Cape Town Becomes First African Marathon Major

When the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon became an Abbott World Marathon Major, it made history as the first African city to join the elite roster that includes New York, London, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, and Tokyo.

For U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo, a marathoner and running coach who grew up between Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, the news felt personal. As a 16-year-old running her first 10K in Harare, she never imagined that decades later, her continent would finally claim a spot among the world's most prestigious races.

World Marathon Majors transform entire cities into celebration hubs where strangers cheer for runners from across the globe. These races crown champions, but they also shape the narrative about who belongs in competitive running. For too long, African women had to look beyond their shores to see themselves reflected in the world's biggest races.

Mhlaba-Adebo discovered her love for running on school track teams in Zimbabwe and South Africa, where she sprinted and cleared hurdles surrounded by teammates' chants and cheers. Years later, after moving to the United States, she became a distance runner and marathoner, completing Boston twice and Chicago once while raising funds for causes like Mother Caroline Academy, Boston's only tuition-free school for girls from under-resourced communities.

Now as a certified running coach and Lagos Women Run 10K Ambassador, she works with over 8,000 participants in Sub-Saharan Africa's largest women's race. Through her Hambai Movement wellness initiative, she encourages women across Africa and the diaspora to embrace movement as medicine and community as essential wellbeing.

At the London Marathon this year, she ran the Friday Night Lights 5K in Battersea Park and met fellow Southern Africans. They stopped to photograph themselves together, proudly holding their national flags. Thousands of miles from home, running brought them home to one another.

Why This Inspires

Cape Town's designation represents more than athletic achievement. It places an African city in the global spotlight, showing children across the continent that world-class races happen on their soil too. When young runners see their cities hosting elite marathons, they learn what's possible.

The decision recognizes what African athletes have proven for decades: they dominate distance running at the highest levels. Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history at the 2025 London Marathon, breaking two hours and reminding the world that African runners continue reshaping the sport. Now they'll do it on home turf.

For communities throughout Southern Africa, Cape Town's new status means more than finish times and personal records. It means belonging. It means watching your city transform as runners from around the world arrive to compete alongside local athletes. It means African women no longer have to travel continents to participate in the world's most celebrated races.

The recognition arrives exactly when it should have all along: right on time to inspire the next generation of African runners.