Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon 2026

The Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon brings runners to the historic streets of Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, a city celebrated for its traditional warehouse-style merchant buildings. The 2026 event is organised by Kawagoe City and the Saitama Athletics Association and is expected to welcome approximately 10,000 entrants across the half marathon, 10K and short fun-run categories.

A course through historic Kawagoe

The main half-marathon course begins and ends at Hot Staff Kawagoe Park, also known as Kawagoe Aquatic Park. The published route takes runners through central Kawagoe, including the traditional Ichibangai warehouse street, the area around Kawagoe City Hall and Hikawa Shrine, before returning towards the park through the city's northern districts. The half marathon and 10K are certified courses recognised by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations. It is a particularly interesting event for runners who want a road race with a distinctive historic city setting rather than a purely urban expressway route.

Race-day programme

The half marathon starts at 8:40 am, the 10K at 9:20 am and the approximately 4 km Fun Run at 9:50 am, all Japan Standard Time. The half-marathon time limit is 2 hours 45 minutes, including four intermediate checkpoint cut-offs. The 10K limit is 1 hour 25 minutes, including two checkpoint cut-offs, while the Fun Run allows 60 minutes. The shorter run includes an individual division and a parent-and-child pair division. The event provides a participation gift to entrants; the half-marathon and 10K divisions also offer awards to leading finishers.

Getting there and entering

The venue is about a 15-minute walk from JR Nishi-Kawagoe Station. Organisers also plan shuttle transport from Kawagoe Station and Hon-Kawagoe Station; runners should check the event website for confirmed arrangements, road closures and access instructions. Limited paid parking is subject to advance reservation. General entries began in August, and the organisers subsequently announced that registrations had closed. The race is part of the RUN as ONE Tokyo Marathon 2028 general partner programme and Japan's national half-marathon ranking programme. Check the official race website for the latest participant notices and final logistics.