My marathons

板橋Cityマラソン

March, day not yet published Itabashi
Itabashi
Itabashi. Photograph by Missmikage, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser's marathon starts and finishes on a special venue in the Arakawa riverbed upstream of Toda Bridge and runs a round trip to Arakawa Ohashi Bridge, on a course certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and World Athletics.

The course in short 3 lines
  • Up and down the Arakawa riverbed, Toda Bridge to Arakawa OhashiRound trip on the Arakawa riverbed, Toda Bridge to Arakawa Ohashi; JAAF and WA certified.
  • A flat riverbank for personal bestsFlat riverbank; 4:26:17 average finish, fastest of 19 races with a 7 to 8 hour limit.
  • A 9:00 start and a seven-hour limit9:00 start on 21 March 2027; 7-hour limit, 16:00.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryUp and down the Arakawa riverbed, Toda Bridge to Arakawa OhashiRound trip on the Arakawa riverbed, Toda Bridge to Arakawa Ohashi; JAAF and WA certified.

The organiser’s guidance page gives the course as “from the special venue in the Arakawa riverbed in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo (upstream of Toda Bridge) to Arakawa Ohashi Bridge (round-trip course)”. The ward’s page gives the same two ends in Japanese, from the Toda Bridge upstream side in Itabashi to the Arakawa Ohashi in Edogawa Ward, where the course turns.

The page says the marathon is officially recognised by the JAAF and World Athletics and is a World Ranking competition.

Sourced

Whole courseGradientA flat riverbank for personal bestsFlat riverbank; 4:26:17 average finish, fastest of 19 races with a 7 to 8 hour limit.

The organiser’s features page opens with “Point 1”: the course runs on the Arakawa riverbed with little difference in height, so it is easy to aim for a record, and the 7-hour limit suits beginners too. It cites Runner’s magazine (July 2025) for an average finishing time of 4:26:17 among races with a 7 to 8 hour limit (19 races, 2024), the fastest of them.

The page lists 15 water and food points, from about km 4 and every 1.5 to 3.5 km.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsA 9:00 start and a seven-hour limit9:00 start on 21 March 2027; 7-hour limit, 16:00.

The ward’s page gives the date as Sunday 21 March 2027 with a 9:00 start. The marathon is open to runners 19 and over on race day, with up to 10,000 places.

The finisher’s medal is for the marathon only; all finishers get an online certificate.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Itabashi, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
cut-off
7:00 h

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 21 March Race day

  1. 09:009:00 AM

    Marathon start Arakawa riverbed, upstream of Toda Bridge

  2. 16:004:00 PM

    Overall time limit Time limit 7 hours, which the organiser gives as 16:00. 7:00 limit: 9:57/km for 42.195 km7:00 limit: 16:01/mi for 26.2 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Itabashi time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Itabashi time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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