39th Ageo City Half Marathon 2026

The 39th Ageo City Half Marathon is one of Saitama’s established road races, combining a large community field with a notably strong competitive half-marathon tradition. The headline 21.0975 km course is certified by World Athletics and the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, and the organisers regularly attract leading university and corporate-team runners. The men’s university division is a particular feature: the top two Japanese university athletes are offered invitations to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon. The event is also connected with the RUN as ONE programme, providing selected general runners with an opportunity linked to Tokyo Marathon 2028.

The half marathon starts at 09:00 on the Kawagoe-Ageo Line and finishes inside Ageo Athletic Field. The 5K starts at 09:15 and begins and ends at the athletics stadium. From the urban part of Ageo, the half-marathon route reaches greener suburban streets before returning to the stadium. The organiser describes the course as flat with few elevation changes, making it attractive to runners seeking fast times and giving spectators the chance to watch high-level racing at close range.

The current official outline lists a 2 hour 40 minute overall half-marathon limit, with a 15 km checkpoint at two hours. The overseas registration platform currently shows a slightly tighter operational schedule of 2 hours 30 minutes overall and 1 hour 55 minutes at 15 km, so runners should follow the final participant instructions if the organiser standardises those times before race day. Four water stations are planned at approximately 5.5 km, 10 km, 16 km and 19 km, with kilometre markers every kilometre and at the halfway point.

There is no conventional race-pack expo. Number cards with IC timing tags, the event programme and other participant materials are mailed by the entry centre in early November. Runners must bring the issued bib on race day, and paid coin lockers are available for baggage. Ageo Athletic Field is around a 20-minute walk from Ageo Station on the JR Takasaki Line.

A Junior Challenge Run is staged at Ageo Athletic Park on Saturday 21 November for preschool, primary-school and junior-high participants, with parent-child and school-age races from 0.5 km to 2 km. These youth distances remain part of the same event weekend but are not forced into inaccurate ARC distance fields.