Humorous Anecdotes, Observations & Accounts of Marathon Running & Agile Adventures.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s September 2026 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2026 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
The Red Star Marathon is 11-and-a-bit laps around the Red Star Raceway just outside Delmas alongside the N12 highway. The race was started in 2023 and I had successfully avoided running it for two years. However, there was just one marathon in the whole of South Africa on the second weekend of October which naturally led to Julian and I making the short 45-minute drive just across the Mpumalanga provincial border line to rev our motors.
Continue reading “Red Star Raceway Marathon (Racing on a one-stop strategy)”
There are two trends I’ve found when running Bloemfontein marathons:
After travelling all over the country to get my marathon fixes, it’s good to know that there are still a few marathons that can take one’s breath away – both literally and figuratively. However, I was not expecting Barberton to be that place. It is a town I had never visited and I might never have found my way to the eastern extremities of South Africa if they did not host a marathon.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s April 2026 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2026 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s March 2026 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2026 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
This article provides comprehensive analysis and stats from the 2025 South African road running calendar.
South Africa’s 2025 marathon calendar featured a record 138 events, including standard marathons, ultras, and combos, with 16 new inaugural races added. The distribution of marathons shifted provincially, with Gauteng overtaking KwaZulu Natal as the leading province for long-distance running events. Costs to participate averaged R7.81 per kilometer, with KwaZulu Natal being the most expensive and the Northern Cape offering the best value. Entry fees saw an average increase of 5.4% from 2024 to 2025. The most expensive races included Two Oceans and Loskop, while the cheapest were predominantly rural events like the Knysna Heads Marathon. Despite inflation, several races maintained or reduced their fees. Marathon events were heavily concentrated between February and April, particularly around Comrades qualifications. Route types varied, with ultras favoring point-to-point formats and marathons split more evenly among route types. Comrades offered the largest prize money, with only a few other races offering si
• Record number of events: South Africa hosted 138 marathon-related events in 2025, including 112 standard marathons, 25 ultras, and 1 combo race, with 16 being inaugural events. [1] [2]
• Provincial marathon distribution: Gauteng became the top province for marathons, surpassing KwaZulu Natal, with Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga tied for third; Northern Cape had no ultras. [3] [4]
• Average running cost and provincial differences: The average cost per kilometer was R7.81, highest in KwaZulu Natal; Northern Cape and Free State offered the best value. [5] [6]
• Entry fee inflation trends: Entry fees increased by 5.4% countrywide from 2024 to 2025, with North West seeing the highest inflation; Eastern Cape was the only province with a slight fee decrease. [7]
• Most expensive races: Two Oceans Marathon was the priciest, followed by Loskop and Cape Town Marathon; combined entry fees for the top 10 costliest races reached R6,634. [8]
• Cheapest marathon options: Rural marathons like Knysna Heads, Laingsburg, and Umzila Ka Tambo offered the lowest costs, with Knysna Heads below R3 per kilometer. [9] [10]
• Entry fee changes and stability: Many races raised fees due to economic pressures, but 36 events kept prices stable and 5 reduced fees, including the Washie and Gqeberha 50k. [11] [12]
• Seasonal marathon distribution: Over half of marathons took place from February to April, centered around Comrades qualifications, leaving opportunities to expand events in the latter half of the year. [13]
• Route types and prize money: Marathons were evenly split by route type, while ultras favored point-to-point; Comrades offered the largest prize money, with few others providing six-figure winnings. [14] [15]
With a total of 138 events, 2025 offered the largest marathon menu ever. This comprised 112 standard marathons, 25 ultras and 1 combo (Benoni Northerns which offered a marathon and a 48k).
Continue reading “2025 Marathon & Ultra Statistics”
This article contains high level details and, where available, flyers, profiles and route maps for every 2026 South African road marathon and ultra. Updates will be made regularly as races are added, cancelled and confirmed.
The 2026 calendar is brought to you by RaceSpace – the app that has every running and endurance event in the country at your fingertips. RaceSpace are covering some of my marathon running travel costs in 2025 – you can support me and the site by downloading the RaceSpace app on Apple, Android or by using the QR Code below.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s December 2025 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2025 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
With a focus on running marathons I’ve not done before, I tend not to run much in my own backyard these days but fortunately RunZone keep adding and tweaking the CGA race calendar. They replaced their Autumn Challenge 48k with the inaugural aQuelle Zone 3 Marathon which necessitated another couple of laps around Randburg.
The 6am start was shifted to 6:10am due to traffic congestion but Alistair Cronk on microphone duties kept us informed and entertained. At one stage he asked who was here for an early Comrades and / or Two Oceans qualifier and almost all the marathon runners put up their hands.
However, some people were still getting used to the change of seasons and this was reflected in the attire of some runners as can be seen from the photo below.
