Okayama Marathon 2026

Okayama Marathon 2026 is the event's 10th edition and one of western Japan's major autumn city marathons, with a field of up to 15,000 marathon runners plus a 1,400-person 5.6 km Fun Run. The marathon starts in front of SHIGETO ARENA OKAYAMA and finishes inside nearby JFE Harenokuni Stadium. The 42.195 km course is certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations.

From the sports grounds, runners head through central Okayama before moving south across the flatter urban and suburban sections of the city. The return leg follows the Asahi River corridor and brings runners back towards major local landmarks including Okayama Castle and Korakuen, one of Japan's celebrated landscape gardens. The route is generally flat, although the Konan Ohashi bridge section after 30 km is a notable late-race feature. The organiser also uses a series of intermediate gates across the course, so runners must stay ahead of the published cut-off schedule rather than relying only on the final finish time.

Both the Marathon and Fun Run start at 08:45 JST. The marathon has a six-hour limit, with the final 41.8 km gate closing at 14:45, while the Fun Run has a one-hour competitive cut-off at 5.2 km. The Fun Run is intended as a non-ranked participation event rather than a timed road race.

Runner registration and participation-prize collection take place on Saturday, 7 November from 09:00 to 19:30 at Okayama Prefectural Multipurpose Grounds. There is no race-day registration. Participants are expected to attend with identification, although proxy collection is permitted in limited circumstances with the required authorisation and identity documents.

All entrants receive the event T-shirt. Marathon finishers also receive a finisher medal and towel, while Fun Run finishers receive a finisher towel. The marathon is included in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Rankings, and selected finishers are also scheduled to receive entry rights through the RUN as ONE Tokyo Marathon programme. Current general and overseas entry periods have closed for the 2026 edition.