Organisers of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon have said they needed to put the safety of runners first after the annual 42km race was cancelled on Sunday morning due to poor weather conditions.
With severe winds “wreaking havoc” in the Mother City, a joint decision was made by race organising team in conjunction with the Joint Operations Committee (JOC), which consists of representatives from the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management and Safety and Security portfolios, as well as medical services and the South African Police Services (SAPS).
The decision was made at 4.45am, just 90 minutes before the scheduled start.
Around 24 000 runners were due to start the race at 6.15am, and many were already at the venue or on their way into the city when the cancellation was announced.
“The route is unsafe, as the wind is constantly gusting in Woodstock, and the infrastructure at the start and finish venue has been compromised,” said Colonel Christo Engelbrecht of the SAPS, speaking on behalf of the JOC.
“It’s unsafe for runners and pedestrians in that whole area, and that’s why the race has had to be cancelled. It was a collective decision made by the whole team in the Joint Operations Committee.”
It was unclear how the cancellation of the race would affect an attempt by the organisers to secure top-flight World Marathon Majors status.
“The race was set to pursue its second consecutive successful evaluation in its candidacy to become an Abbott World Marathon Major,” the World Marathon Majors organisation said in a statement.
“Abbott WMM leadership will be working with the Cape Town team soon to obtain more information and discuss the next course of action.”
Organisers confirmed runners who had entered would receive free entry for either the 2026 or 2027 editions of the race.
* Featured image by Caleb Bjergfelt
