Cape Town Marathon
The Cape Town Marathon was on track to become the first Abbott World Marathon Major on African soil, joining the prestigious series in 2026 — contingent on a second consecutive successful assessment in 2025. Unfortunately, weather had other plans, and the 2025 edition was cancelled overnight. In November 2025, AbbottWMM announced that all 2026 Cape Town finishers would receive a provisional star — a silver lining of sorts. I needed a goal race for 2026 and another AbbottWMM check mark, so I reluctantly threw my name into the Cape Town ballot. Given my track record with AbbottWMM ballots, I wasn't holding my breath. And then, against the odds, I got in. Training The 13-week training block kicked off on February 23, and it got off to a rough start — the first week was a complete washout with no running or strength training. The 12 weeks of base-building before that weren't anything to write home about either. This was nothing like the lead-up to recent Sydney or Boston ma...