Thirteen men in the field have already run faster than the standing course record of 2:08:16 set by Abdisa Tola in 2024. Ten of those athletes have dipped beneath that mark within the past year, turning Sunday’s race into a high-speed chess match played in racing flats.
At the centre of the spotlight stands Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic marathon champion and former world record-holder. The Kenyan arrives with a personal best of 2:01:09 and a recent 2:05:25 from London, proof that even at 41 he still glides through marathons with the rhythm of a perfectly tuned engine.
Yet Cape Town’s roads will not roll out quietly before royalty.
Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa enters as arguably the sharpest blade in the field after clocking 2:04:49 in Chicago last year. His personal best of 2:04:39 makes him the second-fastest athlete on the start list historically, and his current form suggests he could force the race into record-breaking territory before the final climb back toward Green Point.
Israel’s Maru Teferi owns a formidable 2:04:44 best, while a wave of 2:05 runners lurks close behind like predators circling a breakaway pack. Kenya’s Benard Kipkurui Biwott and Justus Kangogo join Ethiopian trio Yihunilign Adane, Mulugeta Asefa Uma and Boki Kebede Asefa in a field packed tighter than runners funneling through a drinks station.
One athlete who understands the Cape Town course better than most is Adane Gebre Kebede. The 2023 champion and 2024 runner-up returns carrying both experience and momentum after posting 2:06:16 in Houston earlier this year. He knows where the route bites and where it rewards patience.
South Africa’s challenge rests largely with veteran Stephen Mokoka, a three-time Cape Town winner whose racing instincts remain as sharp as spikes on fresh tartan. Fellow locals Desmond Mokgobu, Bennet Seloyi and debutant Anthony Timoteus will hope home-soil energy can carry them deep into contention.
“With so many starters who have run faster times than our course records, we feel confident that the record books will need updating after this year’s race,” said Clark Gardner.
Gardner added: “We have assembled the best marathon elite and wheelchair fields the African continent has ever seen, led by the best marathon runner of all time, Eliud Kipchoge, alongside world class World Athletics Label athletes and a number of South African legends of the sport and stars of the future.”
The women’s race also promises fireworks.
South African star Glenrose Xaba set the course record of 2:22:22 in 2024, producing the fastest women’s marathon ever run on African soil. This year’s elite lineup includes five women who have already run faster than 2:20.
Ethiopian trio Ruti Aga, Dera Dida and Mestawat Fikir are expected to spearhead the challenge. Aga owns a 2:18:09 best, while Dida and Fikir have clocked 2:18:32 and 2:18:48 respectively.
Experienced campaigners Lonah Salpeterand Edna Kiplagat add further quality to the field. Salpeter remains the fastest woman in the race historically with her 2:17:45 Tokyo victory in 2020, while two-time world champion Kiplagat continues to compete at elite level at 47.
The 2026 edition of the race will feature 27,000 marathon runners, with another 17,500 athletes participating across the weekend’s accompanying events.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon continues its bid to become the continent’s first Abbott World Marathon Majors event, alongside races in New York, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Sydney and London.
