Cape Town Marathon: Nature’s fury or organisational fiasco?
Cape Town Marathon cancelled: Over 24,000 runners from around the world were left stunned on Sunday when the 2025 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon was cancelled just hours before its start due to severe overnight winds. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
It’s not unusual for it to be windy in the Mother City, and for the Cape Town Marathon to be cancelled due to such conditions raises a number of concerns over the organisation of the road race.
Nedbank Running Club manager and former Comrades Marathon champion Nick Bester has spoken harshly about the decision to cancel the race.
Just over an hour before the 6.15 am start, runners were informed via test messages and social media of the decision to cancel the race at short notice due to severe winds.
The main reason the race could not go ahead was that “winds overnight wreaked havoc in the race venue in Green Point, with marquee tents damaged and branding being ripped off fences and scaffolding, prompting emergency meetings of the race organising team.”
Cape Town Wind Concerns: Lack of Contingency Plans Highlighted by Bester and SBR Sports Sunninghill
“This is Cape Town, wind is normal here. They should have waited an hour or two instead of panicking. There was clearly no contingency plan,” Bester told SABC Sport.
SBR Sports Sunninghill said on Facebook echoed the sentiments of Bester, saying alternative plans could have been made if the medical facilities at the race venue had been affected by the overnight winds.
SBR Sports Sunninghill also said the wind was far stronger on Saturday during the hosting of the 10k race.
Sanlam’s Sponsorship Offer Fails to Console as Race Venue Safety Concerns Lead to Cancellation
Even though Sanlam later offered to sponsor athletes’ entries for a May 2026 or 2027 staging of the race, that seemed to be of little consolation for many.
The fact is, the race venue should have been prepared for all weather conditions, and if it wasn’t, another more suitable location should have been used.
Colonel Christo Engelbrecht of the SAPS, speaking on behalf of the Joint Operations Committee (JOC), said: “The route is unsafe, as the wind is constantly gusting in Woodstock, and the infrastructure at the start and finish venue has been compromised. It’s unsafe for runners and pedestrians in that whole area, and that’s why the race has had to be cancelled. It was a collective decision made by the whole team in the Joint Operations Committee.”
It’s clear though, the main issue was the race venue and the decision to cancel was warranted, and the route conditions may have been a secondary concern.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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