How do you build a brand around one of the most iconic figures in human history without reducing him to nostalgie or merchandise? Building the first value-based running-series in the legacy of Nelson Mandela was the real brief when Golazo came to Momkai.
The Nelson Mandela Marathon had to carry the full weight of Mandela’s legacy while functioning as a world-class sporting event capable of attracting elite athletes, global sponsors, and thousands of international runners.
From the first strategic conversation to the medal around a runner's neck, Momkai shaped it all, gaining 9,000 sign-ups in the first two weeks.
Design starts with the right questions
Before a single color was chosen, Momkai sat at the table for the decisions that would determine whether this marathon could stand for something real.
How should profits flow to the Nelson Mandela Foundation? How do you pitch sponsors on values rather than metrics? How do you build a one-off event with the architecture of a global movement? These conversations shaped everything that followed. A back-and-forth between Golazo and Momkai that ran from the first strategic decision to the final design detail.
Building a brand that puts values over performance
The rallying call Rise. Remember. Run. is three words that do the work of a manifesto. They work on a homepage, on a race bib, at the finish line, and in the closing line of every email. That kind of simplicity takes time to earn.
Based on the archives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, we mapped 42 Mandela quotes to five core themes — forgiveness, freedom, unity, courage, and kindness — placing one at every kilometer of the course, turning the race into the story. The visual identity draws from the colors of the South African flag. And because this story belongs to South Africa before it belongs to anyone else, every major creative decision was validated with people from the South African community.
One system, every touchpoint
The design system covers the full surface area of a major international sporting event. Teaser page, launch animation, social media templates, sports expo package & wayfinding, sponsor pitch materials, medal, t-shirt — every piece made in South Africa, by the communities this marathon exists for.
Golazo can brief a partner activation or design a race bib from custom-made design templates without losing brand consistency.
A website that earns the registration
The website is both a manifesto as it is a conversion-driven page. A dedicated ‘Why We Run’-page moves visitors through apartheid, imprisonment, reconciliation, and the unfinished business of freedom before it asks them to sign up. That sequence was a deliberate choice: to run for something bigger than yourself.
The route does the same work. The Robben Island Run, limited to 2,000 runners, opens race week on the island where Mandela spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years imprisoned. The 21.1km Slave Route Challenge passes through District Six, the Bo-Kaap, and the Castle of Good Hope, finishing on the Grand Parade where Mandela gave his first public speech after twenty-seven years behind bars.
Every logistical detail was treated as a storytelling opportunity. Runners collect their race bibs at Cape Town City Hall, from the same balcony where Madiba addressed the world on the day of his release.
9,000 sign-ups in the first two weeks
Before a single runner crossed the starting line, the marathon was covered across global running channels and South African national news; with journalists focusing on the values and story behind the race as much as the race itself.
This first event marks the start of a global running series, empowering people across the world to step up and continue the long walk to freedom.
Golazo & Momkai
Golazo is Europe's leading sports organizer, behind more than 300 events annually across Europe and Africa. Founded by former Olympic athlete Bob Verbeeck, the company has grown from Belgian roots into a movement for a healthier, more connected society.
The Nelson Mandela Marathon is their most ambitious project to date — and the first time Momkai designed the complete experience of a Golazo event, from strategic foundation to finish line. It sets the standard for how Golazo's portfolio of events can be built: with a clear point of view, a system that scales, and a story worth showing up for.
All profits go directly to the Nelson Mandela Foundation
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