Fitness
Marathon
The Red Bull Flying Sprint: 100m of glory inside Africa's biggest race
On 24 May, 27,000 runners take on the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. At the 38km mark, on the Sea Point promenade, a 100-metre stretch of road becomes the fastest party of the day
01
Everything you need to know about Red Bull Flying Sprint
Red Bull is dropping a 100-metre, all-out sprint challenge into the deepest, hardest part of the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Just past the Red Bull Energy Station on the Sea Point promenade, at the 38km mark, a timed stretch of road awaits. Empty the tank across those 100 metres and the fastest runner in your start batch wins a medal, Red Bull product, and a golden ticket: entry into the Wings for Life World Run 2027. Every marathoner is automatically in. No sign-up, no extra fee — just you, 100 metres, and whatever your legs have left.
Runner at Red Bull Flying Sprint Ultra Balaton in Balatonfüred, Hungary
© Balazs Palfi / Red Bull Content Pool
02
A marathon unlike any this continent has hosted
Let's set the scene. The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, on Sunday 24 May, is shaping up to be the most significant race ever run on African soil. It's Africa's only Abbott World Marathon Majors candidate, in the final year of its candidacy — meaning every one of the 27,000 finishers collects a provisional Majors star. Pass the assessment, and Cape Town becomes the first Major on the continent.
Then there's the start line. Eliud Kipchoge — double Olympic champion, the first human to run a marathon under two hours — has chosen Cape Town as the opening leg of his seven-continent Running World tour. It's his first ever marathon on African soil, and he's lining up in what organisers are calling the strongest elite field ever assembled for an African marathon.
So the front of the race is handled. But we've always been more interested in a different question: what about everyone else?
Red Bull Flying Sprint energises Ultra Balaton in Balatonfüred
© Balazs Palfi / Red Bull Content Pool
At the 38km mark, just after you pass the Red Bull Energy Station on the Sea Point promenade, you'll hit a marked 100-metre zone — the Red Bull Flying Sprint. You'll know it when you see it: branding, signage, and an MC on the mic turning a quiet stretch of road into a sprint arena.
When you reach it, you have a choice. Cruise through at marathon pace like a sensible person… or flip a switch, drop the hammer, and sprint the 100 metres flat-out. Your time over that section gets recorded automatically — every runner is in, no separate entry needed.
Here's the brilliant part: it has nothing to do with your finishing position. The fastest runner in *each start batch* over those 100 metres wins. So you're not racing Kipchoge or the elites — you're racing the people who started when you started. A weekend runner can top their batch. A back-of-the-pack hero can take the spoils. It rewards one thing and one thing only: a willingness to absolutely send it when the moment comes. Enjoy!
