South African Endurance Sport Draws Larger, Longer Sponsorships

21 October 2026

Corporate funding for events like Cape Epic and Comrades is surging, with brands seeking deeper integration

15 May 2023 | Johannesburg - Multi-year title sponsorship deals for iconic endurance events are surging in South Africa, as more brands seek to align closely with sports that offer long-term value. This comes alongside growing investment in tech and expertise in athlete training and recovery.

Title sponsorships get longer

The Absa Cape Epic, the world's largest mountain bike stage race, is a prime example. Individual corporate backing for the flagship eight-day event is rare. Instead, Absa and Cape Epic announced in 2022 an extension of their title partnership through 2024 - the longest commitment in the race's 20-year history. That follows a previous three-year renewable partnership from 2016.

Similar moves are underway in other disciplines. The 10th edition of the RMB Ultra Trail Cape Town completed in November under a multi-year RMB headline sponsorship for an additional three years. The bank also backs the RMB Ultra Trail Drakensberg. And Cell C has set its sights on 2024 as a Tier 1 sponsor of the 40km Express and 90km Ultra division races in the Comrades Marathon.

At the same time, new partnership programs are forging joint events. In April, South Africa played host to its first Hyrox event following a new collaboration between Virgin Active and Hyrox, which sees the gym operator's clubs operating as Hyrox sports training hubs. FitnessFuel, a web-based endurance race-fuelling planner and accompanying coach's portal, offers race strategies for leading endurance events in the country, with expansion into cycling and open-water swimming planned.

Emerging disciplines receive support

Manoeuvring away from the early dominance of running, cycling, and triathlon, companies are backing initiatives that align with emerging sports disciplines. Renault debuted its Renault Adventure Series in 2023 as a Gauteng-based gravel cycling and trail running series staged in the Magaliesberg, under a three-year title sponsorship announced last March.

The move builds on a wider trend. Biogen renewed a Dryland Event Management partnership in 2022 that includes presenting sponsorship for the Attakwas Extreme, Tankwa Trek, and Cape Pioneer Trek mountain biking races, while the Momentum Medical Scheme has committed to the Tankwa Trek, Cape Pioneer, and Attakwas Trek through 2025.

"The health industry itself is supporting a growth in alternative fitness," notes Dryland CEO Mike Abbott. "These events are showing people healthy discipline."

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Rising tide in sponsorship spending

Where earlier forms of corporate sponsorship were more transactional, appearances by logo'd runners or branded jerseys, more recent deals aspire to a mutually beneficial long-term association.

South African corporate sponsorship expenditure across sport, entertainment, and community initiatives reached an estimated R8bn in 2022, according to industry estimates. But this goes well beyond a simple signature endorsement, undertaking audience-building strategies in collaboration with event organisers.

"If you look at major races, whether in South Africa or internationally, you have the equivalent of premier leagues in endurance sports," notes Lizwane Mgojo, a Cape Epic veteran and co-founder at Switch Your Mind, an events consultancy. "They have an engaged and highly targeted demographic that brands are starting to realise is valuable."

Diving into end-user technology

Technology has opened new opportunities for enhancing sponsor engagement. FitnessFuel was used by about 100 runners at events in 2023, aiming to educate and prepare athletes. The software offers race day cues and refuelling strategies for athletes along with product testing opportunities.

For Virgin Active, co-sponsorship of Hyrox adds value through performance supplements and training programs along with digital race reporting. Cipla deployed over 150 therapists across Two Oceans Marathon Race Week. The major event typically hosts around 15,000 runners.

"That response is valuable," notes Two Oceans race director Debra Barnes. "That's an endurance race with exposure for the sponsors."