Final week, hundreds of runners have 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 mentioned 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 sequence 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 mentioned in a social media put up. “Members within the 2026 race will even obtain credit score for a World Marathon Main star if the occasion is formally added to the sequence after its subsequent analysis.”
So, should you run the race in 2026, and it’s later accepted into the AbbottWMM sequence, you’ll retroactively obtain a star for it. Presently, the seven official World Marathon Majors are New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo, and Sydney (lately). The Cape City Marathon has been beneath 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 unhealthy, it was harmful,” organizers wrote on social media. “Fences and tents have been lifted, and key buildings couldn’t be licensed secure. The security of our contributors comes first. All the time.”
On the time of the cancellation, most of the 24,000 registered runners have been already in the beginning line or en path to it when the emergency notification got here by means of at 4:45 a.m.
Organizers have additionally introduced a significant scheduling change coming in 2026 to stop this from taking place once more. The Cape City Marathon will formally shift from October to Might to keep away from the seasonal winds and scale back congestion with different main races.
Runners shattered after last-minute marathon cancellation in South Africa
