Mandela Remembrance Walk & Run 2026 is a 21.1 km event on 6 December 2026, starting at 06:30 at Government Avenue, Pretoria. The course climbs about 197 m in total and has 6 aid stations.
From the Union Buildings past Bryntirion and through Hatfield, north on Gordon Road and zigzagging through Queenswood, up Codonia Avenue to Waverley and an out-and-back on Starkey Avenue, west on Meyer Street and down the long diagonal of Frates Road, then the climb home by Parker Street, Soutpansberg Road and Hamilton Street to the finish on Madiba Street.
Government Avenue, below the Union Buildings, Pretoria. Half marathon and 10 km at 06:30, chip timed; the 5 km Remembrance Walk at 08:30, untimed
Madiba Street, below the Union Buildings gardens, 390 m from the start
It climbs about 197 m in total. The highest point is 1411 m above sea level, at km 0.8.
km 3.4 · 6.5 · 9.4 · 12.8 · 16 · 19
Refreshments at about 3.4, 6.5, 9.4, 12.8, 16.0 and 19.0 km and at the finish (official route map)
Friday 4 December, 09:00 to 16:00, Nelson Mandela Foundation, 107 Central Street, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg. Saturday 5 December, 09:00 to 18:00, Union Buildings lawns (from Madiba and Stanza Bopape Streets). None on race day
None published
Online with PeakTiming until 3 December, or until sold out: half marathon R220, 10 km R170, walk R120. Unlicensed runners pay R70 for a temporary licence. No entries on race day
From the official 2026 route maps, traced on OpenStreetMap street by street
At about 3.4, 6.5, 9.4, 12.8, 16.0 and 19.0 km and at the finish, as marked on the official route map
Minimum age 16 (Running Calendar)
A medal for everyone who finishes, a technical T-shirt for the first 8,000 online entrants, chip timing for the runs. Discovery Vitality members earn points
Supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government, with the City of Tshwane as host city. Main partners: Athletics Gauteng North, BYD, Cartel Events & Catering and Aquelle. Beneficiary: the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Organiser: Optimize
06:30 · km 0
The half marathon and the 10 km start together at 06:30 on Government Avenue, below the Union Buildings and beside the Delville Wood memorial, and both are chip timed. The race is held every December for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, close to the day Madiba died, 5 December 2013. It began on 13 December 2014 as a 6 km walk to the Union Buildings; the half marathon was added in 2018, the year over 30,000 people took part.
km 0.2 · Union Buildings
On your left is the amphitheatre of the Union Buildings, designed by Herbert Baker on Meintjieskop and finished in 1913. Here, on 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa's first democratically elected president. On 10 December 2013 the amphitheatre was renamed after him, and for the next three days his body lay in state here while about 100,000 people filed past. On 16 December 2013 a 9 m bronze statue of him, arms open, was unveiled on the lawns below.
km 0.6 to 1.4 · Government Avenue
The opening climb, about 25 m in 800 m, tops out at km 0.8, the highest point of the course. Government Avenue runs along the edge of the Bryntirion Estate here. On the hill to your left is Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the President's residence in Pretoria, designed by Gerard Moerdijk and built in 1940 as Libertas. Its name is Xitsonga for "the New Dawn". From here the course runs mostly downhill to km 4.7.
km 1.4 to 3.2 · Dumbarton Road and Stanza Bopape Street
Right down Dumbarton Road and left into Stanza Bopape Street, Church Street until the city renamed it in 2012. Johannes Maisha "Stanza" Bopape, born in Mamelodi in 1961, was a civic leader in the township. The security police detained him on 10 June 1988 and he died under torture two days later, at the age of 27; the police claimed he had escaped.
km 3.2 to 3.8 · Hatfield
Left in Hatfield into Jan Shoba Street, Duncan Street until 2012. Jan Shoba was a commander in the Pan Africanist Congress's armed wing; he was held on Robben Island, released in 1990, and later shot dead outside his home in Atteridgeville. The first refreshment station is here, at km 3.4 on the official route map.
km 3.8 to 4.7 · Gordon Road
Gordon Road runs north through Colbyn to Queenswood and drops about 35 m to Soutpansberg Road, the steepest descent of the course. The 10 km turns left there; the half marathon goes straight over into Queenswood.
km 4.7 to 7.0 · Queenswood
Straight over Soutpansberg Road, along Fontana Road and into the side streets of Queenswood: north on Shilling Street, right on Storey Street, left up Garret Avenue and left along Dormer Avenue to Stead Avenue. The road rises and falls gently here. Refreshments at km 6.5, on Dormer Avenue.
km 7.0 to 8.8 · Stead and Codonia Avenues
Right onto Stead Avenue, which runs on into Codonia Avenue: 1.8 km due north through Moregloed. The road dips near km 8 and then rises gently towards Waverley.
km 8.8 to 10.0 · Collins Avenue
Right along Collins Avenue through Waverley, with refreshments at km 9.4. In his inauguration speech at the Union Buildings on 10 May 1994, Mandela called for justice and peace for all, and for work, bread, water and salt for all.
km 10.0 to 11.8 · Fry Street and Starkey Avenue
Left up Fry Street and left into Starkey Avenue, out to Spioenkop Street and back: the only out-and-back of the course. Halfway, 10.55 km, comes on Starkey Avenue. In 2019 the half marathon was won by Collen Mulaudzi in 1:06:10 and by Gerda Steyn, the Comrades champion, in 1:15:26.
km 11.8 · The partners
The Mandela Remembrance Walk & Run is supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government, with the City of Tshwane as host city. The main partners are Athletics Gauteng North, BYD, Cartel Events & Catering and Aquelle, and Optimize organises the event. The beneficiary is the Nelson Mandela Foundation, set up by Mandela in 1999: this year's event marks its 27 years.
km 13.5 to 16.2 · Meyer Street and Frates Road
Left along Meyer Street, the most northerly point of the course, and left into Frates Road, which runs 3.5 km south-west in a straight line through Villieria and Rietfontein. It falls to the lowest point of the course near km 16.2, about 100 m below the start (official route map: 1,276 m at km 16), with refreshments at km 16.0.
km 16.2 to 18.9 · Frates Road, 15th Avenue and Parker Street
From the low point the road climbs about 40 m in 2.7 km, up the rest of Frates Road, 15th Avenue and Parker Street to Soutpansberg Road. The last refreshments before the finish are at km 19.0.
km 18.9 to 19.9 · Soutpansberg Road
Right onto Soutpansberg Road for a kilometre west, on the road the 10 km runs, with the last refreshments at km 19.0.
km 19.9 to 20.8 · Hamilton Street
Left into Hamilton Street, south along the foot of Meintjieskop, the hill the Union Buildings stand on. The road keeps climbing gently to Madiba Street, about 15 m in 700 m.
km 20.8 to 21.1 · Madiba Street
The last 300 m are on Madiba Street, Vermeulen Street until 2012, when the city gave it his clan name. The finish is below the Union Buildings gardens, 390 m from the start, with refreshments. Everyone who finishes gets a medal.
Route: the official 2026 route maps (the runs measured by Pieter de Jager, IAAF/AIMS "A" route measurer), traced on OpenStreetMap; refreshment stations as marked on the maps. Date, times, partners and number collection: mandelawalkandrun.com. Fees and entries: Running Calendar. History: the Nelson Mandela Foundation, SAnews, SA History Online, the Presidency and Wikipedia