Sanlam Cape Town Marathon goes for gold

Last year, aiming for IAAF Bronze Label status, the organisers were delighted to become the only marathon on the continent to achieve Silver Label recognition after the first edition of the relaunched event.

The re-energised 42.2km race, which will allow participants to run along Cape Town's heritage sites, will take place for the second time on 20 September as part of weekend-long running festival. The running festival includes the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, the Sanlam Cape Town 10km PEACE Run, the Sanlam Cape Town Peace Trail Runs (11km & 22km) and the Sanlam Cape Town Community Fun Run. This year the organisers are targeting IAAF Gold Label status.

World-class showcase

Last season's line-up included a host of world-class athletes, led by a quality East African field, as well as some of South Africa's fastest road runners.

Kenyan Willy Kibor led the charge by securing victory in the men's race in 2:10:45, and Ethiopia's Meseret Biru won the women's title in 2:30:58, leading a 29-member elite field representing six countries.

While Kibor's and Biru's times were the fastest on SA soil in more than 19 years, an even better field of stars will be invited this year.

By improving the quality of the line-up and ensuring everything is in place to help produce faster times, race ambassador Elana Meyer says they are confident of earning IAAF Gold Label Status.

Meyer says they want to stretch the yardstick by modelling the race off major international city marathons around the globe and make it one of the most acclaimed road running events in the world.

"The vision has always been to make this Africa's greatest marathon, and by taking such a big step in our first year, it has motivated us to aim for Gold. Last year we had a superb field, and this year we are looking to bring out another world-class group of elite runners to challenge our top South Africans."

Course changes

There will be significant changes to the route this year, after certain parts of the race slowed the elite runners last season.
By making adjustments, the race's executive committee is confident the new, flatter route will be conducive to fast times.

Meyer says: "By ensuring the invited athletes are among the best in the world, and by making the course more suitable for the elite runners chasing records and the amateur participants aiming for personal bests, we are taking further steps to achieve our goal."

The race, which already has a well-established charity drive, is also making strides in other areas. It is one of South Africa's first carbon neutral events, following the purchase of carbon credits in 2014 from Climate Neutral Group and traded on a JSE platform, as it paves new ground at the forefront of sustainable running and race organisation in Africa.

Yegs Ramiah, Chief Executive: Sanlam Brand, says she is looking forward to the 2015 event, the second year the race has been under the financial services group's headline sponsorship.

"In the past our top African runners had to travel the world to compete for gold. Now the competition is coming to us, Africa is our home and the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is our race. Sanlam takes pride in creating a unique opportunity for international athletes, in particular African athletes, to compete in an IAAF-Label event right here on African soil and what better place to do so than in the picturesque surroundings of the city of Cape Town."

Ramiah said that the accessibility and inclusivity of running, which mirrors the group's approach to wealth creation, made the sponsorship extremely special.

"For the 2014 event, we had runners from 53 countries across the world participating. We believe that this year, we will not only attract even more runners from every corner of the globe, but our charity partner line-up will once again offer an exceptional opportunity for both the running community and supporters alike to really make a tangible difference in the lives of others."

Sanlam Investments' Chief Executive: Retail, Carl Roothman, who will participate in the race for the second time this year, added: "As headline sponsors, Sanlam is fully behind the campaign to go for the IAAF's Gold Label Status this year. We have truly embraced the fact that the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is a must run race for all runners. We will have 700 Wealthsmiths™ (Sanlam staff members) running the race this year as well as other Wealthsmiths and clients rooting for all the runners along the route."

Enter now

There are several ways to enter any of the races: