Rössing National Marathon

The Race

History

The Rössing National Marathon traces its start to 1991, when employees at Rössing Uranium who liked running formed the Swakop Striders and asked the company to stage a marathon. The full distance has gone through periods with very few runners, and Frank Slabbert of the club credits the addition of a 10 km race with keeping the event going.

The race has grown into a Saturday of four events in Swakopmund. The marathon runs alongside a half marathon, a 10 km race and a separate 5 km fun walk that raises money for charity. The organiser reported 4,500 registrations across the three competitive distances in 2026. That is a festival-wide total and says nothing about how many people start or finish the full marathon, which is probably a small fraction of it.

The event is billed as the Rössing National Marathon Championship, and the organiser calls it one of the premier events on the Athletics Namibia calendar. The 2025 race was described as the 34th edition, which makes 2026 the 35th, in line with the anniversary.

Matias Simon won the men’s marathon on 7 March 2026 in 2:13:00. Salmi Mpingana Nduviteko won the women’s race in 2:37:03. Those are the winners of that edition and not course records, and no course record has been published. The organiser has announced the next race for Saturday 6 March 2027.

The course

The race starts and finishes in the parking area below Café Anton, beside the Swakopmund Tennis Club and the Swakopmund Museum. The full marathon is an out-and-back road race. In 2026 the route left along Strand Street, joined Fischreiher Street and Dr Schwietering Street, and took the main road towards Henties Bay before turning back to the start. The marathon turnaround was not named, so it is not clear whether every distance shares the same road for its whole length or where the shorter races turn.

No course map, elevation profile or kilometre chart is published for the next edition, so none is shown here. The coast road is exposed to wind. In 2026 the men’s winner described a hard outward half in wind and an easier return, which is one runner’s experience and not a rule for the next race. The marathon and half marathon started at 07:00 in 2026, with the 10 km half an hour later.

The start in Strand Street. The marathon, the half marathon and, half an hour later, the 10 km all start from the parking area below Café Anton. The 2026 start was 07:00. Arrive early: the organiser warned residents of crowds, road use and noise around the tennis-court parking area from early in the morning.

Out along the coast road.The runners leave Strand Street, pass along Fischreiher Street and Dr Schwietering Street and then take the main road north towards Henties Bay. The 2026 men’s winner described this outward half as hard in wind. Exposure on a coastal road changes by the hour, so check the forecast and set a pace you can hold with the wind in your face.

The turn and the return. The course turns back towards Swakopmund and the start, and the 2026 winner found the return easier. Mist on the Henties Bay road and water bottles at a water point were reported from the same race. These are single-race observations.

The finish. The race finishes where it starts. Town streets and barriers can change the last turns from one year to the next, so check the 2027 course diagram. No blue line, kilometre markers or timing mats have been announced.

Map

No route line is drawn, because no course file has been published. The map marks the start, finish and bib-collection area in Strand Street beside the museum and the tennis club, the one place where all of the race-weekend logistics meet. Tap the marker for details.

What to wear

Swakopmund sits on a cold-current coast, and the town is often foggy. In March the mean daily high is about 22°C and the mean daily low about 16°C, with very little rain. The sea mist can hold the town cool at the start, and the race has run in wind and mist. Dress for the first kilometres and not the last.

A singlet and shorts suit most runners, and a light long-sleeve top or a thin wind layer helps on the exposed road out. A cap or visor and sunglasses help if the sun burns off the fog. There is no clothing donation scheme or bag drop in the published information, so anything you take off is carried or lost. Use the forecast the week before the race and the morning conditions on the day and not the monthly mean. Water is the only on-course item mentioned, so carry your own fuel and practise with it.

Entry

The organiser has announced Saturday 6 March 2027 and says registration will open soon. No 2027 fee, deadline or terms had been published at the time of writing.

In 2026 the 42.2 km race on the EasyReg platform was open to entrants aged 20 or over. The price shown (R50.00, in rand although the race is in Namibia) and a separate N$30 charge for changing category are unresolved, so treat neither as the 2027 fee. One paragraph said 42.4 km while the category said 42.2 km. The advertised distance is a full marathon.

There was no race-day registration in 2026. No ballot, guaranteed entry, qualifying standard, charity bib, club allocation or tour-operator package has been published. Refunds, deferrals, name transfers and cancellation insurance were not described. The 4,500 figure from February 2026 is a registration total across the 10 km, half marathon and marathon and not a marathon cap. Check the registration page when it opens.

For UK passport holders, a visa is required for Namibia under a system introduced in April 2025 with online and on-arrival options, and the standard adult fee is N$1,600. The passport must be valid for six months from arrival and have three blank pages. Proof of yellow-fever vaccination is needed if you arrive from a country with a risk of transmission.

Fast Runner / GFA Standards

No ballot, qualifying time or guaranteed-entry route exists.

Race Weekend

Expo

There is no expo, only a bib collection. In 2026 collection ran on the Friday before the race, 12:00 to 20:00, in the Strand Street tennis-courts parking area. The notice required identification or a driving licence and a reference number, and said there would be no collection on race morning.

That has direct consequences for visitors. A flight that lands on the Saturday morning cannot work, and a Friday arrival needs margin for a late connection or the transfer from the airport. Do not assume the organiser will make an exception for a delayed flight. The separate 5 km fun-walk registration on the Friday and Saturday is for the walk only and does not allow marathon entry or collection on race day. Pack contents, shirt policy, proxy collection and uncollected-bib rules were not published. Check the organiser’s announcement for the 2027 collection window before booking flights.

Getting to the Start

The race starts and finishes in the same place, so the morning is simple. The start and finish are in the Strand Street parking area beside the tennis club and museum. The marathon and the half marathon went off at 07:00 in 2026, and the 10 km followed at 07:30. A hotel in the town centre or near the Mole is the most direct base because there is no start bus to catch.

Walk the route from your hotel door before race day, because the organiser closed part of Strand Street in 2026 and barriers can make a short walk longer. The 2027 closure footprint has not been announced. If you drive, confirm the approach and where to park before the morning, because the road beside the line was busy in 2026. Bag drop, toilets, warm-up space, corrals, security and clothing disposal were not published. Keep valuables in your hotel room or with a companion. After the finish, the medal, food, recovery area, bag collection and exit layout are not described, so agree a meeting place away from the finish channel before the race.

Nutrition on Course

The organiser has not published an aid-station plan, so no table of stations can be given. Water bottles were seen at a water point in 2026. That does not establish the 2027 spacing, a sports-drink product or whether stations hold up for the back of the field. Carry your own fuel and a soft flask, and check the participant guide for station positions when it is published.

Spectating

The practical plan is to stay at the start and finish in Strand Street. Because the race is out and back from a single venue, one location covers the departure and the return, and no transport is needed. The organiser has published no spectator zones, ticketing or reserved viewing, and the area is busy in the early morning. For a 07:00 start, four-hour and five-hour marathoners finish around 11:00 and 12:00. Those are arithmetic examples and not a timetable. A roadside sighting on the road towards Henties Bay might be possible, but no kilometre markers, crossing points or race-day buses have been published, so do not plan a quick return through the race corridor. The timing provider advertises a tracking app, but nothing confirms that live tracking will cover every marathon entrant.

Post-Race Food

Three places beside the start and finish are worth checking. None is a race partner. Café Anton, at Hotel Schweizerhaus, serves breakfast and lunch daily and sells German confectionery. It stands beside the start and finish, which makes it the obvious first stop, but check the Saturday hours and whether it takes race-day crowds. Farmhouse Deli, at the Strand Hotel on the Mole, serves all-day dining and welcomes walk-in visitors, with lunch and dinner service listed from 11:00 to 21:00. Brewer & Butcher, also at the Strand Hotel, serves meat dishes in a brewery restaurant. Book or check for walk-in space, because a race crowd will not be seated at once. No finish-line meal has been announced.

Where to Stay

The start and finish are in the same place in Strand Street, so stay close to it. No start bus or remote start exists, which removes the usual dilemma between start and finish.

The Mole and Strand Street

The strongest base for race convenience. The start venue stands beside the museum and tennis club, the Strand Hotel is on the Mole, and Hotel Schweizerhaus and Café Anton are on the same stretch. The trade-off is early noise, because the organiser warned of crowds and activity from the early morning. Ask for a room away from the street.

Central town

Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund Luxury Suites and Hotel Deutsches Haus are central options. Their advantage is a possible walk to the line, but a central address does not guarantee a quiet room or a clear route through barriers. Walk it first.

Northern suburbs

The route heads north, but a property on that side of town is not necessarily near the finish. Choose one only for a longer stay, after checking the transport.

Walvis Bay

Better as an airport or excursion base than a race-weekend base. A race-morning drive adds a dependency you do not need when Swakopmund rooms are available.

UK travellers: entry, health and safety

FCDO advises checking health requirements at least eight weeks before travel and holding insurance that covers treatment and evacuation. It does not advise against travel to Namibia as a whole, and its security guidance covers theft and road-travel precautions. If you add a safari or desert extension, get itinerary-specific health advice, including malaria guidance.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

The date is set and registration is due to open. That is enough to book a cancellable central room now, but not a hotel block, a deadline or a fee. A workable order is a cancellable room near Strand Street, the entry when it opens, then flights and the airport transfer. Aim to arrive on the Thursday or the Friday morning, because bib collection ran on the Friday afternoon and evening in 2026 with no race-day pickup. British visitors should add the visa and passport checks first: the visa follows the system introduced in 2025, the passport needs six months’ validity, and FCDO advises a health check at least eight weeks before departure. No sell-out curve, race-weekend premium or sponsor block has been measured.

See & Do

Four places around Swakopmund. Distances from the start were not measured, so none is shown.

Swakopmund Museum

At the Mole beside the start venue, open daily 10:00 to 17:00, with an adult fee of N$45 and guided tours that must be booked. A seated, indoor visit that suits the day after the race.

Kristall Galerie

At the corner of Tobias Hainyeko and Theo-Ben Gurirab Streets, open Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 17:00 and closed on Sundays and public holidays. The race is on a Saturday, so go that afternoon if you have the energy, or on the Monday.

The Mole waterfront

A short, level seafront walk beside the museum and the Strand Hotel. Take a jacket, because the sea air is cool.

Walvis Bay marine cruise

A seated morning cruise from the Walvis Bay waterfront past Pelican Point and its seal colony. See the day-trip article under After the Race.

After the Race

The race is on a Saturday, so the excursions start on the Sunday. The Walvis Bay cruise is the gentlest option, and the desert and safari trips need a rested runner.