My marathons

つくばマラソン (Tsukuba Marathon)

08:508:50 AM Tsukuba
Tsukuba
Tsukuba. Photograph by On-chan, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The 46th Tsukuba Marathon starts on the road around Aeon Mall Tsukuba and finishes at Tsukuba City Hall, the main venue, on a course certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations.

The course in short 2 lines
  • From the Aeon Mall road to Tsukuba City HallStart on the Aeon Mall Tsukuba perimeter road, finish at Tsukuba City Hall, a certified course.
  • Waves from 8:50, and a time to reach the frontWave starts from 8:50 to 9:10; the front of wave one asks a marathon of 3:07:59 or faster.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GeometryFrom the Aeon Mall road to Tsukuba City HallStart on the Aeon Mall Tsukuba perimeter road, finish at Tsukuba City Hall, a certified course.

The organiser’s outline names the course as the outer road of Aeon Mall Tsukuba (start) to Tsukuba City Hall (finish), a Japan Association of Athletics Federations certified course, with City Hall as the main venue. The nearest station is Kenkyu-gakuen on the Tsukuba Express, a seven-minute walk from City Hall, and the organiser provides no parking for runners.

Sourced

km 0TacticsWaves from 8:50, and a time to reach the frontWave starts from 8:50 to 9:10; the front of wave one asks a marathon of 3:07:59 or faster.

The marathon starts between 8:50 and 9:10 in waves, and a runner who has not crossed the start line 10 minutes after the last wave goes off is disqualified. For the front area of the first wave the organiser asked for a copy of a certificate with a qualifying time: 3:07:59 or faster for the marathon, 2:09:39 for 30 km or 1:25:27 for the half marathon. The organiser says the waves cut crowding at the start and narrow the gap between gun time and net time.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Tsukuba, 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.

Order now to test one on your last long run.

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
cut-off
6:00 h

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 22 November Race day

  1. 08:508:50 AM–09:109:10 AM

    Marathon start, wave start Outer road of Aeon Mall Tsukuba (AEON), start; Tsukuba City Hall, finish. Waves start between 8:50 and 9:10. A marathon runner who has not crossed the start line 10 minutes after the last wave goes off is disqualified.

  2. 09:259:25 AM

    Fun run (1.5 km) start A fun run participant who has not crossed the start line 2 minutes after the start is disqualified.

  3. Time not published

    Marathon time limit Entry requires being able to finish the marathon within six hours. 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 Tsukuba time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Tsukuba 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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