Nagano Marathon

The Nagano Marathon is an annual road marathon held each April in Nagano, Japan, on a flat, fast course built around venues from the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Officially the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon, the race starts and finishes at Nagano Sports Park and loops past the Big Hat, the M-Wave speed skating oval, the White Ring, and Nagano Olympic Stadium, with the surrounding mountains still snow-capped while the city's cherry blossoms bloom. The AIMS- and JAAF-certified 42.195 km course has only about 133 meters of total elevation change, making it one of Japan's flatter marathon courses. Entries are capped at 10,000 runners on a first-come, first-served basis, and the race includes dedicated categories for visually impaired runners (guide-supported classes B1-B3). The 28th edition ran on April 19, 2026; the 29th edition is scheduled for Sunday, April 18, 2027, with an 8:30 AM start and a five-hour course time limit enforced at nine checkpoints spaced roughly every 5 km. Entry for the 2027 race opens October 18, 2026 and closes December 1, 2026 (or once capacity is reached), with an entry fee of approximately JPY14,300 plus a JPY550 handling fee. Registration is handled online through JTB Global Marketing & Travel for international runners.