Kobe Marathon

The Kobe Marathon (神戸マラソン) is an annual road marathon held each November in Kobe, the capital of Japan's Hyogo Prefecture. First run in 2011, the event grew out of the former Kobe All-Japan Women's Half Marathon and was created in part to commemorate recovery from the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, carrying the themes of gratitude and friendship. The single-loop, point-to-point course starts at Kobe City Hall, runs west along Osaka Bay past the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge with a turnaround near the Okura coast in Akashi, and finishes at Kobe Harborland's Gas Lamp Street. The route is nearly flat and fast, with coastal sea views and the Rokko mountains as a backdrop, making it a popular target for marathon personal bests. The race is JAAF, AIMS, and World Athletics certified (Road Race Label) and serves as a qualifier within the Japanese MGC Series for Olympic marathon selection. Capacity is roughly 20,000 individual runners and the field has a strong international contingent.