2026 UCT 10KM: MEMORIAL RUN RETURNS

Last year the UCT Runners Memorial 10km proved one of the highlights on the WP road running calendar. Focusing on UCT’s running legend, Isavel Roche-Kelly, the race attracted a record field approaching 2000, carried top-level prize money and welcomed many of the previous winners of the Merrilyn Smith Trophy, including record-holder Elana Meyer.

Energised by that success, UCT Athletics Club were determined to take the race to even greater heights in 2025, but sadly events beyond the control of the University took a hand and we were forced to cancel that year’s race.

We are, however, pleased to confirm that the UCT 10km Memorial Run returns in 2026. The run will take place on Sunday, 3 May 2026, and runners will once again have the opportunity to take part in one of the most popular short races on the WP Athletics Calendar.

Run on a testing but scenic course from the university campus, the UCT 10km Memorial Run remembers and celebrates the lives and careers of three of the University’s leading distance runners, Merrilyn Smith, Isavel Roche-Kelly and Lindsay Weight. 

This year’s run profiles Lindsay Weight, who finished in the top ten of the Two Oceans Marathon on six occasions, twice as runner-up, in addition to winning the Comrades Marathon on two occasions.

The first woman home will again be awarded the coveted Merrilyn Smith Trophy, with a R1500 bonus if the winning time is under 36 minutes. Runners are encouraged to enter early, as numbers are capped at 2000 and no late entries will be accepted.