Laingsburg Ultra Archives - The Running Mann

12th August 202312th August 2023

The Running Mann’s Guide to September 2023 Marathons

This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s September 2023 marathons and ultras including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2023 marathon / ultra calendar here.

A summary of your choices is below:

26th July 202215th September 2022

The Running Mann’s Guide to August / September 2022 Marathons & Ultras

This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s August and September marathons and ultras including race descriptions, recommendations and travel information.

An August Comrades’ means that there is no much happening over these two months but the few options available are quality runs.

A summary of all your choices is below:

Continue reading “The Running Mann’s Guide to August / September 2022 Marathons & Ultras”

9th January 202215th January 2022

10 Great Small South African Ultras

South Africa is famous for having the biggest and best ultra marathons on the planet: There are less than ten ultra marathons worldwide with more than 1,000 finishers and over half of them are in South Africa.

However, we’ve also got some brilliant small field ultras that are worth working into your running plans. For those that like the personal touch, here’s a list of ten awesome low-key ultras that will be happy to take your money, show you a good time and will still respect you in the morning. With the prospect of a relatively normal year ahead (let’s hope!) why not plan an ultra running road trip or two? Continue reading “10 Great Small South African Ultras”

19th August 201919th August 2019

The Running Mann’s Guide to September Marathons & Ultra

This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s September marathons including race descriptions, recommendations and travel information.

For those wanting to work off some of the winter fat, it’s still slim pickings as we hit spring on the marathon running calendar: Just six standard marathons and one ultra. However, each one is a quality choice.

After a marathon break of four months in Gauteng, the Vaal River Marathon gets the Highveld going again whilst the Amajuba Marathon in Newcastle, Kwazulu Natal provides a good central option for those in need of a well-organised long run.

However, it is the Western and Eastern Cape that dominate your September options with five of their athletics districts hosting a stunner of a race:

In the Border region, East London’s Tony Viljoen Masters Marathon is a point-to-point downhill flyer. This years race has special significance as Tony Viljoen, who founded and led Border Masters Athletics for 40 years, passed away at the beginning of August.
Eastern Province Athletics offers you the Friendly City Marathon in Port Elizabeth. This is a friends-with-some-hilly-benefits out-and-back route with plenty of beautiful ocean views along the way.
In the Transkei, the Elliot Madeira Marathon provides some scenic countryside running before finishing in the buzzing town of Mthatha.
One of the highlights of the running calendar and Western Province Athletics’ crown jewel is the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon – the only IAAF Gold label status marathon in Africa and my recommended marathon for September.
The month ends with the Laingsburg Karoo Ultra Marathon in the South Western Districts – 80 kilometres of bliss in the heart of the Karoo Desert.

Continue reading “The Running Mann’s Guide to September Marathons & Ultra”