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The general ballot for the 100th Comrades Marathon opens at 10:00 SAST on Wednesday, 9 September 2026 and closes at 16:30 on Tuesday, 22 September. Roughly 14,500 of the 28,000 places go through this draw, open to South African, rest of Africa and international applicants. You do not need a qualifying marathon to apply, applying costs a non-refundable R10 tokenisation fee, and successful applicants pay the race entry fee after the draw on 23 September.

The ballot is done and the next doors have dates on them. The official substitution window opens on 16 November 2026 for both races, closing 10 March 2027 for the Ultra and a full nine days earlier, on 1 March 2027, for the Half. Charity entries go on sale from October, and the official Training Run series starts in November. If you missed out in August, these are your routes to the start line.

The first entry window for the 100th Comrades Marathon opens this morning at 10:00 SAST, and it is a narrow one. Green Number, Yellow Number and Amabeadibeadi charity entries only, each with its own cap, closing the moment that cap is reached. If you are not in one of those three categories, today is not your morning, and clicking refresh will not change that.

The results landed on 18 August and the questions started immediately. Two Oceans has explained the mechanics, and the application figures are now out too: the Ultra drew 25,000 applications for 12,000 ballot places, the Half drew 37,000 for the same 12,000. That makes the Half the harder race to get into by some distance. Seven or more finishes doubled your chance, licensed club runners got the first half of the Half draw to themselves, and any place left unpaid by midday on 31 August goes back into a second draw.

The Comrades Marathon Association launched the centenary race on Wednesday morning. 28,000 places, the largest field in the race's history, split across four entry windows with a ballot holding 52% of them. Entries open Tuesday 25 August at 10:00 SAST, fees are unchanged since 2022, and the down run finishes at Kings Park for the first time on a route of about 91km. You still need a sub-5:00 marathon.

The official launch of the 100th Comrades Marathon streams live on YouTube at 10:00 SAST on Wednesday, 19 August 2026. The CMA has said it will cover entry fees and the entry process, the official entry cap, the centenary campaign slogan, race day information and prize money. If the 100th is your goal, this is the morning the practical details finally arrive.

The ballot for the 2027 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon powered by BYD closes at 22:00 SAST on Sunday, 16 August 2026. You can enter the Ultra ballot, the Half ballot, or both with a preferred event nominated. The draw is announced on Tuesday, 18 August, and anyone who gets an entry has until midday on Monday, 31 August to pay for it.

On 14 July adidas and Strava switched on a rewards integration that turns your logged kilometres into adiClub points, redeemable for kit and even a Strava subscription. It's US and Canada only at launch. We unpack the rates, the daily cap, the maths on what you'd actually earn, and the data trade sitting underneath it.

Discovery Bank has confirmed to clients how its first-ever Two Oceans pre-sale will run: a 72-hour early access window opens at 10:00 on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, two weeks before the public ballot. Entry is verified by matching your SA ID or passport number to a qualifying Discovery Bank account, your details must match your Two Oceans Marathon profile exactly, payment is by qualifying Discovery Bank card, and each account gets exactly one entry, first come, first served.

History has a date: the 100th Comrades Marathon runs on Sunday, 13 June 2027, a down run of about 91km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. The official training plans covering July 2026 to January 2027 are already live, built by official coach Lindsey Parry for every medal target. And the community gets to name the moment: the centenary slogan competition is open until 17 July 2026.

Announced today: Discovery is the Official Health, Wellness and Banking Sponsor of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon. The headline for runners is a first in the race's history: qualifying Discovery Bank clients can secure a 2027 entry in an exclusive pre-sale window from 10:00 on 28 July to 09:59 on 31 July 2026, first come, first served, before the public ballot opens on 5 August. Vitality members also earn points for every race-week finish, topping out at 3,500 for the Ultra.

The 2027 Two Oceans Ultra has 21,000 places, and every single one requires a qualifier: a sub-5:00 marathon (or an equivalent longer race) run after 30 May 2026, a minimum age of 20 on race day, and for South African runners, a club membership with a permanent ASA licence. The race has now also confirmed how the ballot works: one entry covering two ballots, open 5 to 16 August, with results on 18 August and payment due by 31 August.

Announced 30 June 2026: the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon powered by BYD returns 31 March to 4 April 2027 with a bigger, five-day Event Week. The Half (Sat 3 April) and Ultra (Sun 4 April) each grow to 21,000 runners, a new 8km Night Run opens the week, and roughly 50,000 runners are expected across all events.

The inaugural Nelson Mandela Marathon lands in Cape Town on 18 October 2026: a values-first event from the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Golazo, with 20,000 runners across 5K, 10K, half and full marathon, a route finishing on the historic Grand Parade, and all profits going to the Foundation, the start of a global running series.

Announced 19 June 2026: the TCS London Marathon 2027 will be a one-off two-day event on 24–25 April, with 100,000 runners crossing the finish on The Mall. The elite women lead Saturday and the elite men lead Sunday, after a record 1.33 million people entered the ballot.

The Comrades Marathon hands out nine different medals, each tied to a finishing time, and most are named after a person who changed the race. Here's the full ladder, from the gold reserved for the first ten to the Vic Clapham earned by beating the final gun, and the story behind each one.

George Kusche ran 5:15:56 to demolish the 18-year-old Comrades up-run record on the 99th edition, with the top five all going under the old mark. Gerda Steyn won a record fifth title in 5:44:53, breaking her own up record and banking more than R2 million.

The 99th Comrades Marathon runs this Sunday, 14 June: an 85.8km up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Gerda Steyn chases a fifth title and fourth straight, the men's race is wide open, and a new three-group staggered start debuts in front of 21,633 starters.

Confirmed on 10 June 2026: the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is the eighth Abbott World Marathon Major and the first ever held in Africa. The first Major edition runs on 23 May 2027, two-thirds of entries are reserved for African runners, and the ballot is open right now, until 24 June.

Ethiopia's Mohamed Esa ran 2:04:55 to win the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, smashing the course record by more than three minutes and setting an African all-comers' record. Dera Dida won the women's race in 2:23:18. Eliud Kipchoge clocked 2:13:29 on the first stop of his seven-continent World Tour, and Abbott World Marathon Majors said a verdict on Cape Town's Major bid is two to three weeks away.

Sabastian Sawe became the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon, running 1:59:30 to win London. Yomif Kejelcha also went sub-2 in 1:59:41. Tigst Assefa defended her women's title with a women-only world record of 2:15:41.

John Korir broke the Boston Marathon course record in 2:01:52, Sharon Lokedi defended her women's title, and Zouhair Talbi ran the fastest marathon ever by an American man on the 130th edition of the race.

The 130th Boston Marathon features the deepest elite field in the race's history: 16 men under 2:06, defending champions Lokedi and Korir, and Des Linden's farewell to professional running.

Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa became the first Italian to win the Paris Marathon in 2:05:18, while Ethiopia's Shure Demise obliterated the women's course record with a blistering 2:18:34.

Small-town sensation Arthur Jantjies shocked the favourites to win the Two Oceans Ultra in 3:09:25, while Gerda Steyn made history with a record-breaking seventh consecutive title.

France's Jimmy Gressier ran 12:51 at the Urban Trail de Lille to shatter his own European 5km record, missing the world record by just two seconds.