Immersive Expo Experience opens Sanlam Cape Town Marathon race week

MARATHON NEWS - The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon kicks off today, Thursday, 21 May with the opening of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo at the DHL Stadium in Green Point.

Runners and supporters will have three days to enjoy an immersive Expo experience that blends world-class marathon standards with a unique African identity, reflecting the spirit of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon as it continues its journey toward becoming Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Majors event.

The exact Expo times are as follows:

Thursday 21 May: 09:00 to 19:00
Friday 22 May: 09:00 to 18:00
Saturday 23 May: 10:00 to 17:00

The Expo will host race pack collection for all athletes participating in the Marathon on Sunday, 24 May, as well as the 10km and 5km Peace Runs and the three Trails Runs that take place on Saturday, 23 May.

This means that more than 44,000 runners will be making their way through the Expo, as well as family members, supporters and spectators.

The organising team promises that the Expo will offer something for everybody, including a unique blend of local and international vendors selling running essentials and other sporting, wellness and lifestyle products, as well as food and drinks to keep Expo visitors fuelled.

“Each year we aim to add to the participant’s experience, and it starts here at the Expo,” says Clark Gardner, Chief Executive Officer of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. “We trust all visitors will enjoy an Expo showcasing not just the character of our event, but also local brands, crafts, wine estates, and our magical Cape Floral Kingdom.”

Plenty to see, do and shop

Visitors to the Expo can look forward to several highlights, including an expanded shop for adidas, the Official Technical Sponsor of the event. Tom Brown, Senior Brand Director at adidas, says, “We’re bringing the biggest official Sanlam Cape Town Marathon merchandise offering to date to this year’s Expo, with a full range of adidas footwear, including the new Hyperboost Edge, technical race jackets, tees, and accessories designed for race week. A major highlight will be, for the first time in South Africa, the adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, the world’s lightest and fastest marathon racing shoe at under 100 grams.”

Title sponsor Sanlam will also have a strong presence at the Expo, says Shadi Chauke, Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. “We’ve created an experience designed to help runners step into the race weekend with confidence. Visitors can get a quick three-minute health check through the interactive Abby machines, spend time at our progress-themed installation, and add their mark to the African Champions Unite wall.

"There is also an AI-powered station where people can create a champion portrait and leave a message to their future self. This space is about community and connection, a reminder that it takes a village to run a marathon, and that confidence is built through consistency, people, routines and support systems that carry every runner forward.”

Runners need to present their official race confirmation message with QR code to ensure a quick, easy race pack collection experience at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo.

Rising from the flames

A standout feature of the Expo will be a Fynbos floral display curated by Leon Kluge and Tristan Woudberg, that celebrates the extraordinary Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest yet most diverse floral kingdom in the world.

This world-renowned South African duo have just been awarded the coveted Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion prize at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in the United Kingdom.

Their Life After Fire display showcased the incredible diversity of flowers that appear directly after wildfires, and that is the inspiration behind their Expo display, sponsored by the Grootbos Foundation, one of the event’s associated charities.

More local flavour will be added by the Cape Town Marathon Shop, featuring a number of local vendors such as the unique wire-work creations of Malvern Shekede, eye-catching beaded products of the Ntsete Family Beaders, finely embroidered art of the Tungelimpilo project, and Lalela Scarves, sold to fund arts education to children from under-resourced communities. Gardner says the event is particularly proud of this part of the Expo.

“We have placed a big focus on local vendors and brands, as one of our core goals is to redistribute money back into the South African economy. It also means that there really will be something for everybody at this Expo.”

The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo will include a number of interactive features to enhance the runner’s experience at Africa’s premier marathon.

Registration requirements

When collecting their numbers, runners will need to present the official entry confirmation message received via email or WhatsApp, which includes their unique QR code.

Similarly, if collecting on behalf of somebody else, they will need to present this confirmation for the other runner.

Runners should note that no late collections will be permitted on race day of their event, so they need to get to the Expo in time to register for their chosen event.

As such, no Peace or Trail run entries can be collected on the Saturday, as these events take place on Saturday morning, and the final day of race pack collection will be solely reserved for the marathon.

Joining hands at the opening of the 2025 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo were (from left) Francois Pienaar (Co-founder & Director of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon), Mkuseli Mbomvu (Executive: Group External Relations for Sanlam), Clark Gardner (CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon) and Kate Woods, (General Manager of adidas SA).

Kate Woods, General Manager of adidas SA, and Clark Gardner, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, with the stunning floral display at the 2025 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Expo. This year’s Fynbos floral display is inspired by the Life After Fire display that recently won the Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion prize at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in the UK. Photos: Sanlam Cape Town Marathon