Cape Town is set to welcome a major new running event this October, with South African brand Takealot announced as a major sponsor of the inaugural Nelson Mandela Marathon Cape Town.
Taking place on 18 October 2026, the first-of-its-kind event will bring thousands of runners into the city for a weekend centred on sport, unity and the enduring legacy of Nelson Mandela.
Created in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the event carries the theme ‘Rise. Remember. Run.‘ It is designed to use running as a way to bring people together while reflecting on values including equality, justice and collective action.
The event is expected to attract around 30 000 participants across multiple race distances, including the marathon, half marathon and shorter-distance events.
The routes will take runners through some of Cape Town’s most recognisable and historically significant areas, including the Castle of Good Hope, Company’s Garden, Bo-Kaap and District Six, while also offering views of Robben Island.
The Cape Town weekend will also incorporate the city’s Slave Route Challenge, with Golazo and Itheko Sport Athletic Club joining forces to bring the existing challenge into the Nelson Mandela Marathon weekend.
For a city with such a layered history, the route gives the event an opportunity to connect the physical act of running with places that carry deep significance in Cape Town’s story.
For Takealot, the sponsorship is particularly meaningful because the company’s own story began in Cape Town.
‘Takealot was born in South Africa, built by South Africans and has grown alongside this country for the past 15 years,‘ says Karla Levick, Chief Marketing Officer at Takealot.
Levick says the company sees a role for local brands that extends beyond the products and services they offer, arguing that South African businesses can also support local ideas, talent and initiatives.
The marathon, she says, brings together Takealot’s connection to sport with the values associated with Mandela’s legacy.
Cape Town will therefore be more than simply the location for the first race. For Takealot, it is also the place where its own South African story began and where the new running series will make its debut.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation says the marathon forms part of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Sporting Series, which uses sport as a platform for participation, mobilisation and social impact.
Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, says the series is intended to go beyond sport and fundraising by encouraging people, organisations and communities to come together around active citizenship, social justice and collective action.
The foundation also highlights Mandela’s understanding of sport as a way of bringing people together and contributing to social change.
That idea sits at the centre of the Cape Town event, with the ‘Rise. Remember. Run.‘ message calling on participants to stand for equality and justice, remember those who came before them and run together in unity.
The inaugural Cape Town event is also being positioned as the beginning of something much bigger.
The marathon will launch a new Global Running Series inspired by Mandela’s legacy, with races planned for Nairobi, Paris and Berlin from 2027.
Golazo CEO Bob Verbeeck says running is one of the most inclusive sports and describes the series as an opportunity to honour Mandela while carrying his values forward.
For Cape Town, that means the October race could mark the start of an event with ambitions that extend well beyond the Mother City.
With entries now open, runners can choose between the marathon, half marathon and shorter-distance events for 18 October.
Event: Nelson Mandela Marathon Cape Town
Date: 18 October 2026
Theme: Rise. Remember. Run.
Distances: Marathon, half marathon and shorter-distance events
Entries: Now open
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