Eliud Kipchoge's advice to wife ahead of first race at Cape Town Marathon
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 23.05.26. | 15:02
Kipchoge will run the race with Grace for the first time, marking her debut in competitive road running
Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge is set to run his first race in Africa, the Cape Town Marathon on Sunday, 24 May in South Africa.
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This time, however, in a deeply personal and historic moment, he will line up alongside his wife, Grace Sugut Kipchoge.
Kipchoge will run the race with Grace for the first time, marking her debut in competitive road running. The couple, who have been married for over two decades, share three children: Lynn, Griffin, and Gordon, and have largely kept their family life away from the public eye.
Grace, a media-shy entrepreneur and farmer, manages their commercial interests in Eldoret while also serving as a key support system in Kipchoge’s decorated career. Her transition to the start line adds a new emotional layer to a race already rich in global significance.
According to Kipchoge, Grace has been steadily preparing for the challenge.
“I advised her to just line up at the starting line, enjoy the whole race, feel that pain throughout the race, and get through the finish line, and just like that, she will be accomplished.
She will not be the same. She has been training very well in readiness for this marathon,” he told sports journalist Stephen Ochieng.
The Cape Town Marathon is expected to attract a staggering 27,000 participants for the main race, with an additional 17,500 runners taking part in the 10km and 5km Peace Runs and trail events, bringing the total number of entrants to 44,500.
This massive turnout reinforces the event’s growing reputation as one of Africa’s premier running festivals and strengthens its bid to become the continent’s first Abbott World Marathon Major.
The race is currently nearing the end of phase two of its candidacy process, with hopes of joining the prestigious global series that includes Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and Sydney.
As part of its growing stature, 2026 finishers are set to receive a provisional Abbott World Marathon Majors finisher’s star. The city is also hosting the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships, bringing together 1,800 elite master athletes from across the world.
All eyes will once again be on Kipchoge, the 41-year-old double Olympic champion and former world record holder, who boasts a personal best of 2:01:09. Despite his legendary status, he faces stiff competition from a stacked elite field.
Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa, who recently clocked a 2:04:49 season best in Chicago, is among his biggest challengers. With eight athletes in the field holding sub-2:05 personal bests, the current course record of 2:08:16 is expected to come under serious pressure.
Home hopes will rest on South African veteran Stephen Mokoka, a three-time Cape Town winner, alongside local debutant Anthony Timoteus.