Overview

About this event

The 2024 Knysna Forest Marathon took place Saturday, 22 June 2024 from 07:00, at Knysna High School Sports Fields in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa. Distances included a 42km and 21km races.

The race offers several unique highlights found in no other race anywhere in the world. Much of the run takes place deep in the forest with a breath-taking view over the Knysna lagoon into The Heads, for inspiration towards the finish. One race tip is to start slow.

Although no one taking part has ever seen the elusive Knysna elephants, little piles of dung sometimes seen on the route are a reminder that they do inhabit the forest, somewhere. Keeping this pristine environment in mind and the potential impact of the race on it, all runners share rides into the forest provided by local taxis to the race start in a clearing in the forest, where runners arriving early are also treated to hot drinks and snacks next to warming fires.

Races

Distances & fees

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

Saturday 22 Jun 2024

Distance	Entry Fee	Temp Licence	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
Marathon	ZAR 270	ZAR 45	Road	07:00	12:30
Minimum age 20 years
Half-Marathon	ZAR 250	ZAR 45	Road	08:00	11:30
Minimum age 16 years

Temporary ASA licence fee — only payable if you are not a member of an affiliated running club.

Course

Route maps & elevation

Route maps and elevation profiles.

Marathon (42.2 km)

Half-Marathon (21.1 km)

Press

Press & Review

Independent reviews and coverage of this event.

The Running Mann

Knysna Forest Marathon (like father, like son) - The Running Mann

151 marathons separated my 10th and 11th Knysna Forest Marathons - the good news is that it's still one of the best marathons on the calendar.

Read the full review on The Running Mann

Where

Location

Where the event starts and how to get there.

Knysna High School Sports Fields

Contact

Contact the organiser

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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

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History

Past editions

Previous edition: 2023

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