Cape Town Marathon - Race Report by Colin Ricketts

Marathons are long and Cape Town is far away, so this report is suitably lengthy, and the end is far off…

Last October, the race organisers cancelled the Cape Town marathon three hours before the start due to high winds and unsafe conditions. To avoid similar issues and align with the World Major series schedule, it was announced that the next race would be moved forward in the calendar to May, and finishers would earn a provisional star, upgraded if the race successfully achieves World Major status – good enough to get me on a plane, bound for Cape Town.

Much of the pre-race hype focused on personal safety, and those familiar with the city will know there are do’s and don’ts but following basic safety advice meant the risks could be minimised or mitigated. Ubers are plentiful and as cheap as chips for getting around beyond the waterfront area.

I knew in advance that club legend Tara Taylor would be travelling in from Australia to run in the World Age Group championships, which were to be incorporated into the race. Despite our best efforts, we managed to miss each other until Sunday afternoon after the race, when we shared our experiences and enjoyed lunch by the Waterfront.

The expo was held at the DHL Stadium at Green Point, very close to the Waterfront where Louise and I had chosen to stay. After entering and taking in the stadium views, the expo itself was located underneath the main stand, which worked well. There was plenty of space, bib pick-up by start wave letter (not surname initial), and on Thursday, when I went shortly after arriving in Cape Town, the Adidas store was well stocked with ‘merch’. Always a good way to part with significant sums of cash (also good to know Adidas had a fully stocked pop-up store in the V&A Waterfront area). Rumour has it, however, that by Saturday they sold out of XS/S size finisher jackets, which will have left many disappointed particularly as M were coming up large.

On Friday evening, the 8,500 international race participants across the weekend (5k/10k/Trail Marathon on Sat) were invited to a welcome ceremony in the stadium, which would also feature the most famous of all participants, Eliud Kipchoge. I would love to tell you how great it was, but a very late boat back from a deeply moving Robben Island tour meant we missed it! Tara, however, did go and said it was really good and featured a youth choir and inspiring words from the race director and Eliud.

Start area logistics were good for me at least, although for anything this size there were issues for some. Toilets were in abundance and kept amazingly clean by helpers, who also kept things moving in a way Carol Tsang would be proud of. There was plenty of space to move around and no real need to preload start pens too early, as in some majors. The race start was organised from two locations – Stadium Start (me) and Beach Road (Tara). The routes merged on Beach Road some 600m after the start, but by alternating start waves 10 minutes apart from each location, there was plenty of road space. Elites were off at 8am from the stadium, Tara as one of 1,750 World Age Group athletes from Beach Road at 8:05, followed by me at 8:10 in start wave 1 from the stadium. All athletes were underway by 9:05, and cut-off times were enforced around the course to ensure no one finished over 6h30m from the latest start time. I can’t imagine how it would feel to get to 41.4km in 6h25m01s and then be prevented from finishing the last 800m – brutal!

The course heads out of the city through the suburbs of Woodstock, Newlands and Rondebosch, with the majestic Table Mountain a stunning backdrop on the right, before heading back towards the city. You pass City Hall (think Mandela freedom speech) on the left before a nasty uphill section at 30–32km in the City Centre, then past the finish area at 34k (groan) for a final 8k loop towards Sea Point and back along the seafront, affectionately known as the loop of death. The finish is outside the stadium on a blue carpet.

Overall, there was not as much elevation as Boston or Sydney, but enough to keep things interesting with quite a tough first 8k. The early start meant a cool enough beginning, but it was noticeably humid, and I was thankful to be carrying salt tablets in addition to gels. Finishing around midday, temperatures were on the rise, and later finishers would have endured the worst of it, unfortunately. There were 15 hydration stations on course, mostly offering water, Coke and Powerade. In some cases, water was in small water bags which you bit into to receive a gulp of water. I quite liked it, but Tara not so much. Enthusiastic crowds offered lots of encouragement, music and, in some cases, potatoes for carbs, which was a new one for me – I’ll stick with gels, I think.

The finish area was well stocked and spacious. Ice lollies were very much appreciated, as was more Coke, fruit and, of course, the not-too-shabby medal. There were some challenges with bag recovery – a shambles is probably the best way to describe it, and race organisers were quick to email participants later in the day to hold their hands up to it. International athletes were invited to a separate hospitality area, and within that, Tara had an even more exclusive World Age Championship area. Unfortunately, there were some reports of mobile phone theft in the general finish area, with tired runners putting phones down on the ground while lying down.

Overall, Cape Town was a great experience with enthusiastic crowds and amazing volunteers. The sights and carnival atmosphere left you in no doubt that this was not in the US or Europe, but Africa. Will it be the 8th World Major? There is no doubt in my mind that it will be announced in the coming weeks. The ballot for 2027 is open from 10th – 24th June, so it will be interesting to see if the announcement is before or after the ballot, as it will have a significant impact on the number of people applying. If you are interested in this race (or any World Major), my advice is to get your name in the ballot regardless. You can always decide whether or not to do it later.

1st Male – Huseyidin Mohamed Esa (Eth) 02:04:55

1st Female – Dera Dida Yama (Eth) 02:23:18

16th – Eliud Kipchoge 02:13:29

Harrier Results

Tara Taylor (F60) – 3:40:55 (New F60 Club Record) Cat 37/535, Gender 660/6918, Overall 3544/18516

Colin Ricketts (M60) – 3:46:29 Cat 285/1165, Gender 3312/11598, Overall 4110/18516

A word about the World Major series. As many know, I like to run marathons and then travel with Louise, and these races have given us the locations to explore, and it has been fantastic. I do, however, find the races now come with a travelling circus around them, and the worst of it comes on what is also known as ‘Medal Monday’. On this day, no place of interest, monument, or iconic view is spared the hundreds of finishers scrambling to get Instagramable pictures with their medals. I understand a good picture is important, but taking the same picture dozens of times, holding the medal slightly differently, literally does my head in, and there is no escape from it until Tuesday at least. That said, occasionally someone posts a good one, and I have included one in my attached pictures.

And finally, my usual word of thanks to Louise for her support around the course. No personal best for her this time, but four sightings of both Tara and me was a pretty good return given the race route.

Well done to those who made it to the end. Here’s to Shanghai in 2027…