All the training, all the right diet – oh well here’s to Sanlam Cape Town Marathon 2026 – entrant Rowan Abrahams, who was to have done his second Cape Town Marathon writes:
Obviously there’s a lot of disappointment around the cancellation of what would have been my 2nd Cape Town marathon on Sunday morning.
I had put in around 600 kms worth of training over the last 18 weeks. Along with changing my diet and sacrificing nights out before my long practise runs in preparation for today.
And so reading the cancellation message at 5am this morning, about two hours from my start time, felt like the proverbial rug being pulled out from underneath me.
My first reaction was that it was a hoax, maybe someone hacked the marathon’s official social media pages and posted this message to spoil the day of 25000 runners.
I mean surely an event as big as this one would have all their bases covered to ensure the race goes ahead as planned.
But TikTok and Instagram Live feeds from other runners at the start venue in Green Point confirmed the bad news.
The organisers cited adverse windy conditions as a reason for cancelation, right now it feels a bit unbelievable.
Of course, safety is a priority for all participants, overnight the wind caused damage to Marquee tents and advertising boards. However, as a Capetonian, I often train, and race in similar conditions.
Even heading out for a run this morning in the Claremont and Rondebosch areas, along a portion of the race route, the wind didn’t seem to be significant.
The organisers have since sent out this statement, “Following the cancellation of the 2025 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on Sunday morning 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 is a very welcomed update, however we’ll have to do the training all over again beginning of next year.
Here’s to 2026.
