We’ve recently taken a look at some of the most noteworthy full and half marathons in the world. Most of these fast races happen in cool weather on flat roads. Though they’re won by professional Kenyan runners, none of the races happen in Africa. While these prestigious races generally offer a chance for a personal best and sharing the course with the world’s top athletes, there are many other races that may be even more memorable and more adventurous.
If you’re less worried about a fast personal best and more interested in a fun time, then Africa is the place for you. Many of the marathons here allow you to take in the exceptional scenery and run in the wild with wildlife around you. Also, due to the climatic conditions in tropical climates combined with tough terrain, races here can easily be some of the toughest race you will ever run.
As an added bonus, most races in Africa are closely associated with an important charitable cause. From helping surrounding communities or vulnerable groups to conservation efforts.
As some of the world’s top ultra marathons take place in Morocco and South Africa, we’ve broadened out our list to make sure we’re including those as well. Also, there are races that are quite popular but not included in our list mainly because they are solely for tourism purposes. Those can be fun events, but aren’t really races and don’t attract nor build local running communities.
With that all said, here are some of the top races you should consider taking part in across the continent.
Lagos Marathon
The Lagos Marathon is an annual race held in Lagos, Nigeria. It began in 1963 and is organised by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria. The marathon begins at National Stadium, Lagos via Third Mainland Bridge and ends at Eko Atlantic.
The most recent race was held on 10th February 2018 and was won by Abraham Kiprotich, a Kenyan-born French athlete (2:13:04), who also holds the men’s course record. The women’s race was won by Ethiopia’s Elmenesh Herpha (2:38:25) though the race record is held by Rodah Jepkorir from Kenya (2:37:52)
Lewa marathon
The Lewa Marathon and half marathon is an annual fundraising endurance race held in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya every June. It is sponsored by Safaricom in partnership with the conservancy and its proceeds are aimed at improving community development in the area as well as wildlife conservation efforts particularly that of rhinos.
The first race was held in 2000 and since then, it has risen in popularity attracting competitors as well as spectators worldwide. Especially because of its difficult terrain and harsh climate, the Runner’s World Magazine named Lewa Marathon as “one of the top 10 races to run in your life.”
Nairobi Marathon.
Like the Lewa Marathon, the Stanchart Nairobi Marathon is an internationally renowned Marathon. It is held every November in Nairobi since 2003, and attracts thousands of participants from all over the world. Due to the high number of participants from other countries, this marathon has raised the profile of Kenya internationally and served as a platform for boosting tourism in the country as hundreds of foreign visitors come to Nairobi to take part in the race. The marathon began with a mere 4000 runners in 2003 when it launched to over 20000 participants in last year’s event.
It is also a platform where upcoming athletes get to launch their international careers as it’s an excellent opportunity to experience an international marathon on their home soil. Athletes like John Kelai and Caroline Kilel, both Commonwealth Games Marathon Champions, discovered their prowess in the Nairobi Marathon. Only one person, Irene Jerotich, has successfully defended her title in this race making it fertile grounds for discovering fresh talent.
Kilimanjaro Marathon
Popularly known as the “Kili” Marathon, began in 2002 first as an idea over a cold Kilimanjaro Lager as a way to boost tourism in Tanzania. Since then, it has been held in Moshi under the watchful eye of Mount Kilimanjaro. Hundreds of tourists from all over the world flock quiet Moshi town every March to take part in the race thus serving as a great platform to increase tourism in the area. It is also a great breeding ground for local athletes.
Runners World Magazine has named the Kilimanjaro Marathon as the no. 2 Wonder of the World Marathon, while Forbes Magazine has named it the 4th best international adventure marathon.
Kilimanjaro Marathon is a qualifying race for the Comrades Marathon (more about that later!). And yes, you can still have a Kilimanjaro beer at the end.
Victoria Falls Marathon
The Vic Falls Marathon is a high profile international full and half marathon held in Zimbabwe every year either in June, July, or August. It is one of the most thrilling races in Africa and the only one in Africa that crosses an international border, from Zimbabwe to Zambia. The course takes you across the Zambezi River where you get a view of the iconic Victoria Falls, and through a world heritage site where participants can view wildlife, such as elephants, buffalos, and even lions as they run.
It began on a slow start in 2006 with just about 300 local runners participating but has grown to attract athletes close to 2500 participants from over 40 countries across the whole world.
Two Oceans Ultra
The two Oceans Marathon is a 56km ultra marathon and 21km half marathon held every Saturday of the Easter Weekend in Cape Town, South Africa. The marathon is known as “The most beautiful Marathon in the World” because of the breathtaking scenery along the course. The Two Oceans began in 1970 with just 26 participants and has grown in great numbers such that slots sell out in no time. The half marathon attracts more than 16000 participants while the ultra marathon is tackled by 11000 participants.
Comrades Ultra
The 82 Km ultramarathon run annually in KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa is the largest and oldest ultramarathon world wide.The race was first run in 1921 till now and is held every May/June between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Direction of the race alternates every year from “Up” run which is 87 km starting from Durban and the “Down” run, 89 km starting from Pietermaritzburg. It gets entrants from more than 60 countries with a cap at 20,000 runners and 10,000 actually making it to the finish line in 11/12 hours.
To qualify for the Ultramarathon, runners over 20 years old have to complete an officially recognised marathon, Kilimanjaro Marathon being one of the qualifying races. Athletes have to complete the race within 12 hours and there are 5 cut-off points along the route that the athletes have to reach by a specified time or be forced to stop the race.
Course records are held by Leonid Shvetsov (Russia) and David Gatebe (South Africa) for the up and down runs, men category respectively. The women course records are held by Frith van der Merwe of South Africa and Russia’s Elena Nurgalieva in Down and Up run respectively.
Marathon des Sables(Mds)
The name is French for Marathon of the Sands. It is also called the Sahara Marathon, a six day 251 km (156 miles) ultra-marathon held every year in Southern Morocco across the Sahara Desert. It has been called the toughest foot race on earth by Discovery Channel as a result of the extreme desert conditions — sandy trails, dry lake-beds and stony tracks, plus a bag on your back with all your essentials including tent and food.
It was first held in 1986, 2 years after Patrick Bauer, crossed the Sahara Desert from Morocco on foot and alone in 12 days. Since then over 13000 runners have participated in the acclaimed ultra marathon. It is aimed at development projects to help children and disadvantaged communities in Morocco.
Cape Town Marathon
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is held the Saturday closest to 24th September, which is South Africa’s Heritage day. It is Africa’s only marathon to acquire IAAF Golden Label Status — a label given to leading road races after meeting a stringent set of organisational quality standards, with the golden label status reserved for the best organised races.
Currently, the Cape Town Marathon is run by a joint partnership between Western Province Athletics, the City of Cape Town and ASEM(Advent Sport Entertainment and Media) Running.
Great Ethiopian Run (10k)
This is a 10km run held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia every November. It has close to 37000 participants, about 500 of whom are Elite runners hence making it Africa’s biggest and arguably most famous running event.
The inaugural race was held in 2001 and was won by its founder, Haile Gebrselassie. Subsequent races have been won by other prominent runners such as Gebre Gebremariam and Tirunesh Dibaba.The race is however known as a podium for emerging athletes who upon winning, have gone on and succeeded in the global stage e.g Kenenisa Bekele.
Given the quality of elite athletes and Addis Ababa’s high altitude of 2438 meters (8000 ft) not many elite athletes from other countries take part in this race. Also, unlike many other large races, fun runners run for personal reasons and not charity.
Marrakech Marathon
This is an annual running event held every end of January in Marrakech, Morocco since 1987. It is a beautiful flat and fast course that goes through ramparts of the city of Marrakech and along dusty roads lined with Palm, orange and olive trees. Also, the mild January weather is just right for a marathon run. 8000 runners from all over the world take part in this race.
Course records are held by Kenya’s Stephen Tum (2:06:35) and Ethiopia’s Tinbit Weldegebriel (2:26:48) for men’s and women races respectively.
So those are a few of the big races in Africa which are worth trying. They will not only give you a challenge worth taking but also beautiful memories to carry home. If there is a race you believe should be on this list, let us know about it. And if you are gearing to take part in any of them, we are here to get you the perfect partner for your feet.
