Cape Town’s running calendar is set for a major shake-up as the new Nelson Mandela Marathon Cape Town prepares to take over the October slot left open when the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon moved to May.
New Nelson Mandela Marathon aims to blend competition with legacy
According to TimesLive, the race is expected to launch officially in the city as part of the Mandela Legacy Sporting Series, with organisers positioning it as more than just another road race.
Set for 18 October, the event will offer a full 42km marathon, a half-marathon, a 10km and a 5km distance. Organisers say the timing could make it a strong qualifier race, with hopes of working alongside the Cape Town Marathon and Comrades in the broader running calendar.
Bruce Parker-Forsyth of Galatso SA said the team saw a clear opening in October and plans to make the race a ‘perfect qualifier’.
He also described the event as a ‘value-based event’, rather than one centred only on times and records. Organisers are targeting more than 20 000 entries across the races and hope to attract elite international athletes.
Several runners have already shared concerns online about the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s move from October to May, saying the date change disrupted long-standing training routines and travel plans. For many local runners, October had become closely tied to Cape Town’s marathon culture, with cooler spring conditions and a familiar race build-up drawing athletes from across the country.
The arrival of the Nelson Mandela Marathon in that newly opened slot may offer disappointed runners another opportunity to keep their traditional October racing plans alive in the city, based on reactions shared under The Feed CPT’s Instagram post announcing the event. One user commented, ‘Cape Town needed another big race in October,’ while another wrote, ‘This actually makes the running calendar feel balanced again.’ One commenter wrote, ‘October is better than May.’
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Picture: Tong Su / Unsplash
