World-renowned marathoner Eliud Kipchoge arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday to run the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon as part of his Eliud’s Running World tour.
Eliud Kipchoge’s long-awaited marathon debut on African soil carries all the hallmarks of a historic occasion – but the Kenyan has not come to Cape Town simply to tick a box.
The 41-year-old arrived in the Mother City this week ahead of Sunday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, where he will headline one of the strongest elite fields ever assembled on the continent as Africa’s premier marathon continues its push for Abbott World Marathon Majors status.
While Kipchoge’s appearance forms part of his ambitious “Eliud’s Running World” tour across seven continents over the next two years, there is growing evidence that the double Olympic champion still intends to compete seriously at the sharp end of elite marathoning.
A finishing time under Ethiopian Abdisa Tola's current men’s course record of 2:08:16 from 2024 remains well within reach for the Kenyan, despite entering the latter stages of one of the greatest distance-running careers in history.
