MBABANE – International runners entering the eighth edition of the Imbube Marathon have grown almost six-fold, according to provisional data as consolidation of entries for the race continues. The event is scheduled for Saturday October 17, 2026 in Eswatini.
Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Futhi Tembe disclosed the figures, which show international participants rising from last year’s 435.
“We’ve also seen a surge of international participants for the race. By yesterday (Tuesday) when we looked at the numbers, we saw there were about 2 500, with the majority coming from South Africa and Mozambique,” she said.
Tembe also noted that runners from the United States of America and Asia had already been recorded, although the numbers were still not final.
In the previous edition, there were 435 international participants. Leading the list of foreign runners was South Africa with 388. Within that group, Mpumalanga Province recorded the highest number with 252 athletes, followed by Gauteng with 93 and KwaZulu-Natal with 34. Additional participants came from Limpopo, North West and Cape Town.
The marathon also saw runners from other nations, including Botswana (one), the United States (two), Morocco (one), Mozambique (37), Zimbabwe (5) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (one).
In addition, overall entrant numbers have almost doubled. By Tuesday, 8 300 runners had already been confirmed. During the 2025 edition, the race, which also serves as a qualifier for the Comrades Marathon and TotalEnergies Two Oceans Marathon recorded 5 000 participants.
South Africa’s Charles Tjiane and Kenya’s Rosina Kiboino are the reigning champions of the Imbube Marathon. They each pocketed approximately US$2 107 (E35 000). The race also offers the same amount for the first LiSwati runners in the 42.2km for both the men’s and women’s categories.
