African marathons worth running: from Kilimanjaro to Comrades

Nairobi's two marathons

Nairobi hosts the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon and the Nairobi City Marathon, both full 42.195 km courses at altitude through the capital. Our guide to the Nairobi courses compares them in detail.

Kilimanjaro Marathon, Moshi

The Kilimanjaro Marathon starts and finishes in Moshi, in the shadow of Africa's highest mountain. The course climbs towards the mountain in the first part of the race before turning back down through the town, so it is a hilly day out.

Our course line covers about 42.0 km.

Access Bank Lagos City Marathon

Lagos moved its marathon to a new route in 2026: out along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and back, finishing in Eko Atlantic City. Flat, fast and right beside the Atlantic.

Our course line, taken from the organiser's route map, covers about 42.5 km.

Cape Town Marathon

Cape Town's marathon loops through the city with Table Mountain watching over the course. In June 2026 it was confirmed as the eighth World Marathon Major, the first in Africa, from its 2027 race.

Two Oceans Ultra Marathon

Two Oceans is a 56 km ultra in Cape Town. It runs south through the suburbs to the False Bay coast, crosses the peninsula, climbs Chapman's Peak above the Atlantic and Constantia Nek, then finishes at the University of Cape Town.

Comrades Marathon

Comrades is the famous ultra between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, run in alternating directions: the down run finishes in Durban, the up run finishes in Pietermaritzburg. We print the down-run course, which measured 89.98 km in 2025.

Frame your finish

Each course is printed on the real terrain with the route raised in colour. Add your name, date and finish time and we work out your pace over the full distance, even for the ultras.