"We have enough parking capacity" - 5000 entries & more prize money at The 2026 Running Party!

After a sellout event of 3500 participants last year, organisers of the 2026 Thembisa Mile presented by Lenmed Zamokuhle Private Hospital have increased the entry cap to 5000. The race which comprises a street Mile (1609m) and a 10km mass participation event, will start and finish at the Olifantsfontein Sports Grounds in Olifantsfontein on Sunday, 25 October. Founder and Race Director of the Thembisa Mile Donald Mathipa says the decision to increase the number of participants was based on the outcry that followed when many could not be part of the sold out 2025 event.

One of the many buses enjoying the 2025 edition of the Thembisa Mile 10km mass participation event. Photo Credit: Tumi Kekana.

"Ever since we moved to the Olifantsfontein Sports Ground we have been selling out. We sold out in 2024 at a capacity of 3500 and sold out again last year with 4000 participants. so we decided to take it up to 5000 because we have enough parking capacity inside the Sports Grounds premises. However, we'd like to encourage the runners to arrive on time on race day because parking is free for all of the athletes who have registered for the race."

The scenic 10km route will take runners through the industrial precinct of Olifantsfontein to Hospital View and back to the finish at the Olifantsfontein Sports Grounds. The Mile route is a loop around the Olifantsfontein Sports Grounds. As has become the event's tradition, both the mile and 10km events will feature some of Southern Africa's top runners. The likes of double Olympic champion Caster Semenya, World Indoor champion Prudence Sekgodišo, Olympic finalist Tshepiso Masalela of Botswana, SA champion Ryan Mphahlele and SA Marathon Record holder Elroy Gelant have all won the prestigious race.

SA Marathon Record holder Elroy Gelant leads the pack in the men's 10km event. Photo Credit: Tumi Kekana.

Mathipa believes that the handsome total prize purse of R121500 (hundred and twenty one thousand and five hundred rand) is one of the key factors in attracting the best athletes. The men’s and women's 10km winners will take home R10 000 each, while the invitational Mile winners will each earn R4000. 

"I was almost an elite and didn't quite make it and I found that races weren't giving enough money for athletes to meet their basic needs. My thinking was that we increase the prize money so that if for example an unsponsored athlete wins the race he or she can use the money to buy a pair of running shoes to train for bigger races. Remember that most elite athletes run for a living. So this is a way for us to incentivise good performances."

Several junior, youth and sub-youth athletes also compete in the street mile. Photo Credit: Tumi Kekana.

Entries are available online at www.thembisamile.co.za or www.peaktiming.co.za and will close at midnight on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 or once the maximum race capacity has been reached. The race is open to a total of 5000 participants, with 4200 entries available for the 10km road race and 800 for the 1 Mile Road Race.

The 2026 edition of the Thembisa Mile and 10km is made possible by the following sponsors and partners; Lenmed Zamokuhle Private Hospital, SPAR North Rand, The City of Ekurhuleni’s Sports and Recreation Division, Switch Energy Drink, PRMG Equipment Rental, The Thembisan, Central Gauteng Athletics and the Thembisa Athletics Club.

Event dairy details:

📅 : Sunday , 25 October 2026

📌 : Olifantsfontein Sports Ground 

⏰️ : 07h00 

Entry Fee (excluding online service fee) : R10k = R150, 1 Mile = R50.

Temporary license fee is R60 for 10km and R30 for 1 Mile.

T-Shirt = R150