Elroy Gelant targets major marathon abroad in 2026

Gelant has enjoyed a memorable season, having broken a 26-year-old national marathon record, clocking 2:05:36 at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany, before posting a personal best of 1:00:22 in the half marathon and successfully defending his Tembisa Mile 10km title.

Looking ahead to next year, Gelant plans to take a short break after his wedding at the end of this year, before gearing up for another marathon campaign.

“I’ll focus on April or May next year, when I’m planning to run a major marathon abroad. It’s time to reset both the mind and the body," he told SABC Sport. 

"I don’t have any local races lined up – the goal is to target a big one next year and improve my half-marathon time. Overall, I’m happy with how this season went.

"The season was mixed for me – running the national record and a personal best over 21km were huge highlights, but the World Championships didn’t go according to plan."

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Gelant represented South Africa in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, where he finished 33rd – revealing afterwards that he wasn’t feeling well on race day but said he still took valuable lessons from the experience.

"I’ve accepted that setbacks are part of the journey and will use that experience to grow. The cancellation of the Cape Town Marathon was also tough to accept because I really wanted to race, but I respect the decision – athlete safety must always come first," he said.

Gelant’s participation in the Tembisa Mile was particularly meaningful as he wanted to show support for township events, and encourage young runners to see community races as valuable stepping stones.

“Running in Tembisa was special. I wanted to give back and show that community races matter. They promote running as a healthy lifestyle, especially among the youth.

"When this race started, it only attracted about 20 elite runners. Today, it has grown tremendously, and credit must go to the organisers for building something that inspires so many people."