Sunday’s 31st edition of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon (19 October) could well be the last in the current chapter of Africa’s greatest marathon, pending its conditional invitation to join the Abbott’s World Marathon Majors.
Race organisers have pulled out all the stops and should Sunday’s race check all the boxes required by the elite series of marathon majors, Cape Town will join Tokyo, London, Boston, Berlin, Sydney, Chicago and New York at the exclusive table of the world’s biggest and best city marathons.
And given the sold-out 24 000 entries and the best-ever line-up of elites, both quantity and quality are assured. If Cape Town’s flukey October weather plays ball, there is every chance of that Sunday will see the fastest marathon ever run on the continent, both in the men’s and women’s competitions.
The Cape Town Marathon first took place at Mutual Park in Pinelands in February 1994 and it hosted the South African Marathon Championships from that venue between 1996 and 2000.
Who will ever forget the diminutive athlete from Mpumalanga, Josiah Thugwane’s championship victory in February 1996, which catapulted him to the Atlanta Olympics six months later, where he won the gold medal for the marathon?
The Cape Town Marathon moved to the Grand Parade in Cape Town in 2005 where it enjoyed seven years of city-centre advantage, with Western Province Athletics taking over the management reigns.
Current sponsors Sanlam came on board in 2014, as Francois Pienaar and Elana Meyer stepped up as Cape Town Marathon’s high-profile ambassadors and the event has grown to become the biggest participation marathon in South Africa.
With the ‘house-full’ notice posted 100 days before the start of this year’s race, interest in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has never been greater as the Mother City braces itself for a festive weekend of running. The Cape Town Trail Marathon and 10km Peace Run take place tomorrow with the weekend climaxing with Sunday morning’s running of the Cape Town Marathon.
So who’s coming to the party?
In short, a mouth-watering line-up of many of Africa’s top-level marathoners from east, south and north of the continent, headlined by two 34-year-old Kenyans – Ronald Korir, who ran 2:04:22 at the Berlin Marathon in 2023 and Bethwell Chumba Kibet, who placed second in 2:04:37 in the Amsterdam Marathon in 2023.
Close behind is Moroccan Othmane el Goumri, boasting a 2:05:12 marathon best from the 2023 Barcelona Marathon, Ethiopia’s Asefa ‘Boki’ Kebebe with a 2:05:40 in finishing second in last year’s Amsterdam Marathon and Kenya’s Justus Kangogo, whose 2:05:57 was achieved in Berlin two years ago.
Leading Southern African marathoners who will be in action on Sunday include Zimbabwean Isaac Mpofu, whose 2:06:48 at the 2022 Boston Marathon still stands as his country’s national record and who boasts two top ten positions at World Championship Marathons in the past three years and designated pacer, Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana, who boasts a 2:06:18 best and a notable fourth place at the 2023 World Championships.
At yesterday’s media function at Green Point, Ramakongoana promised to take the field through 30km at 2:06 pace on Sunday.
From South Africa, three times winner, Stephen Mokoka, appears in the mood to prove that age is just a number and will likely again be in contention through 30km come Sunday, while sub-2:09 marathoner, Adam Lipschitz will be looking to make an impression on South African soil in his Cape Town Marathon debut.
But the athlete everyone will be looking out for is Elroy Gelant, running in his first marathon at home following his sensational 2:05:36 personal best and national record performance in Hamburg, Germany in April and a disappointing World Championship Marathon last month.
Less than a year short of his 40th birthday, Gelant’s career as a distance athlete continues to rise and he believes his best is still to come.
“I bumped out of the World Championship Marathon in Tokyo last month at 25km after hitting the wall after 22km. So in terms of effort level, it was only a 25-30k run,” Gelant said in answer to whether he believes he has fully recovered from the race.
“But the conditions were tough there and my body took a hard hit. It is hard to recover quickly, mentally and physically. But I’ve put a few things in place and have been working at my confidence. I believe I’m on right track and my body is starting to respond well.”
Gelant acknowledges his mistakes in preparing for the World Championships. “My expectation increased after my race at the Olympics and running the SA Record and I believed I could clinch a top five in Tokyo.
“So I upped everything – my training was a bit faster and a bit longer. Instead of sticking to the basics which had worked for me, I made rookie errors and went into overdrive. That was a big lesson learnt.”
Gelant chose shorter races ahead of Cape Town Marathon to regain his confidence and was pleased with his performances at the SA Cross Country Trials, where he led for much of the race to finish second to a fast-finishing Bennet Seloyi, and the 5km Boxer Super Run in Durban on the weekend, where he finished third behind 1500m track star, Ryan Mphehlele, in a fast 13:42.
Gelant feels ready to race on Sunday, but this time is tempering expectations. “Experience at Cape Town Marathon counts for something (Gelant will be racing CTM for the fourth time) but I’m not going for a podium place – just aiming for a solid marathon. I’ll be happy just running my best time for Cape Town Marathon (Gelant’s Cape Town best is 2:10:31 in 2019).”
Among the top women marathoners, no fewer than seven will go to the start-line with PB’s under 2 hrs 20 min, unprecedented in any marathon on the African continent. Kenyan Platinum Label athlete Winfridah Moraa Moseti is the fastest in the field, with a 2:16:56 to her name following her run in Tokyo this year.
Angela Tanui, also of Kenya, won the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57, while Ethiopia’s Ashete Bekere crossed the finish line in Tokyo in 2022 in 2:17:58.
Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete, Meseret Abebayehu and Mare Dibaba (second in last year’s Cape Town Marathon) and Kenyan Sheil Chelimo are the other sub 2hr 20min athletes in the field.
Included in the clutch of athletes in the field with personal bests faster than 2 hr 25 min is former South African record-holder and the world’s best ultra-distance athlete, Gerda Steyn, running in her second Cape Town Marathon following her debut in 2021.
Chief Executive Officer of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Clark Gardner, was quick to point out at the media function that none of the top performances by any of the leading athletes competing on Sunday was achieved in Africa, but that Cape Town now provided the platform for athletes to achieve stellar performances ‘at home’.
“It’s an indictment (of the current system) that the South African women’s record of 2hrs 22 min is the fastest in Africa while there are athletes here now in Cape Town who have run faster than 2 hrs 20 min. They have never had the opportunity to race at the highest level in Africa. Until now.
“We are proud that elite athletes can get whatever they want ahead of the marathon on Sunday,” Gardner continued. “Their own choice of African food will be prepared for them, something they will not experience anywhere else in the world. And to run in front of one’s home crowd is very special.
“We have the best field ever for the Cape Town Marathon – a total of eight World Athletics Platinum Level athletes and ten Gold Level athletes, including athletes who have run 2:04 and 2:05 marathon time.”
The Wheelchair Marathon gets underway at 06h10 with the elite race off five minutes later, before the remaining runners start their races in waves, alternating between two starts at the Stadium Precinct and in Beach Road.
First wheelchair athlete is expected into the finish in Vlei Road, Green Point around 07h45 with first elite runners expected home not long after 08h15.
