Sanlam Cape Town Marathon to welcome 24k runners this weekend

Sanlam Cape Town Marathon runners take to the streets this weekend.

Peace Runs take place on Saturday, 18 October, while the 42-kilometre marathon happens on Sunday, 19 October.

This year, 24,000 runners will participate and, for the first time, two start lines at Beach Road and Fritz Sonnenberg Road at DHL Stadium aim to keep things smooth and fast from the first step.

"On Sunday alone, you'll see around 21,000 runners, and that includes some of Africa's top runners with equally big figures on the Saturday," says Smith.

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is currently a candidate for Abbott World Marathon Major status and is undergoing its final year of evaluation to potentially join the elite series in 2026. To achieve this status, the marathon must successfully meet the 104-point criteria. If successful, the event would become Africa's first Abbott Major and join the existing Majors: Boston, London, New York, Chicago, Berlin, and Tokyo.

"If we achieve that very significant status, we become one of only a handful of elite sporting and athletic events in the world, and that will only attract even more competitors and more elite competitors, bringing further prestige to this particular marathon but also to the City and South Africa.

"With that comes specific commitments, such as us having to ensure that on these routes, there are no cars parked on roads designated for no parking.

"We have made every effort with the event organisers to ensure there is as little disruption as possible to people's routines. The event has a massive footprint, but we're taking every precaution to try and make sure that people can go about their business and that those disruptions are as brief as possible."

To listen to Smith in conversation with Africa Melane on CapeTalk's and 702's Early Breakfast Show, use the audio player below: