Kitakyushu Marathon 2027

Kitakyushu Marathon 2027 is the 14th edition of the city’s major road-running event, taking place on Sunday, 21 February 2027. The main marathon uses a Japan Association of Athletics Federations and AIMS-certified 42.195 km course, starting in front of Kitakyushu City Hall and finishing beside the Kitakyushu International Conference Center. The field includes 10,800 marathon places, alongside a 250-team Pair Relay, a 250-runner 20.7 km race and a 1,000-runner Fun Run programme.

The Marathon, Pair Relay and 20.7 km race are scheduled to start together at 09:00 JST. The marathon and relay close at 15:00, giving a six-hour race limit, while the 20.7 km event closes at 12:00. The Fun Run starts at 10:00 and offers 1.5 km, 3 km and 5 km choices, with no official timing or awards. Elementary-school runners are limited to 1.5 km or 3 km.

The full course leaves central Kokura and passes through areas including Higashida and Tobata before heading towards the Mojiko waterfront and returning to the finish near Kokura Station. Official checkpoint closing times are published from 3.1 km through 39.9 km, and runners who cannot continue are directed to recovery transport. The organiser also encourages runners outside the Fun Run to carry a personal cup for water stations as part of the event’s sustainability programme.

Pacers are planned for a broad range of marathon targets, from 2:50 through 6:00. Because the marathon start and finish are separate, runner baggage is collected at the start and transported to the finish area.

Runner registration is scheduled for Saturday, 20 February from 09:00 to 20:00 at the Kitakyushu Messe EXPO venue. Proxy collection is permitted, while participants who paid for advance bib delivery do not need to attend. The current organiser site states that runner registration has closed after major entry categories reached capacity.