It's Official: Cape Town Is Africa's First World Marathon Major — and the 2027 Ballot Is Already Open
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.
What happened
It finally happened. On 10 June 2026, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon was confirmed as an Abbott World Marathon Major — the eighth race in the most prestigious series in marathon running, and the first ever on African soil. Cape Town now stands alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
The race will formally enter the series at its next edition on 23 May 2027. And in a move that tells you the organisers were ready for this moment: the general entry ballot for 2027 opened the same day, running from 10 to 24 June 2026.
"Africa's first Major has finally arrived," said AbbottWMM CEO Dawna Stone, adding that the race's unique culture "will bring a whole new dimension to our series." Race director Clark Gardner put it more simply: "This achievement belongs to every person who believed in and committed to this vision."
The road here
This was not a lucky break — it was a two-year audition with nothing left to chance. Cape Town entered the AbbottWMM candidacy process and had to pass two full assessments of everything from course logistics and athlete services to broadcast quality and city support.
The pressure peaked in 2025, when severe weather forced the cancellation of the entire race — a potential disaster for the candidacy. The answer came on 24 May 2026, when the race returned with the strongest edition in its history: Ethiopia's Mohamed Esa broke the course record with 2:04:55 (an African all-comers' record), Dera Dida took the women's race in 2:23:18, Eliud Kipchoge chose Cape Town for his first official African marathon, and the biggest field the event has ever assembled filled the streets. Three weeks later, the final assessment was passed.
There is something fitting about the timing. Roughly 80 percent of the world's top 50 marathoners are African — and until today, not one of the sport's flagship races was run on the continent that dominates it.
The ballot — dates that matter
If the words "World Marathon Major in South Africa" set anything alight in you, here is your calendar:
- 10–24 June 2026 — the general ballot for the 2027 race is open now. Entering takes minutes on the official site.
- 26 June 2026 — ballot results announced.
- 3 July 2026 — entries open for the Peace Run (10K/5K) and Trail Run events on the same weekend.
- 23 May 2027 — race day: the first World Marathon Major ever staged in Africa.
The detail that matters most for local runners: the organisers have committed to reserving two-thirds of all entries for African participants. Majors elsewhere are notoriously hard to get into — London's ballot rejects roughly 98 percent of applicants. Cape Town has deliberately built its Major to keep its home runners in the race.
What it means for SA runners
For South African running, this changes the map. Until now, running a Major meant an overseas flight, a weak rand, and a ballot stacked against you. From 2027, there is one a drive or a domestic flight away — with the majority of bibs ringfenced for this continent.
For newer runners, a few honest notes:
- The marathon is the destination, not the start. If a home Major is the dream that gets you moving, wonderful — start with our first 5K guide and build from there. 2027 gives you eleven months; 2028 and beyond will still be Majors.
- The race weekend is bigger than the marathon. The Peace Run 10K and 5K share the stage — a realistic first goal that puts you inside a Major weekend without 42.2 km in your legs.
- Demand is about to surge. A Major badge transforms entry numbers everywhere it lands. If you are tempted by any distance on the weekend, treat the entry dates above as deadlines, not suggestions.
The city expects around R800 million in economic impact from the upgraded race — but the real prize is less measurable: a generation of South African kids watching the world's best run their streets.
The bigger picture
The Majors have been expanding deliberately — Sydney joined as the seventh star in 2025, and Cape Town now adds an eighth. For the series' devoted "star chasers", the finisher medal just gained a new stop, and tour operators are already predicting Cape Town will become one of the most in-demand marathons on earth: a Major with Table Mountain as a backdrop sells itself.
For the Majors, Cape Town brings something the series has never had — the energy, music, and crowds of an African city race day. For Cape Town, the badge brings the world. And for every runner in South Africa, from Comrades veterans to someone lacing up for their first walk-run this week, the sport's biggest stage just moved home.
Read our Cape Town Marathon race guide — newly promoted to the Majors section by birthright.