity within the sector's governance and race control measures, but for most runners and spectators, the key focus is that the race survived its most difficult moment - and returned bigger than ever.
Cape Town may finally have the running calendar to match its reputation
This year also marks the beginning of a new era for marathon running in the city. After the Cape Town Marathon moved from its traditional October slot to May, the newly launched Nelson Mandela Legacy Sporting Series Marathon stepped into the spring calendar with backing from the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Belgian sports company Golazo.
Rather than seeing that as a threat, running analyst Stuart Mann believes it reflects growing demand for destination races in Cape Town.
“With Cape Town Marathon now in May, there’s demand again for a big October marathon,” he says.
Mann also argues that Cape Town remains surprisingly under-supplied when it comes to marathons relative to the size of its running community.
“There’s not enough marathons in Cape Town,” he says. “For a city with such a strong running culture, Cape Town actually doesn’t have that many marathons.”
According to Mann, the Western Cape hosts roughly eight standard marathons, compared to around 20 across Johannesburg and Pretoria combined and nearly 30 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Part of the reason, he says, is that South Africa’s running culture operates very differently from most international marathon markets.
“Internationally, most people train for one marathon as a major goal,” says Mann. “In South Africa, marathon culture is tied closely to Comrades.
“A lot of South African runners doing Comrades might run five to 10 marathons in a year,” he says. “It’s a very different mentality and mindset.”
That culture has created a much denser running calendar than many overseas visitors expect - and why Cape Town should look to support multiple large-scale races.
How to make the most of Cape Town's big running moment
Ahead of race day, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo takes over DHL Stadium until Saturday, with more than 44,000 runners and supporters expected to pass through the space across the weekend.
Alongside race pack collection, the Expo features international and local running brands, wellness activations, food vendors, interactive sponsor experiences and a large fynbos floral installation inspired by South Africa’s award-winning Chelsea Flower Show exhibit.
SEE: Cape Town Marathon: Your Complete Guide
The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon takes place on Sunday, 24 May, with road closures beginning early across the city.
Even if you are not running, this is absolutely a spectator event. The route cuts through some of Cape Town’s most recognisable landscapes, and the atmosphere around the elite race is expected to be enormous.
On Sunday morning Cape Town becomes the centre of the marathon world.
Set the alarm.
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