The story
Osaka Marathon in Osaka
The Osaka Marathon debuted on October 30, 2011, drawing over 27,000 starters in its first year as a mass-participation civic race blending elite athletes, charity runners, and costumed participants. Since a 2019 course revision centered on Osaka Castle Park, the route passes major landmarks including Nakanoshima, Kyocera Dome, and Tsutenkaku before finishing near INTEX Osaka each autumn.
The Osaka Marathon held its first edition on October 30, 2011, quickly establishing itself as a major fixture on Japan's crowded urban marathon calendar with a field of 27,161 starters, of whom 26,175 completed the full 42.195-kilometer distance, numbers that placed it immediately among the country's larger city marathons from its very first year.