Runners have said that they feel disappointed over the decision to cancel the 2025 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.
On Sunday morning, the race was cancelled at 4.45 am, an hour and a half before the scheduled 6.15 am start time, after emergency meetings between the race organising team and the Joint Operations Committee (JOC), which consists of representatives from the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management and Safety and Security portfolios, as well as medical services and the South African Police Services.
“Both the route and start and finish venue were deemed unsafe for runners and spectators, and the difficult decision was taken to ensure the safety of everybody at the event,” the organisers said.
They added that after the cancellation of the marathon due to infrastructure and route damage caused by dangerously high winds, “title sponsor Sanlam has announced that it will be offering every 2025 marathon entrant a sponsored entry for either May 2026 or 2027”.
This offer will be extended to all 2025 marathon entrants, regardless of whether the race succeeds in its bid to become Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Majors event.
Sanlam Group CEO, Paul Hanratty, said: “When faced with adversity, Africans unite. We find a way to create opportunity out of adversity, in spite of all obstacles and challenges.
“We remain confident that the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is on course to become an Abbott World Marathon Majors race. Following the disappointment felt by the marathon runners today, we feel that we need to support all of those who were not able to take part in the race.”
After the news of the cancellation first broke, runners had mixed emotions as they understood the safety reasons for it, but they couldn’t help feeling the sting of disappointment.
One runner, Rowan Abrahams, said: “Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment around the cancellation of the event this morning. Personally, I had put in around 600 kms worth of training over the last 18 weeks.
“Changed my diet and sacrificed nights out in preparation for today. Only to have the proverbial rug pulled out from under me this morning as we were leaving for Green Point,” he said.
“The organisers cited adverse weather conditions as a reason for cancellation. Right now, it feels like a very hollow reason, as I said before, a lot of time and effort were put into training, and so I woke up this morning ready to run through a brick wall, but perhaps it’s for the best that everyone’s safety is treated as a priority.”
Cultural Affairs and Sports MEC Ricardo Mackenzie said that he personally felt deeply disappointed, as it was going to be his first marathon. He had gone through a whole year of training to get to the point where he could comfortably run the race.
“Of course, one respects the decision of the organisers. We respect the decision of a joint operations committee for the safety of runners and people along the route, but you still can’t help feeling disappointed.
“On a personal note, I myself booked into an Airbnb in Cape Town because I wanted to be closer. I was walking to the Green Point Track when we got the news that the race was cancelled.
“I think the financial aspect, one can recover,” said Mackenzie. “People planned, people budgeted… for those people, you know, they put money aside. So those are sort of things that are easier to recover, but emotionally you feel disappointed,
“There were thousands of runners still on the Sea Point Promenade, running around, to let that excess energy out. We’ve ate a lot the last 3 days – pasta, carbohydrates, and energy drinks over the last few days. All those things in your body that you must now run and get out of your system because you’re sort of carbon-loaded to run it out.
“And also people use this Cape Town marathon for next year’s qualification race for Two Oceans, and also The Comrades Marathon. So now, if they didn’t run today, it means they have to run the other races next year.”
Founders of Durban-based running club, Izitebele Social Run, Khulekani Shabalala, 39, and Andile Sibaya, 38, said they are not a formal run club and more of a social one.
Sibaya added that of those who participate in their social running club, approximately 400 planned to run the marathon.
“Our shakeout run (a very short, easy-paced jog, typically 10 to 20 minutes done before a race) had almost 400 runners,” Shabalala said.
Speaking of their reaction to the day’s events, he added that “it can be frustrating”.
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“Because, besides getting here, we’ve had guys who have been waking up at 4am for long runs, training and all of that, but we do understand that safety is paramount. There will be another marathon.
“We will still run again. I would rather, as an organiser, come back with all of my group intact than have a race organiser say, ‘let’s take a chance’, and then we lose one of us.
“In that sense, we understand it is a tough decision that had to be made, and we have to accept that the authority had the best interest of us, the runners in front (of mind).”
Sibaya added that as runners who also organise their own events on the side, “ it is disappointing, but there was a decision that needed to be made”.
“We need to just make lemonade out of the lemons.”
