Pakistani runners shine at Cape Town Marathon as Faisal Shafi achieves historic eighth star

Pakistani runners delivered a landmark performance at the 2026 Cape Town Marathon in Cape Town, with Karachi-based runner Faisal Shafi and British-Pakistani athlete Huma Rehman securing provisional eighth World Marathon stars at one of the world’s most closely watched marathon events.

Held against the backdrop of Table Mountain, the marathon attracted more than 27,000 participants and is widely expected to become the next official race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series.

Faisal Shafi emerged as the leading figure for Pakistan after completing the 42.195-kilometre race in 3 hours, 35 minutes and 37 seconds.

With the performance, he became the first Pakistan-based runner to complete eight World Marathon stars, a milestone regarded as one of the rarest achievements in global recreational endurance running.

Speaking after the race, Shafi said the Cape Town Marathon had originally been expected to award the eighth Major star last year, but the event was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Organisers announced ahead of this year’s race that all finishers would receive a provisional Major star while the marathon remains under consideration for official Abbott World Marathon Major status.

If approved, Cape Town would become the first African race to join the elite marathon circuit alongside races in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Sydney.

Shafi described the achievement as a significant moment for Pakistan’s marathon-running community.

He maintained a disciplined pace throughout the race, crossing the halfway point in 1:39:56 and consistently holding strong splits through the opening 30 kilometres before finishing strongly in the latter stages.

British-Pakistani runner Huma Rehman also delivered an outstanding performance, completing the marathon in 3:31:34 and finishing ahead of Shafi overall.

She became the first British-Pakistani athlete to achieve the provisional eighth World Marathon star milestone.

Her performance was marked by remarkable pacing consistency, maintaining an average pace close to five minutes per kilometre across much of the demanding course.

Other Pakistani participants also produced notable performances.

Karachi runner Hina Shaukat achieved a personal-best time of 4:31:23, while Lahore-based runner Amina Sibtain completed her first marathon in 4:44:51.

Kashif Zulfiqar crossed the finish line moments later in 4:44:54, while Canadian-Pakistani runner Ziyad Rahim completed the race in 6:54:33.

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Hina Shaukat described the Cape Town Marathon as the proudest finish of her running career, saying she had improved her personal record by 40 minutes during her third marathon appearance.

The strong Pakistani presence at the marathon highlighted the growing popularity of long-distance running in Pakistan, where community running events in cities including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have expanded significantly in recent years.

Shafi expressed hope that achievements at international events such as the Cape Town Marathon would inspire more Pakistanis to take up marathon running and further strengthen the country’s emerging endurance sports culture.