Overview

About this event

The 2026 John Nugent Memorial Marathon will take place Saturday, 12 September 2026 from 05:30, at Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa. Distances include a 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km races.

Races

Distances & fees

Distances, start times, cut-offs and entry fees.

Saturday 12 Sep 2026

Distance	Entry Fee	Temp Licence	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
Marathon Comrades Two Oceans	ZAR 350	ZAR 50	Road	05:30	12:00
Minimum age 20 years Comrades qualifier Yes Two Oceans qualifier Yes
Half-Marathon	ZAR 250	ZAR 50	Road	05:30	09:00
Minimum age 16 years
10km Road	ZAR 200	ZAR 50	Road	06:00	08:00
Minimum age 14 years
5km Fun Run	TBC	—	Road	18:30	—
Minimum age 9 years

Temporary ASA licence fee — only payable if you are not a member of an affiliated running club.

Goodies

Merchandise

Quarter-zip pullover

Not your usual race t-shirt — a premium quarter-zip pullover embroidered with the 10th Edition race mark. The kind of thing you'll still be wearing to time trials in 2036.

ZAR 450

Entry

How to enter

Information on how to enter this event.

Online entries

Enter Now

Closes 5 Sep 2026 · or when sold out

Late entries: Handled at registration, subject to availability — R100

On the day entries

No entries available on race day.

Substitutions

At registration only — R100 administration fee

On the day

Race Day Information

Practical information for race day.

Start Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort, Upington Click for directions

Finish Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort, Upington Click for directions

Handouts

All finishers receive a medal.

Substitutions

At registration only — R100 administration fee

Featured

Featured race

Featured 2026

Verified · 27 days ago

Midrand Striders Chamberlain Country Classic

30 Aug 2026 First start 06:30 Kyalami Corner

Half Marathon 10km 5km

Entry from R100 Save Open race

Course

Route maps & elevation

Route maps and elevation profiles.

• Route map

Press

Press & Review

Independent reviews and coverage of this event.

The Running Mann

John Nugent Marathon (Upington: The Final Frontier) - The Running Mann

Stuck in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, Upington is both the hottest town in South Africa and the hardest to get to - making it the perfect location for a marathon.

Read the full review on The Running Mann

Where

Location

Where the event starts and how to get there.

Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort

Get directions

Contact

Contact the organiser

Organiser

Energy Lab Athletics Company

[email protected] +27795229566

Send a message to the organiser and they'll reply to the email you provide.

Your name

Email

Message

Send message

Stay

Accommodation

Places to stay near the start. Booking through this map supports RunningCalendar at no extra cost to you. Affiliate

Train

Training programs

Hand-picked training pathways to get you to the start line ready.

Coach Parry

Structured, app-delivered plans for every distance from 5 km to Comrades — daily workouts, pace targets, Strava sync and a South African coaching community.

Affiliate · disclosed Join Now

OwnMyRun · Gerda Steyn

Free, self-guided training plans built by Comrades & 2 Oceans champion Gerda Steyn — a great starting point if you want structure without a subscription.

View plans

Energy Lab

A South African running community with a built-in training app — adaptive plans whose paces recalculate as you get fitter, plus club runs, results and event RSVPs. Free while in beta.

Join Energy Lab

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History

Past editions

Previous edition: 2025

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