The Four Races South African Runners Are Building 2027 Around
Runners have built 122 plans for 2027 races on Slow Miles, and four races account for 89 of them: Cape100 (34), the Two Oceans Ultra (24), the Cape Town Marathon (16) and the 100th Comrades (15). Three of the four are ultras, three of the four need the same sub-5:00 marathon, and all four fit into five months.
The short version
When you build a race plan on Slow Miles, the first thing you tell us is the race. So we counted. As of 8 October 2026, runners here have built 122 plans for races in 2027, and four races account for 89 of them, which is nearly three in four.
- Cape100: 34 plans · Sunday 5 September 2027 · 100km, Hermanus to Stellenbosch
- Two Oceans Ultra: 24 plans · Sunday 4 April 2027 · 56km, Cape Town
- Cape Town Marathon: 16 plans · Sunday 23 May 2027 · 42.2km, Cape Town
- Comrades Marathon: 15 plans · Sunday 13 June 2027 · about 91km, Pietermaritzburg to Durban
One honest footnote: the Two Oceans Half also has 15 plans, level with Comrades. Count the Half and the Ultra together and the Two Oceans weekend is the biggest date on the calendar, with 39.
Three things stand out. Three of the four are ultras. Three of the four need the same qualifier. And the newest race on the list, one that has never been run, is at the top.
1. Cape100: the race nobody has run yet
34 plans. More than one in four of all the 2027 plans on Slow Miles are for a race with no history, no finishers and no course record. That says a lot about how much South African runners wanted a big 100km on the road.
- Race day: Sunday 5 September 2027, with a 05:00 start in Hermanus
- The route: 100km point to point, finishing in the Stellenbosch Winelands
- The field: capped at 7,000
- The cut-off: 15 hours
- The qualifier: an officially timed road marathon in 4:59:59 or faster, run between 1 January 2026 and 31 May 2027
It is also the last of the four, twelve weeks after Comrades, which is why some runners are planning for both. We covered the fees, the entry windows and the no-refund rule in our Cape100 entries guide.
2. Two Oceans Ultra: more room than ever
24 plans. The Ultra is the first of the four, on Sunday 4 April 2027, and it has grown from 14,000 places to 21,000. That is 7,000 more runners heading over Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek to the finish at the University of Cape Town.
- The distance: 56km, with a 7-hour cut-off
- The qualifier: a marathon under 5 hours, run after 30 May 2026
- Your batch: your qualifying time decides where you start, and batches cannot be changed afterwards
A faster qualifier buys you clearer roads and more breathing room at the cut-offs, so it is worth more than just the entry. The detail is in our Two Oceans Ultra qualifying guide, and you can check your own time with the qualifying calculator.
Missed the ballot? The substitution window opens on 16 November 2026.
3. Cape Town Marathon: a Major at home
16 plans. On Sunday 23 May 2027 the Cape Town Marathon runs for the first time as an Abbott World Marathon Major. It is the eighth Major in the world and the first in Africa.
- The distance: 42.2km, the only one of the four that is not an ultra
- The entries: two-thirds are reserved for African runners
- The pedigree: the 2026 race was won in 2:04:55, a course record
For years, running a Major meant an overseas flight and a ballot stacked against you. Now there is one a drive or a domestic flight away. It is also the only race on this list with no qualifier, which makes it the natural goal if 2027 is your first marathon. The general ballot closed in June, so if you do not have an entry yet, check the official site for what is still open.
4. Comrades: the 100th
15 plans. The centenary Comrades is on Sunday 13 June 2027, a down run of about 91km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, with the biggest field the race has ever had.
Fourth on plans, but first on prestige. Comrades is the most prestigious race of the four, and the medal every South African runner wants. It was first run in 1921 and is the biggest ultramarathon in the world, so do not read too much into its place on this list.
- The field: 28,000 places, up from 22,000 in 2026
- The qualifier: a marathon under 5 hours, run between 15 June 2026 and 3 May 2027
- The direction: down, which is kinder on the lungs and harder on the quads
If you are still working out which medal to chase, start with the Comrades medals explained, then test your marathon time in the Comrades qualifying calculator.
One marathon, three start lines
Here is the part worth planning around. The Two Oceans Ultra, Comrades and Cape100 all ask for the same thing: a marathon in under 5 hours. That is roughly 7:06 per kilometre.
The qualifying windows overlap, so one good marathon can cover all three:
- Two Oceans Ultra: run after 30 May 2026
- Comrades: run between 15 June 2026 and 3 May 2027
- Cape100: a road marathon run between 1 January 2026 and 31 May 2027
A road marathon run this summer ticks every box. We can see runners doing exactly that: alongside the big four, the plans on Slow Miles include qualifier marathons like Johnson Crane in January. The qualifier is not the side quest. For most runners it is the first plan to build.
One more thing the calendar gives you. The Cape Town Marathon on 23 May falls inside the Cape100 window, so a sub-5:00 at Africa's first Major can also be your Cape100 qualifier.
How Slow Miles is helping runners get ready
All four races are already in the race plan builder, with their dates filled in. Pick one and it takes about two minutes to get a plan that counts down to race day.
- It fits your week. You choose how many days you run and which day your long run falls on. The plan is built around that, week by week.
- Every run has a pace. Your goal time sets your race pace, and your easy, long, tempo and interval paces all come off it. No guessing how hard an easy run should be.
- It keeps its own score. Connect Strava once and your runs come in on their own. Sessions tick themselves off, and your weekly mileage is plotted against what the plan asked for.
- A coach in your inbox. A short email every Monday looks at the week you just ran and sets up the one ahead.
- It is free. The plan, the Strava sync and the weekly email cost nothing.
You can also hold more than one race at a time, which is how runners are planning a qualifier in summer and an ultra in autumn. See what is in a race plan for the full picture.
Dates to diarise
- 16 November 2026: Two Oceans substitutions open
- 10 March 2027: Two Oceans Ultra substitutions close
- Saturday 3 April 2027: Two Oceans Half Marathon
- Sunday 4 April 2027: Two Oceans Ultra
- 3 May 2027: last day to run a Comrades qualifier
- Sunday 23 May 2027: Cape Town Marathon, seven weeks after Two Oceans
- 31 May 2027: last day to run a Cape100 qualifier
- Sunday 13 June 2027: the 100th Comrades, three weeks after Cape Town
- Sunday 5 September 2027: Cape100, twelve weeks after Comrades
Which one is yours? Four races, five months, and the first of them is less than six months away. Pick your race, build your plan, and if you still need a qualifier, find a road marathon and plan for that first. Then send this to the friend who keeps saying "maybe next year".