Kyoto Marathon

You can see many traditional spots in Kyoto. You will be able to feel special at the goal of Heian Shrine.

It was an incredible experience running in Kyoto. Having lived an hour away from Kyoto city for a year, I felt that running this marathon gave me the opportunity to get to know the city even better. The course was hilly causing some challenges, but overall the event was very well organized. The highlight for me was getting cheered on by Maiko in the Botanical Gardens! A great experience!

This is the race to go beside Tokyo and Osaka. Amazing crowds, beautiful countryside scenery, and cool weather. The route can be challenging and hilly at some points but runners will definitely enjoy it if well prepared.

Marathon!

能督促自己認真跑的賽事。

This is the race to run if you don't get the ballot entry to Tokyo Marathon and can't fork out the $1000 for the charity entry. Kyoto is a lovely city and this is a very fun race. It starts on the west side of the city, heads north, then east, before following the river south and ending near Higashiyama station. It's a mid-sized race (maybe 15,000?), predominantly Japanese crowd. Great atmosphere, and you run past temples that you expect to see master yoda meditatiing out the front of. This race is great because they give you the option to get your name translated into Japanese on your bib. It was so great to hear people cheer me on in Japanese. It's a quite flat race, mainly roads but there's a short section (a few Km) on gravel while the course follows the river path. Lots of drink stations and great crowd support. Mainly on dual carriageway so PB hunters will want to get to the front at the start. Only some small hills here and there. I loved it and will do it again!

Weather is quite cold this time of the year. Keep that in mind when choosing outfit to run in. Signposting at the start is predominantly in Japanese. There are very few foreigners. But it's easy enough to work out as you just follow everyone else to the start line. Very enjoyable race!