Overview

About this event

The 2026 Nelson Mandela Marathon will take place Sunday, 18 October 2026 from 06:00, at Grand Parade, Darling Street in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Distances include a 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km races.

Incorportaing the Slave Route Challenge.
The marathon is a Comrades & Two Oceans Qualifier.

Races

Distances & fees

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

Sunday 18 Oct 2026

Distance	Entry Fee	Temp Licence	Junior	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
Nelson Mandela Marathon Comrades Two Oceans	ZAR 700	ZAR 105	—	Road	06:00	—
Minimum age 20 years Comrades qualifier Yes Two Oceans qualifier Yes
Slave Route Challenge Half-Marathon	ZAR 260	ZAR 95	—	Road	07:00	—
Minimum age 16 years
Slave Route Challenge 10km Run & Fun Walk	ZAR 190	ZAR 60	ZAR 150	Run / Walk	07:30	—
Temp Licence (Junior) ZAR 40 Minimum age 14 years
Slave Route Challenge 5km Fun Run & Walk	ZAR 80	—	—	Run / Walk	07:40	—
Minimum age 10 years

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

Goodies

Merchandise

T-Shirt

A beautifully designed commemorative t-shirt is part of your entry fee

Price TBC

Entry

How to enter

Information on how to enter this event.

Enter Now

No entries available on race day.

Pre-race

Number collection

Collection venues, dates and times.

City Hall, Darling Street

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 · 09:00–16:00

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 · 10:00–20:00

On the day

Race Day Information

Practical information for race day.

Start Grand Parade, Darling Street, Cape Town Click for directions

Finish Grand Parade, Darling Street, Cape Town Click for directions

Handouts

Medals to all athletes who finishes within the cut-off time

Water Points

Water points every ~3 km along the route.

Medical

Medical support stationed on route and at the finish.

Timing

Electronic chip timing for all distances.

Tog Bag

Tog bag drop-off available at the start.

Toilets

Portable toilets at the start, finish, and on the route.

Running with Earphones

No headphones permitted on the route — race rules.

• START: All routes will start in Strand Street

Where

Location

Where the event starts and how to get there.

Grand Parade, Darling Street

Get directions

Contact

Contact the organiser

Organiser

Nelson Mandela Marathon Contact

[email protected] +27878207223

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

Nearby

You may also like

Bastille Day Trail Run

11 Jul 2026

35km Trail 25km Trail 15km Trail 10km Trail

Heiderand 10km Race

18 Jul 2026

10km 5km

Cape Town Festival of Running

18 Jul 2026

Ultra Half Marathon 5km

Mykonos Half-Marathon

25 Jul 2026

Half Marathon 10km 5km

Pinelands 10km Race

26 Jul 2026

10km 5km

Elsies 10km Road Race

1 Aug 2026

10km

History

Past editions

Previous edition: 2025

View all previous →