Runners Platform SA

What Africa’s First Major Means for Everyday Runners   Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. There is a familiar conversation that happens after a weekend club run. Someone mentions London. Another runner talks about saving for Berlin. A third has entered an overseas marathon ballot and is waiting for the email. Then the practical questions arrive. Flights. Visas. Accommodation. Leave from work. How much will the whole trip cost in rand? Cape Town now belongs in that conversation. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will stage its first race as an Abbott World Marathon Major on 23 May 2027 . Confirmed in June 2026 after its final successful assessment, Cape Town becomes the eighth member of the series and the first on African soil. For South African runners looking ahead to next year, that creates an appealing possibility: running a Major within our own country. It also raises some sensible questions. Can you still enter? What does finishing mean for your Major star? And how s...