Former world record holder Eliud Kipchoge is ready to lace up and pound the streets of the Mother City when the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon takes place on Sunday morning.
Kipchoge’s presence is a major drawcard for the race and has attracted a lot of interest. The race has rapidly established itself as Africa’s premier marathon, and is currently a candidate for Abbott World Marathon Majors status.
Kipchoge is a double Olympic marathon champion, a two-time world record-breaker and the first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon, but this will be his first official marathon race on African soil.
According to the marathon’s website, the Kenyan has chosen Cape Town as the first stop for his Eliud’s Running World Tour, which will see him tackle a series of seven marathons across all the continents over the next two years, to inspire people to lead healthier lives while uniting the world through running.
When asked if he is looking forward to Sunday’s race, Kipchoge responded: “Cape Town is a beautiful city, and I hope on Sunday it will be a beautiful race, whereby we bring all the people out to run in the streets. I want to help grow this event to 60,000 participants, and help it become a Major. As an African, I’m rooting for it, I’m pushing for it. We don’t have a Major marathon in Africa yet, but this is a growing continent, and it’s our time as Africans to have Cape Town as one of the World Majors,” he was quoted on the website.
The marathon is aiming to bring Africa its first Major and create a global stage where African athletes can compete at the highest level on home soil. Becoming a Major will put the Mother City’s marathon on the same level as marathons in New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo and other cities, and make it one of the most sought-after global marathoning destinations.
The websites further explains that 2026 edition of the race will see 27,000 marathon runners lining up, including a field of world-class elite runners and wheelchair athletes. A further 17,500 will take part in the accompanying 10km and 5km Peace Runs, as well as the Cape Town Trail Marathon, 22km and 11km trail runs, which take place on Saturday, 23 May. That means a combined field of 44,500 participants in action over the weekend of the event, making it one of the largest running events on the African continent.
Kipchoge will line up in one of the strongest fields ever assembled for an African marathon, with both the men’s and women’s course records very much under threat from the star-studded line-up. To break those records, the winning man will need to cross the line in less than 2:08:16, the time by posted by 2024 winner Abdisa Tola of Ethiopia. The women will need to beat Glenrose Xaba’s South African Record 2:22:22, run that same year.
A 2:08 finish is still well within 41-year-old Kipchoge’s reach. In 2018 he broke the world record for the first time, when he ran 2:01:39 in Berlin to shatter the previous record by 1 minute and 18 seconds. A year later, he shot to international fame when he clocked 1:59:40 in the INEOS Challenge in Vienna, which did not qualify as a world record but showed the world that the two-hour barrier in the marathon could be beaten.
Then in 2022, again in Berlin, he took his own world record down to 2:01:09. (The World Record is now 1:59:30, set by another Kenyan, Sabastian Sawe, in the London Marathon on 26 April 2026, becoming the first man to officially run a sub-2-hour marathon.)
- Eliud Kipchoge, former world record holder and double Olympic marathon champion, will compete in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on Sunday, marking his first official marathon race in Africa.
- The Cape Town Marathon seeks to become Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Major, joining ranks with events like New York and London, and aims to grow to 60,000 participants.
- Kipchoge’s "Eliud’s Running World Tour" starts in Cape Town, with plans for seven marathons across all continents over two years to promote healthier living and unite runners worldwide.
- The 2026 marathon is expected to feature 27,000 runners, including elite athletes and wheelchair competitors, plus 17,500 participants in related runs, making it one of Africa's largest running events.
- Kipchoge will face a strong elite field aiming to break course records, with the men’s record at 2:08:16 and the women’s South African record at 2:22:22, although a sub-2:08 finish is still possible for Kipchoge.
Former world record holder Eliud Kipchoge is ready to lace up and pound the streets of the
Kipchoge’s presence is a major drawcard for the race and has attracted a lot of interest.
Kipchoge is a double Olympic marathon champion, a two-time world record-breaker and the first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon, but this will be his first official marathon race on African soil.
When asked if he is looking forward to
Kipchoge will line up in one of the strongest fields ever assembled for an African marathon, with both the men’s and women’s course records very much under threat from the star-studded line-up. To break those records, the winning man will need to cross the line in less than 2:08:16, the time by posted by 2024 winner Abdisa Tola of
A 2:08 finish is still well within 41-year-old Kipchoge’s reach. In 2018 he broke the world record for the first time, when he ran 2:01:39 in Berlin to shatter the previous record by 1 minute and 18 seconds. A year later, he shot to international fame when he clocked 1:59:40 in the INEOS
