FULL MARATHON NO. 41: NAGANO MARATHON 2026 (JAPAN)

About 28th Nagano Marathon 2026

Schedule: Sunday, April 19th, 2026, starting at 8:30 am
Event: Full marathon only (42.195km)
Course: Start at Nagano Sports Park (Nagano City, Yoshida) ; Finish at Nagano Olympic Stadium (Nagano City, Shinonoi)
Time limit: 5 hours
Course map:

Pre-Race Thoughts

Nagano Marathon 2026 would be my 3rd full marathon in Japan, after Tokyo Marathon in 2028 and Kobe Marathon in 2024. It was also my first time signing up for a full marathon race with a cut-off time of 5 hours.

Reasons why I chose to run at Nagano Marathon 2026:

beautiful nature sceneries: Northern Japanese Alps with snow, cherry blossom trees, spring flowers, vegetable farms, and rivers.
finishing at Nagano Olympic Stadium, which was used for the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1998 Winter Olympics.
opportunity to meet my Japanese marathon idol, Yuki Kawauchi 川內優輝, known as "citizen runner" and Boston Marathon 2018 winner.
Japan's amazing running atmosphere with strong supporters and cheering
making the best of my 22-day trip exploring Nagano and Niigata prefectures with another full marathon in Japan

Race Entry Pack Collection

Race entry pack collection venue for foreign runners was at Hotel Metropolitan Nagano, right next to the Nagano Station. A very convenient location indeed. I collected mine in the morning. A smooth process.

I love the zen-like Mizuno running t-shirt in the race entry pack. It has beautiful light blue colour with white printings of creative minimalist design. Very MUJI, very Uniqlo! I love it!

Performances at Nagano Central Square

In the afternoon, I went to Nagano Central Square, a premier venue for the medal ceremonies during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Various stage performances by school students and booths selling sports item were held to welcome runners to Nagano.

5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Nagano

While I was watching performances at Nagano Central Square, my phone received earthquake warning messages from Japan government.

The message came in 2 languages (Japanese and English):

"Earthquake warning: Stay calm and seek shelter nearby"

It seemed that everyone else also received the earthquake warning messages the same time as me. Only later I realised that a 5.0 magnitude earthquake just hit Nagano. Thankfully, it was a weak one. I didn't feel any earthquake effects where I was.

Flag-Off at Nagano Sports Park

I took the local train (free for runners) to tarting venue Nagano Sports Park.

The weather was forecasted to reach 25 degrees at noon, which was kind of unexpected. I thought it would be a very cool day to run.

Starting from Pen I, which took me 7 minutes to reach the start line after 8:30 am flag-off, I had no specific running strategy.

I just wanted to enjoy running through the beautiful nature of Nagano, at my own pace, by feel; and immersing myself in Japan's unique running atmosphere.

However, knowing cut-off time was 5 hours, I just gotta make sure I didn't end up in a sweeper bus.

City Run (First 20 KM)

For the first 20 km, we ran past the heart of downtown Nagano City. The longer we ran, the further away we were from the city, and nearer to the nature.

Enthusiastic supporters were everywhere along the course - shouting "ganbatte" and 'fighto".

It was really fun to run in Japan - with supporters cheering runners with big smile on their faces.

There were live band performances from local artists; Nagano baseball team members and primary / high school students cheering, various local government authorities like fire department performing brass band, traditional Japanese instruments, etc, it was like a festival.

Besides running, my eyes were busy looking at multiple performances and cheering team along the route. Everyone was so supportive of runners! I was really moved.

As for my body, I started to feel the heat the longer I ran.

24 degrees in high-altitude Nagano was not a joke. The sun was glaring and hot! Stronger UV light too. With no cloud at all, the weather was getting hotter and hotter. My body started to feel he pain of sunburn.

Sai River & Chikuma River

After running about 20 km within the Nagano City, I found myself surrounded by the beautiful nature.

In all the directions that I looked at, I witnessed only beautiful mountains, rivers, forests, cherry blossom trees, spring flower fields, and vegetable farms.

Two notable rivers we ran across were Sai River and Chikuma River.

I was mesmerised by the nature beauty of Nagano. So memorable!

Despite the heat from high altitude, strong UV light under cloudless blue sky, I continued to march on.

I started to notice burning sensation on my face, arms, shoulders and legs from the sunlight.

River banks of Chikuma River

Japan is well known for their runnable riverbanks.

Running along river banks of the long and beautiful Chikuma River amongst all the Japanese runners was an exciting experience!

One side was the crystal clear, flowing river waters.

The other side was vegetable farms, spring flowers, cherry blossom trees, grass fields and trees.

Truly memorable!

Northern Japanese Alps with Snow

Northern Japanese Alps (Hida Mountains) are a spectacular 3,000-meter-plus mountain range in Central Japan spanning Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures.

I was glad that the snow didn't fully melt yet in mid April, allowing me the chance to witness the snow on the mountain tops.

There were a few kilometres of running towards the direction of Northern Japanese Alps - meaning I could just stare at the beautiful Japanese Alps with snow while running. Awesome experience!

I was so happy and grateful the official photographer managed to capture this shot of me with Northern Japanese Alps with snow in the background.

Spring Flowers, Vegetables, Cherry Blossom

Along this beautiful nature route, I also witnessed colourful spring flowers, cherry blossoms, and vegetables.

It was such a beautiful course that I enjoyed every moment of it.

By then, my running pace had dropped drastically, largely due to the hot weather.

My skin was burning badly too from the strong UV light.

Even for a person who lives in tropical country Malaysia, I found the heat to be unbearable.

I drank at every single water station - not one cup but two cups of water or energy drinks.

I ate whatever that was provided at water stations - yokan, energy gel, bananas, salt candy, cakes in addition to my own energy gels.

A big thanks to all the music performances by various groups along the course! They motivated me to press on.

Big thanks to all the cheering supporters shouting "ganbatte" and "fighto" too.

I said "arigatou gozaimasu" with a grateful heart to them whenever I could.

I gave "high fives" to some young supporters and elderly supporters (sitting on the chairs outside their homes to cheer the runners).

Outside of Nagano Olympic Stadium Near Finish Line

Nagano Marathon had a cut-off time of five hours.

I already ran nearly four and a half hours when I reached outside the finishing venue, Nagano Olympic Stadium.

With only slightly more than 30 minutes to go before the cut-off time, runners were all doing their best to do their last dash, including me.

Entering Nagano Olympic Stadium with Style

This was the moment I had been waiting for: to run inside Nagano Olympic Stadium, the venue of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The moment I stepped inside the stadium, I was overwhelmed with the fact that Winter Olympians were once inside the same stadium.

It was my first experience to run inside an Olympic stadium. Amazing!

Crossing Finish Line inside Nagano Olympic Stadium

When I saw the FINISH banner, I was so excited.

For a moment, I let my day dream run wild.

I imagined myself to be one of the marathon runners in Olympics.

What an incredible experience to finish Nagano Marathon inside an Olympic Stadium.

Shaking Hand with Yuki Kawauchi 川內優輝

I was so pleasantly surprised to see my Japanese marathon idol, Yuki Kawauchi 川內優輝, known as "citizen runner" and Boston Marathon 2018 winner, standing after the finish line.

He stood there to congratulate the finishers. Such a humble man!

Not the time to be shy, I took the courage to go up to him to shake his hand.

Yuki Kawauchi looked at me and smiled when we both shook hand.

I said smilingly to him, "Malaysia jin desu" (I'm a Malaysian).

He eyes brightened up and then congratulated me in English, "Good job!"

Wow! I was speechless!

How I wish I had my phone with me so that I could take a selfie with him.

Through his post-race social media sharing, Yuki Kawauchi also shared what he ate before the race.

I would like to document his carbo loading here so that I am inspired to eat the same food, the same amount as him in my future marathons in Japan.

Who knows? Probably I could end up running as fast as him.

Pre-race lunch

Pre-race dinner: His favourite Japanese curry rice. But I didn't know he would eat so much! wow!

Race day - breakfast!

Finisher Medal & Towel

In Japan, full marathon finishers normally receive a large towel instead of a finisher t-shirt, on top of receiving a finisher medal.

I really love Nagano Marathon's finisher medal and towel.

It's cherry blossom pink and white! Simple and elegant, full of spring vibes!

Experiencing the worst sunburn in my entire marathon journey

Since I started running my first full marathon in 2012, I have never experienced such a sunburn as bad as what I have experienced at Nagano Marathon.

Even during my triathlon days in Malaysia - cycling, swimming and running until late afternoon, my sunburn was not as bad as this round, simply because I applied sub block lotion back then.

Who would have thought of getting a sunburn during spring time in Japan? I thought it was going to be cool and breezy.

Nagano Marathon's scorching hot sun at 24 degrees Celsius with non-polluted air and high UV light really burned my skin badly.

I felt like I had turned into a red hot crab.