My marathons

Kyoto Marathon

09:009:00 AM Kyoto
Registration closed
Fushimi Inari-taisha
© OpenStreetMap Fushimi Inari-taisha. Photograph by Saigen Jiro, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

A climb of 61 m to km 12, downhill from km 16 to km 35, then another climb of 28 m to km 39.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Mr.ちゅらさん, CC BY 4.0
  2. Photo: Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5
  3. Photo: kajikawa, CC BY 3.0
  4. Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0
  5. Photo: Immanuelle, CC BY 4.0
  6. Photo: lumoplank, CC0
  7. Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0
  8. Photo: Immanuelle, CC BY 4.0

km 5.9mile 3.7

Togetsukyo Bridge

The bridge the organiser's map shows at Arashiyama; the course passes its east end on Prefectural Route 29 beside the Katsura river.

Photo: Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: Fundamental Geospatial Data digital elevation model.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 24 and 93 metres, a range of 69 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: Prefectural Route 29, bridge, km 5.9 to 6.5; Kamo river bridge, Nishigamo, km 17.7 to 17.7; Kamo river bridge, Nishigamo, km 18.2 to 18.3; Kitayama-dori, bridge over the Kamo, km 20.2 to 20.3; Kitayama-dori, bridge over the Kamo, km 28.1 to 28.2; Imadegawa-dori, bridge over the Kamo, km 30.8 to 31; Marutamachi-dori, bridge, km 32.7 to 32.8; Marutamachi-dori, bridge, km 36.3 to 36.4. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

  • climb to 12
  • downhill to 35
  • climb to 39

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  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

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

The course in short 3 lines
  • A long gentle climb to the top at km 16Nothing steep, but the first third of the race is steadily uphill.
  • Down from km 18, then one last rise at km 36The second half is mostly downhill, with a 28 m rise between km 36 and km 39.
  • Seven World Heritage sites on the waySeven UNESCO sites, the Katsura and Kamo rivers and a finish by Heian-jingu Shrine.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 16GradientA long gentle climb to the top at km 16Nothing steep, but the first third of the race is steadily uphill.

The marathon starts at TAKEBISHI Stadium Kyoto at 24.8 m and then does not give anything back for a long time. The lowest point of the course is the first kilometre, 24.5 m. From there the road climbs, with a few short dips, to km 15.7, where it reaches 93.0 m, the highest point of the whole route.

The steepest stretch is between km 5 and km 10, which gains about 37 m on its own. Over the whole 16 km that is a little over 4 m per kilometre, a long drag rather than a hill.

Measured

km 18 to 42.2GradientDown from km 18, then one last rise at km 36The second half is mostly downhill, with a 28 m rise between km 36 and km 39.

From the 93 m high point the course gives height back, with a flat stretch around km 20 to 25. By km 35.5 the road is at 42.8 m, about 50 m lower than at km 16, and the stretch from km 25 to km 35 loses about 35 m, from 77.9 m to 43.0 m.

That makes the climb after km 35.5 easy to miss on a chart and hard to miss on the day: 28.5 m up to 71.2 m at km 39.2, with the legs already 35 km deep. After that the road comes back down 24 m to the finish in front of Heian-jingu Shrine at 47.1 m. In all, the marathon climbs 143.5 m by this measurement.

Measured

km 0 to 42.2LandmarkSeven World Heritage sites on the waySeven UNESCO sites, the Katsura and Kamo rivers and a finish by Heian-jingu Shrine.

The organiser’s own description of the 2027 course lists the seven sites above, plus Umenomiya-taisha, Matsunoo-taisha, Seiryo-ji, Daikaku-ji, Hirano-jinja, Wara-tenjin, Daitoku-ji, Imamiya-jinja and Heian-jingu among the other attractions along the road.

Runners follow the Katsura River with a view of Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama, pass through Sagano and Hirosawa-no-ike Pond, take Kinukake-no-michi Road and the Kyoto Botanical Gardens, run beside the Kamo River and through Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, and finish near Heian-jingu Shrine. The organiser also points to the view of the five mountains of the Gozan no Okuribi bonfire festival.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Kyoto, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, 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

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

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
climb
143.5 m471 ft
cut-off
6:00 h
finishers
13,894
first held
2012

A February route through Kyoto past seven UNESCO World Heritage temples and shrines, following the Katsura and Kamo rivers before finishing near Heian Shrine.

The Kyoto Marathon is a hilly point-to-point course of 42.2 km with 143.5 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 24 m and its highest 93 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 21 February 2027, starting at 09:00.

Race week

Timetable

Friday 19 February Bib pickup

  1. Time not published

    Check-in at Miyako-Messe Check-in is on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 February at Miyako-Messe (Kyoto International Exhibition Hall). ID must be presented and there is no check-in on race day. Opening hours are not published.

Saturday 20 February Last bib day

  1. Time not published

    Check-in at Miyako-Messe Second and last check-in day. No check-in is accepted on race day.

Sunday 21 February Race day

  1. 08:558:55 AM

    Wheelchair race start Wheelchair race, 6.1 km, from TAKEBISHI Stadium Kyoto to Arashiyama.

  2. 09:009:00 AM

    Marathon start Marathon and pair-Ekiden start together at TAKEBISHI Stadium Kyoto (Nishikyogoku Athletic Park).

  3. 15:003:00 PM

    Marathon finish closes Marathon and pair-Ekiden finish at 15:00, six hours after the gun. Cut-off times are also enforced at checkpoints along the course; their times are not published. 6:00 limit: 8:31/km for 42.195 km6:00 limit: 13:43/mi for 26.2 mi

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

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Kyoto time

Trip

Getting a place

Registration closed for the 2027 race Going by the dates read 25 September 2026.

Past years and every way in
Every way in, year by year →
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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Questions about the Kyoto Marathon

Is the Kyoto Marathon course flat?

No, it is a hilly course: 143.5 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 69 m above the lowest. It finishes 22 m higher than it starts.

When is the Kyoto Marathon 2027?

Sunday 21 February 2027. The start is at 09:00.

How do I enter the Kyoto Marathon?

Entry for the 2027 race has closed. It opened on 16 July 2026 and closed on 30 September. Entry fee: JP¥35,000 (from abroad, for the 2027 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site

2 more questions
What is the time limit at the Kyoto Marathon?

Runners have 6 hours to finish. The finish closes at 15:00.

How many runners finish the Kyoto Marathon?

13,894 runners finished in 2020.

In the news

All race news →

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from Fundamental Geospatial Data digital elevation model (kiban chizu joho suchi hyokou model), best available: 1 m airborne laser over central Tokyo: 出典：国土地理院ウェブサイト (https://maps.gsi.go.jp/development/ichiran.html) を加工して作成 / Elevation derived from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's digital elevation model, GSI content usage terms, applying the Public Data License 1.0.

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line follows the road down its middle, so it measures 2.01% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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