Barberton BNB

26/08/2026

25/08/2026

💔

25/08/2026

24/08/2026

22/08/2026

The marathon highlight on the second weekend of September is undoubtedly the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountain Marathon which is my “must do” marathon in Mpumalanga: https://runningmann.co.za/2026/03/21/barberton-makhonjwa-mountain-marathon/

This is a marathon that can take one’s breath away – both literally and figuratively. I normally prefer to listen to my rock rather than look at them but during the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountain Marathon I’ll make an exception. The route starts on the eSwatini border and traverses the World Heritage Site whose 3,5 billion year old Barberton Greenstone Belt features some of the oldest and best preserved sequences of volcanic and sedimentary rocks on Earth.

When the people of Mpumalanga put “Mountain” in their marathon titles they don’t mess around. I got exactly 1111m of elevation gain along the route. The first section of the route is characterised by stunning, awe inspiring vistas and unrelenting hills followed by a delightful downhill section from 17 to 27km. From there, prepare yourself for the toughest climb of the day to 31km.

The interesting thing about this route is that the finish is 500m lower than the start, so this is officially a “downhill” marathon but the only similarity to Kaapsehoop, Elands and the NMC Fast One is that they are all in Mpumalanga. Most of the downhill occurs over a quad shattering 7.5km plummet from 31 to 38.5km. This is definitely a segment where heavy vehicles want to engage lowest gear with an ear popping 650m of rapid descent.

Bella's Athletics Club