Hopetown hero and 2026 Two Oceans winner, Arthur Jantjies, continued his run of success in Cape Town by claiming victory in the inaugural Nelson Mandela Marathon on Sunday 18 October 2026. Ethiopia’s Bize Beyira Negasa dominated the elite women’s race, winning by over 7 minutes. Both champions ran new personal bests, despite the blustery conditions. 

A fresh southeasterly breeze and cool conditions made it tough to run fast times, but did not stop any of the participants from loving their morning out on the roads of the Mother City. 4 500 entrants took on the marathon distance, while 22 000 other runners took part in the 21-, 10-, and 5-kilometre events.

Both men’s and women’s champions ran new personal bests, despite the blustery conditions. 

The 42-kilometre marathon route took in some of Cape Town’s oldest town’s most famous sights. These included the historic District Six, Company Gardens, and Bo Kaap within the first 10 kilometres, followed by coastal runs along the Sea Point Promenade and the road tracing the Table Bay shoreline to Milnerton’s Woodbridge Island.

The opening kilometres, to the top of District Six, were run into a headwind, before the route turned west and the southeaster pushed the contenders for victory along. After descending from the Bo Kaap into Green Point, the ridgeline linking Signal Hill with Lion’s Head provided welcome shelter from the wind. This helped a group of 30 men stay together through the first 21 kilometres.

Jantjies was firmly ensconced in the group. Then pushed on with Tukiso Motlomelo, Llyod Bosman, Tsépo Ramashamole, Moses Tarakinyu, Simon Sibeko, Siboniso Sikhakhane, Lebenya Nkoka, and Ntsebenza Nake. Once they turned at Woodbridge Island, 33 kilometres into the course, the wind came into play once more and helped splinter the field further.

Leaving the highway and turning back in the city, with 2 kilometres to race, only Ramashamole and Tarakinyu were still in contact with Jantjies. “At the 40-kilometre mark I made my move,” the champion explained. “I thought that was the moment to empty the tank! I love running in Cape Town. The Mother City is very nurturing to me.”

“The plan for today was to try to run a new personal best, and I achieved that, so I’m really happy with how the race went,” Jantjies, who hails from Hopetown in the Northern Cape, added. “I had a few niggles coming into my Nelson Mandela Marathon training camp, but I can look back now and say the camp went really well.”

Jantjies’ winning time was 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 14 seconds, a full 4 and a half minutes quicker than his previous best time over the marathon distance. The title is Jantjies’ third in Cape Town this year, adding to the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon and the 10-kilometre Peace Run victories he achieved in April and May. Ramashamole crossed the finish line in second, just 10 seconds after Jantjies, before Tarakinyu rounded out the podium, 20 seconds down. Sibeko and Sikhakhane stopped the clock within 1 minute of the victor, while Nkoka rounded out the top 5, 3 minutes and 17 seconds back.

In the elite women’s race, Negasa exhibited none of the patience Jantjies had needed to exercise. Running on the shoulder of the pace-maker, the Nedbank Running Club athlete kept a metronomic 3 minutes 40 seconds per kilometre pace virtually throughout. In the first 10 kilometres, Malineo Mahloko, Fortunate Chidzivo, and Ethel Pangiso could match Beyira Negasa, but the runners from Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe would drop away over the next 11 kilometres. By the halfway mark, Negasa led by nearly 8 minutes.

Mahloko had endured a difficult spell in the middle part of the race, dropping out of the podium places, but surged past both Chidzivo and Pangiso in the home stretch. Her fast finish was not enough to reel in the runaway Negasa. The softly spoken Ethiopian stopped the clock in 2 hours, 36 minutes, and 42 seconds. This time is nearly 4 minutes better than her previous personal best, and 7 minutes and 11 seconds faster than Mahloko’s effort on the day. Chidzivo secured third, but had to fight to hold off another fast finisher, Monique van der Merwe. Pangiso rounded out the top five.

SLAVE ROUTE HALF MARATHON:

In the Slave Route Half Marathon, Kenya’s Stephen Ngigi Kangethe took home the title after a dominant performance. His winning margin was an impressive 2 minutes and 18 seconds over the Go Tyme Bank Run Club duo of Yanga Malusi and Rowhaldo Ratz.

Weynalem Haftu Gebre’s margin of victory in the half marathon’s women’s category was even bigger. The Ethiopian bested Kirsti Bell by 8 minutes and 11 seconds, while trail runner Mila Geldenhuys completed the podium places.

“It’s great to see South Africans and Africans excelling on home soil,” David Bellairs, COO of the Nelson Mandela Marathon’s race organisers Golazo South Africa, said. “A highly competitive men’s race and two personal bests from our champions, despite the difficult conditions, bode well for the future of the Nelson Mandela Marathon as a race which can attract the continent’s best marathoners.

“Beyond the elites, the smiles from runners who clocked 3-, 4-, 5-, and even 6-hour times are really special. We’d love athletes to run for a cause and embrace the ethos of the Nelson Mandela Marathon, but we’d also love them to have fun while doing so. I hope the vibe on the roadside, the support of the City of Cape Town and Capetonians, and the beauty of the route continue to bring runners to our roads in the years to come, and that they have a great time running the Nelson Mandela Marathon. And then take the ethos of the race home with them too,” Bellairs concluded.

2026 Nelson Mandela Marathon Results

Men’s Marathon Results

1. Arthur Jantjies: Pan African Resources Club (2:15:14)
2. Tsépo Ramashamole: Hollywood Athletics Club (2:15:24 | +10)
3. Moses Tarakinyu: Nedbank Running Club (2:15:34 | +20)
4. Simon Sibeko: Nedbank Running Club Central North West (2:15:59 | +45)
5. Siboniso Sikhakhane: Entsika AC CG (2:16:11 | +57)
6. Lebenya Nkoka: Maxed Elite (2:18:31 | +3:17)
7. Ntsebenza Nake: Phantane AC   (2:18:53 | +3:39)
8. Tumelo Motlagale: Phantane AC (2:19:22 | +4:08)
9. Sithembiso Mqhele: Nedbank Club Kwa-Zulu Natal (2:19:47 | +4:33)
10. Benjamin Nyongesa: Nedbank Running Club(2:20:16 | +5:02)

Women’s Marathon Results 

1. Bize Beyira Negasa: Nedbank Running Club International (2:36:42)
2. Malineo Mahloko: Maxed Elite (2:43:53 | +7:11)
3. Fortunate Chidzivo: Nedbank Running Club (2:49:55 | +13:13)
4. Monique van der Merwe: Social Runners Club KZN (2:50:07 | +13:25)
5. Ethel Pangiso: Nedbank Running Club (2:53:24 | +16:42)
6. Ilse Marais: Nedbank Running Club CG (2:55:27 | +18:45)
7. Jenna Spooner: Maverick Athletic Club CGA (2:58:26 | +21:44)
8. Renata Vosloo: Ubora Athletics Club Johannesburg (2:58:59 | +22:17)
9. Gina Pocock: Ubora Athletics Club Johannesburg (3:06:01 | +29:19)
10. Samantha Shabalala: Fourways Road Runners (3:06:56 | +30:14)

1. Stephen Ngigi Kangethe: Nedbank Running Club International (1:03:58)
2. Yanga Malusi: Go Tyme Bank Run Club (1:06:16 | +2:18)
3. Rowhaldo Ratz: Go Tyme Bank Run Club (1:06:19 | +2:21)

Slave Route Half Marathon Women’s Results

1. Weynalem Haftu Gebre: Nedbank Running Club International (1:13:41)
2. Kirsti Bell: Kovsies Club (1:21:52 | +8:11)
3. Mila Geldenhuys: Go Tyme Bank Run Club (1:23:45 | +10:04)

For more information about the inaugural event, please visit the event’s website. The full results from the 2026 Nelson Mandela Marathon can be found here.

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