Overview

About this event

The 2025 John Nugent Memorial Marathon took place Friday, 14 February 2025 to Saturday, 15 February 2025 from 05:30, at Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa. Distances included a 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km races.

The Energy Lab Athletic Company is proud to present Upington's premier running festival. Hosted by the popular Desert Palace Resort and Casino, runners can choose from to run either a full marathon (Two Oceans and Comrades Qualifier), half marathon or 10km.

The relatively flat routes take runners along the banks of the Orange River and through magnificent vineyards and pecan orchards. The early start means that runners don't need to fear the the famed Upington heat.

Finishers all receive a medal and the racing snakes will be competing for generous cash prizes generously made available by our title sponsor the Desert Palace Resort and Casino.

Races

Distances & fees

Distances, start times, cut-offs and entry fees.

Friday 14 Feb 2025 1 race

Distance	Entry Fee	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
5km Fun Run	ZAR 100	Road	18:30	—
Minimum age 9 years

Saturday 15 Feb 2025 3 races

Distance	Entry Fee	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
Marathon	ZAR 250	Road	05:30	—
Minimum age 20 years
Half-Marathon	ZAR 200	Road	05:45	—
Minimum age 16 years
10km Road	ZAR 150	Road	06:00	—
Minimum age 14 years

Course

Route maps & elevation

Route maps and elevation profiles.

• Route map

Press

Press & Review

Independent reviews and coverage of this event.

The Running Mann

John Nugent Marathon (Upington: The Final Frontier) - The Running Mann

Stuck in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, Upington is both the hottest town in South Africa and the hardest to get to - making it the perfect location for a marathon.

Read the full review on The Running Mann

Where

Location

Where the event starts and how to get there.

Desert Palace Hotel & Casino Resort

Contact

Contact the organiser

Send a message to the organiser and they'll reply to the email you provide.

Your name

Email

Message

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Train

Training programs

Hand-picked training pathways to get you to the start line ready.

Coach Parry

Structured, app-delivered plans for every distance from 5 km to Comrades — daily workouts, pace targets, Strava sync and a South African coaching community.

Affiliate · disclosed Start free trial

OwnMyRun · Gerda Steyn

Free, self-guided training plans built by Comrades & 2 Oceans champion Gerda Steyn — a great starting point if you want structure without a subscription.

View plans

Energy Lab

A South African running community with a built-in training app — adaptive plans whose paces recalculate as you get fitter, plus club runs, results and event RSVPs. Free while in beta.

Join Energy Lab

History

Past editions

Previous edition: 2024

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