Sanlam Cape Town Marathon 2027

Sunday, 23 May 2027 · Cape Town, South Africa

The weekend at a glance

Race day

Sunday 23 May 2027. The 10K and 5K Peace Runs and the trail races are on Saturday 22 May

Your number

The expo at DHL Stadium, 20 to 22 May 2027. Hours aren't published

Start

Two starts in Green Point, on Fritz Sonnenberg Road beside the stadium and on Beach Road in Mouille Point. Your seeding says which

Waves

In 2026 the first wave went at 8:10 and the last at 9:06

Finish

Vlei Road, Green Point, beside the start

Time limit

6 hours 30 minutes, counted from when the last runner crosses the start mat

Climb

215 m of ascent on the 2026 route, according to the organiser

Weather

The last five race mornings ran from 11.5 °C to 19.6 °C at 8:00. Four of them were in October

On this page

1. Getting to Cape Town
2. Where to stay in Cape Town
3. Collecting your number
4. Race morning
5. The course
6. Weather in Cape Town in May
7. Afterwards
8. Other race weekends
9. Sources

Getting to Cape Town

Cape Town International Airport is about 20 km east of the city centre, reached on the N2. There's no rail link to the airport. From the terminal you can take a metered taxi, a private shuttle, or an Uber or Bolt, and a taxi to the city centre takes about 18 minutes. Direct flights come in from London Heathrow, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, among others, and connecting ones through Johannesburg, Dubai, Doha and Istanbul.

The organiser says Uber is the most used app in the city and gives two drop-off points for the free race shuttles. One is Lower Long Street for the CTICC stop, and the other is the Artscape Theatre Centre for the Civic Centre stop.

Where to stay in Cape Town

The start and finish are both in Green Point, so the shortest morning is a walk from Green Point, Mouille Point or Sea Point. The organiser lists walking to the start as an option for anyone staying in the Green Point precinct. There's no parking at or near the race village on race day, and cars left on the route are towed.

The city centre around the CTICC and the Civic Centre had free race shuttles to the start in 2026. The V&A Waterfront is close, but it had no shuttle to the start on Sunday morning, and nobody could cross Beach Road or Portswood Road after 7:30, when the roads closed for the wheelchair race.

Collecting your number 2026 details

The expo is at DHL Stadium on Fritz Sonnenberg Road. The organiser's 2027 floor plan puts it on 20, 21 and 22 May, the Thursday to Saturday before the race. The 2027 hours aren't published.

In 2026 it ran 9:00 to 19:00 on Thursday, 9:00 to 18:00 on Friday and 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday. You showed the entry confirmation with your QR code, sent by email or WhatsApp. Someone else could collect your pack with your confirmation. Nothing is handed out on race day.

Your pack holds a clear branded tog bag and a numbered tag for it. The letter on your race number gives your batch, and the coloured triangle at its foot gives your wave and your start.

Race morning 2026 details

You're seeded into batches A to N from your best half and full marathon times, and the batches go off in five colour-coded waves. The warm colours start at the Stadium Start, and the cool colours start on Beach Road.

The wheelchair race went at 7:50 and the elites at 8:00. You can start in a later wave than your own. Anyone starting after the last batch at 9:06 is taken off the route.

Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before your wave. Tog bags were taken in at both starts between 6:30 and 8:30, and only the official bag with its tag was accepted. Clothing you don't want goes into donation points either side of the start chutes.

In 2026 the free shuttles ran to the start from the CTICC, the Civic Centre and Thibault from 5:30 to 6:45. Paid shuttles at R10 ran from Canal Walk and the University of Cape Town from 5:30 to 6:30. PRASA ran a special train with an R20 return fare. From Cape Town station you walk about 10 minutes to Thibault and take the free shuttle.

The course 2026 details

The route leaves Green Point through the city, runs out on the N2 at about 6.5 km, and turns south down Main Road through Newlands to Claremont at about 15 km. It loops Rondebosch Common at 20 km and comes back through Observatory, Salt River and Woodstock to Darling Street and the Castle of Good Hope at 30 km. The last stretch runs out along the Sea Point promenade and back to Vlei Road.

The organiser gives 215 m of ascent and 209 m of descent on the 2026 route. The start is at 11 m, the highest point 41 m and the lowest 8 m. The main climb comes at 31 to 32 km, through the Company's Garden, and the organiser's spectator guide calls it the longest and steepest of the day. Long Street then runs downhill to about 33 km. The Sea Point loop, from 36.3 to 41.4 km, goes 3 km out along the sea and back.

There are 15 drinks stations, about 3 km apart. Most serve water, Coke, Coke No Sugar and Powerade in cups, and stations 11 and 13 serve water only. In 2026 Woolworths had food at 23.4 km and NamedSport handed out gels at 32 and 38 km. Hydration packs are allowed, but earphones aren't.

The cut-offs run from the last runner's start, so a later wave has less slack. In 2026 the first was 10:30 at 7 km and the last 15:45 at 41.4 km, and the finish closed at 15:50.

Weather in Cape Town in May

The race moved from October to May in 2026, so four of the last five race days were in October, when the start was earlier. In 2022 the elites went at 6:15. Every row is read at 8:00, the hour the waves go now, and at 13:00, at the Stadium Start in Green Point.

The one May race was 14.4 °C at 8:00 with almost no wind, and the October mornings ran up to 19.6 °C in 2022. In 2024 the wind reached 27 km/h at 8:00. For a usual late-May day, the same archive gives 23 May an average of 11.7 °C at 8:00 and 19.5 °C at 13:00 over the five years from 2022 to 2026.

Afterwards 2026 details

The finish is on Vlei Road, beside the Stadium Start. In 2026 tog bags went by truck to the race village and had to be collected before 17:00. Free return shuttles ran from 11:00, with the last at 17:30. Family can watch from the grandstand on Vlei Road, and the organiser asks spectators to stay away from the start, which gets congested.

Race photos from Sportograf go up within 48 hours, and each marathon runner gets two free.

Other race weekends

Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. The series' other races with a guide here are Bank of America Chicago Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, TCS Sydney Marathon and Berlin Marathon.

The next races with a guide

TCS Sydney Marathon29 August 2027 · Sydney, Australia Copenhagen Half Marathon19 September 2027 · Copenhagen, Denmark Berlin Marathon26 September 2027 · Berlin, Germany

All race weekend guides

Sources

Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 2 October 2026.

If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.