Final week, hundreds of runners had been left annoyed after spending money and time to participate within the 2025 Sanlam Cape City Marathon—just for the race to be cancelled simply 75 minutes earlier than the beginning on account of harmful winds.
In response to the cancellation, race organizers stated all registered contributors will obtain a complimentary entry to both the 2026 or 2027 version, funded by title sponsor Sanlam. As well as, those that run the 2026 race will obtain a provisional Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) star, ought to the Cape City Marathon formally be part of the collection as its eighth occasion.
“The title sponsor, Sanlam, is providing to fund entry charges for 2026 or 2027 to these affected by this 12 months’s cancellation,” organizers stated in a social media publish. “Individuals within the 2026 race may even obtain credit score for a World Marathon Main star if the occasion is formally added to the collection after its subsequent analysis.”
So, in the event you run the race in 2026, and it’s later accepted into the AbbottWMM collection, you’ll retroactively obtain a star for it. At the moment, the seven official World Marathon Majors are New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo, and Sydney (not too long ago). The Cape City Marathon has been underneath analysis by AWMM since 2022.
The choice to cancel the 2025 race was made after wind gusts between 48 and 60 km/h made the course unsafe. “The climate wasn’t simply dangerous, it was harmful,” organizers wrote on social media. “Fences and tents had been lifted, and key constructions couldn’t be licensed secure. The security of our contributors comes first. All the time.”
On the time of the cancellation, lots of the 24,000 registered runners had been already at the beginning line or en path to it when the emergency notification got here by at 4:45 a.m.
Organizers have additionally introduced a significant scheduling change coming in 2026 to forestall this from taking place once more. The Cape City Marathon will formally shift from October to Could to keep away from the seasonal winds and cut back congestion with different main races.
Runners shattered after last-minute marathon cancellation in South Africa
