Runners start · local time — The half and full both start at 09:00 (you line up by block). In the half, the last runner in Block H takes about 17 minutes to cross the start line.
The Hakodate Marathon runs through the harbor city at the southern tip of Hokkaido.
The start and finish are at the athletics stadium in Chiyodai Park, and the course links the city streets with their tram tracks,
the seaside road along the Tsugaru Strait, and the western district lined with red-brick warehouses.
The half is a flat, fast course that turns back from the Yunokawa hot spring side.
The full marathon heads toward the foot of Mt. Hakodate, where the elevation changes begin around 24 km, and there is an uphill on the Tomoe Bridge.
It runs toward the airport, passes Midori-no-shima, and turns back around 35 km.
The official site calls the full "the toughest fun run in Japan." In exchange,
the aid stations are special, running from bananas and cherry tomatoes to yokan, curry, and cold salt ramen.
Since 2025, the half and the full have started together at 9:00 am, and in 2026 a record 8,314 runners ran and 7,703 finished.
It is held around the last Sunday of June each year, so it's a good way to feel early summer in Hokkaido.
The whole city welcomes the race, and many reports say the roadside support continues all the way to the end of the course.
Before the race, an energy snack called Enemochi is mailed to you along with your bib.
The race organizing committee has set the 2027 race for Sunday, 27 June.
It is a JAAF-certified course with World Athletics certification, so many runners chase personal bests in the half.
