Races

PACERTRIP CITY EDITIONJP / RACE GUIDE

Kasukabe Odako Marathon

The city you want to run becomes your next trip.

Kasukabe
JP

京浜にけ · CC BY-SA 3.0Ebiebi2 · Public domain東のタニシ · CC BY-SA 4.0Souka Kinmei · CC BY 4.0Ebiebi2 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Race date Date TBD: Date TBD
City · Distance: Kasukabe · 21.0975km · 10km · 5km +1 more events
Entry fee: ¥5,000Varies by event and entry period
Status: TBDSee how to enter ↗

Official website ↗D-day as of Nov 14, 2026

About the race Runner stories How to enter Course Race Prep Travel

Why you dream of this race

THE DREAM

ABOUT THE RACE

A day you'll remember,
long past the finish line.

This is a Golden Week half marathon that runs along the Edogawa river embankment.

It is held at Showa Sogo Park in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, and 5,916 runners took part in the 37th edition.

It works well as a day trip from Tokyo, and the flat riverside course makes it an easy one to take on.

The road to your own record

Picture the course in advance
and find the pace that fits you.

When the city cheers

Streets lined with cheers, runners all around.
You'll be part of that scene.

The trip that follows the run

Take it slow with the finish still in you,
and meet the city all over again.

Stories from runners who've been there.

From the joy of finishing to the tough moments — read what runners wrote themselves.

Race reports: 3

baron1004Ran in 2026 · Finish time 1:08:08

“My pace dropped right where the second half begins.”

This runner entered the 10km and slowed down from the second half on; at a late aid station they stopped, drank two cups and poured two over their head. They wondered whether the heat was to blame.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

後半ここからだ、というときに失速。

Read the original on さぁ跳べここがロドス島だ!

Niki FarmRan in 2026

“After turnaround point, I got passed one runner after another.”

Went out too fast early on and fell apart in the second half, by the runner's own account. Said it came down to sheer grit, and wrote of the disappointment.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

折り返し以降は、次々と抜かされていく。

Read the original on Niki Farmのブログ

ちえの旅ラン日記Ran in 2026

“Since it was half marathon, I wasn't worried about the weather, but it turned into an unexpected midsummer day, with a high of 29°C!”

The race was half marathon, and it was hot enough that runners were being taken away for medical treatment. The runner joked that heat acclimatization is probably sorted after that.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

ハーフだから気楽♪と思っていましたが、まさかの真夏日で最高気温29度！

Read the original on ちえの旅ラン日記(YouTube)

We translated a short line from each public race report and summarized the experience. Finish times are as stated by the author, and past editions may differ from this year's weather and operations.

See it on video,
feel it through their stories.

Preview the course and read what runners who went before you wrote.

【春日部大凧マラソン2026】ハーフの部全ランナー 2.4km地点【Kasukabe Oodako MARATHON 2026】
View on YouTube

This may be from a past edition. Check the organizer for this year's course and operations.

The way in that fits you

YOUR ENTRY

How to reach the start line —
start with what fits you.

Here are the ways to enter and what each requires.
Check the organizer's page for whether entries are open.

First come, first served

Entry cost ¥5,000

Entries are online only through RUNNET and close when each event's quota is filled.

Race-day entry and changes to your application are not allowed.

There is also a transfer service for passing on the entry of a runner who can no longer take part.

Half marathon and 10 km are for high school students and older

Organizer's page

Official race website Entry options

From the start line to the finish

RACE WEEK

Your 21.1km

Know the course and time limit, and race day comes into focus.

Runners start · local timeFrom 10:08

Time limit2 hours 52 minutes

13:00 (all events; about 2 hours 52 minutes based on a 10:08 start)

Event	Gather	Start	Time limit	Entry fee	Field size
ハーフマラソン21.0975km	9:45	10:08	13:00	¥5,000	4,800
10km	9:45	10:08	13:00	¥4,500	1,300
5km	9:45	10:08	13:00	¥4,000	1,200
2km(小学4~6年生の部・孫Runの部)2km	9:45	10:13	13:00	¥1,500	400

START · FINISH

庄和体育館

庄和総合公園内

Start · Google Maps

Cutoff
5km 12:15 · 16.1km 12:15

Runners start · local time — Half marathon, 10 km and 5 km at 10:08 a.m.; 2 km at 10:13 a.m. (as of the 2026 edition; times may shift depending on Tobu Urban Park Line operations)

The Kasukabe Odako Marathon is based at Showa Sogo Park in the Showa district of Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture (now named Residential Park SHOWA).

Odako in the name refers to the giant kites flown every year over the Edogawa riverbank during the May holidays,

and the marathon is held in the same Golden Week, so many runners combine it with the kite festival.

The course runs flat between the Edogawa embankment and farmland, and the official description highlights its flatness.

But the half marathon crosses a railway line, and runners may be stopped when a train passes.

The events are the half marathon (4,800 entries), 10 km, 5 km, and a 2 km Mago Run in which elementary school children,

or grandchildren and grandparents, finish hand in hand, so the atmosphere is very family-oriented.

The 37th edition drew 5,916 runners, including participants from as far away as Hakodate in Hokkaido and Tomigusuku in Okinawa.

In past years, runners from Indonesia and Hong Kong have also received the Faraway Visitor Award.

The simple, warm atmosphere, with local volunteers and student volunteers cheering, is another draw.

In the 2026 edition, though, the temperature rose to 29°C, and nearly every race report mentioned the heat.

Early May is not too early to take the heat seriously.

Participant benefits

Timing chip

Medical support

Restrooms

Water stations

Aid stations

Finisher certificate

Bag drop

Start shuttle

Changing rooms

Lockers

Race expo

To the start line,
step by step.

Pick up your bib, check your wave.
So on race morning, you can just run.

Bib pickup

Your bib arrives by mail, so you do not need to pick it up the day before.
Food and market booths are set up at the stadium.
Awards ceremony 11:00 on race day, closing 13:00

No bib pickup or expo

market booths are in the area north of Showa Stadium

Google Maps Directions

Stations & transport near the venue

Getting to the startMinami-Sakurai Station (Tobu Urban Park Line)

Source · checked Nov 10, 2026

More details

Getting to the start

Minami-Sakurai Station (Tobu Urban Park Line)

About 20 minutes on foot (1.8 km) from the north exit; free shuttle bus runs to the venue. Free shuttle between Minami-Sakurai Station north exit and the venue: to venue 07:00-09:30, return 11:00-15:30. Bus from Kasukabe Station east exit to Tsujibashi (Asahi Bus) also serves the area.

Parking is limited; public transport is recommended. The rooftop of AEON Mall Kasukabe (670 spaces) is available to entered runners.

Map

Getting to the finish

Minami-Sakurai Station (Tobu Urban Park Line)

Return shuttle buses run from the venue to the station's north exit from 11:00 to 15:30.

Map

Source · checked Nov 10, 2026

READY TO RUN

From race morning to after the finish.

Your start time, fuel and bag drop.
Know them ahead and the run feels easier.

Assembly starts at 9:45 a.m. The half marathon lines up near the Kanasaki intersection on National Route 16 and the 10km just west of the Showa High School intersection.

The gun goes at 10:08 a.m. (2026 edition).

There's no separate check-in: your bib and chip are mailed to your home in advance, and if you leave them behind you'll pay ¥1,500 to get new ones.

If you're coming from overseas, decide on a delivery address ahead of time.

By train, a free shuttle leaves from the north exit of Minami-Sakurai Station on the Tobu Urban Park Line from 7 to 9:30 a.m.,

and walking takes about 20 minutes.

Return shuttles run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. From the east exit of Kasukabe Station you can take a bus to the Tsujibashi stop.

Parking is limited, so public transport is the default.

Coin lockers in the Showa Gymnasium parking lot open for bags at 7:15 a.m., but the number is limited;

valuables go on the gym's second floor, and changing and showers (¥100) are on the first.

There are seven aid station for the half marathon, three for the 10km and one for the 5km, plus three spots on the half marathon where water is sprayed.

The time limit is 1 p.m. for every event, and the half marathon and 10km each have a cut-off point at 12:15 at the mark with 5km to go.

The weather in 2026 felt like midsummer, and a runner's video description even mentions a string of ambulance transports,

so bring a hat, sunscreen and plenty of fluids.

Once you arrive, the Mago Run and the 11 a.m. awards ceremony are worth watching.

And on May 3 and 5, a huge kite-flying event takes place on the nearby Edogawa riverbank, so why not build it into your trip?

The kites don't fly on race day, the 4th.

Times are local to Kasukabe. Check the latest official information before the race.

A trip built around the race

STAY A LITTLE

MAKE IT A RUNTRIP

The race is one day,
the trip can be longer.

From a hotel that makes race morning easy,
to the meals and views you'll enjoy with the medal on.

Hotel Brooks (Adult Only )

Hotel · 1.1km · 16-minute walk

8.2/10(162)

View on Booking.com

Tokyo Dry Head Spa Specialist King's Nap Kitasenju West Exit Branch

¥8,345

Kasukabe Odako Marathon

About Kasukabe Odako Marathon — what makes it special

A day you'll remember,long past the finish line.

The road to your own record

When the city cheers

The trip that follows the run