Angry Eastern Cape road runners cried foul after their hopes of competing in the Cape Town Marathon were dashed, as strong overnight and early morning winds led to organisers cancelling the event an hour before the start on Sunday.
A fierce wind battered Cape Town overnight, leading to structures at the start and finish lines being blown over.
This prompted organisers to cancel the race by sending bulk WhatsApp messages to the 24,000 competitors shortly before 5am on Sunday. The race was due to start at 6am.
The cancellation is a blow to organisers who were hoping the event would become an elite Abbott World Marathon Majors race.
The 2025 event was due to be the final step towards joining the World Marathon Majors alongside iconic races in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Sydney and Tokyo.
Soon after the cancellation, organisers said the event’s no-refund policy would kick in before sponsor Sanlam stepped in later on Sunday to offer every 2025 marathon entrant a sponsored entry for either May 2026 or 2027.
Elite Nelson Mandela Bay runner Melikhaya Frans, who was the first SA man to finish in 2024 and fifth overall, was disappointed.
The 35-year-old Ikhamva Athletics Club runner said: “It’s a big loss for us athletes because we had put so much into our training, preparing for the race.
“We even cancelled other races to run in the Cape Town Marathon. But, on the day of the race, it was cancelled.”
Frans’s trainer, Michael Mbambani, said that as much as they were heartbroken, the safety of his runner was his number one priority.
“It is what it is, and there is nothing one can do about it because the safety of the runner comes first,” Mbambani said.
“If you have 24,000 runners lining up and a piece of steel flies off from the roof building and hits someone, that would give negative publicity to any race.
“I know athletes spent a lot [of money], but if something is beyond your control, it’s beyond your control.”
Gqeberha road runner Nondumiso Phakathi, who runs for the Madibaz Athletics Club, said the news came as a surprise.
“I did not see this one coming. I woke up this morning feeling excited to participate.
“To my surprise, I saw a message saying ‘Cape Town Marathon 2025 has been cancelled’, and that we must not report to the starting point.
“At first, I thought this was a prank on our socials.”
Another Gqeberha athlete, Lizette Oliver, said she had been looking forward to her debut at the event.
“This was going to be my first Cape Town Marathon, and I was looking forward to it.
“Due to illness issues that I picked up in January, I couldn’t run the Comrades and Two Oceans, so I had to cancel.
“I had to sit four months out without training for recovery, and now I am back in running, and that is one of the reasons why I feel so sad and so disappointed, because I have put in everything for this race.
“We still need to know why. There is no reason the race should have been cancelled, because the weather now is sunny.”
Avid East London runner Siyabonga Mdodi of the Original Mambas Athletics Club said: “We are extremely disappointed, it takes a lot to prepare for a marathon.
“I, for one, took three months of hard training with a lot of sacrifices (no sugar, no alcohol). Training for a race can also be costly.
“We had to arrange travel, accommodation and supplements. This is so hurtful.
“Many of our top runners aren’t working; they go to races through our support. Imagine how they must be feeling.”
Siphiwo Bukani, who is originally from Dikeni but resides in Qonce, shared his disappointment.
“I think the organisers panicked in terms of deciding to cancel the race.
“I thought moving the race start to another time would be much better. Because the wind eventually calmed down after 8am.” — Additional reporting by Reuters
The Herald
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