Japanese runner disappointed Cape Town Marathon cancelled, looking forward to next event

An ultra-marathon runner who came all the way from Japan to partake in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon said he was disappointed that the race was cancelled, but there will be more marathons to run.

About 24,000 runners received messages from the race organisers early on Sunday morning, saying the race had been cancelled.

Organisers tried to mitigate howling winds, which damaged the race village and parts of the route, before making a decision to call off the event.

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Japanese runner, Roy Gomizawa, said he was looking forward to testing his strength and stamina on the Cape Town course.

"Yeah, this event, Cape Town Marathon, was one of my biggest targets to try out my strength but it never happened."  

Gomizawa said he wasn't deterred and would be back next year.

"You can always look to tomorrow or next time. The Cape Town Marathon will happen again, so everyone should look forward to the future."  

Gomizawa said it made him happy to see runners organising their own fun runs after the race was cancelled.