The Osaka Marathon started in 2011 with over 30,000 runners and is now one of the largest city marathons in Japan. One of the highlights of the marathon is running through Midosuji, the main street of Osaka.

Osaka Marathon is back after Covid-19 pandemic 

I took part in the 2023 race. 

This is the first mass Osaka Marathon to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic. They had opened up about 700 slots for overseas runners, which were all snapped up in less than 24 hours.

The rest of the 30,000 strong field were local Japanese runners. 

Taking body temperature

To take part in the race, we were required to check and upload our body temperature for 5 days prior to the event.

Runners whose temperature hit 37.5 degrees C or higher would not allowed to pick up their race packets. They actually did check everybody’s record log at the race expo and the rules were strict. 

Cold, cold, cold

The weather temperature on the days leading to the race was cold, in the single digits. Coming in from Singapore, this would by far be the coldest race that I would have run to date.

Race morning was no different, with the temperature at 1 degrees when I got up around 6:30am. The high would be around 6 to 8 degrees, according to the forecast. Super cold. 

Due to the cold weather, I opted to wear a long sleeve top and tights under my usual running attire of a singlet and shorts. 

Heading to Osaka Castle Park

We took the metro to the start line. This was at Osaka castle park.

It was easy to know where to get out of the metro, because there were throngs of other runners all headed to the same place.  

Another temperature check 

There would be a mandatory walk-through body temperature check at the race start, meaning we had to arrive before 8:15am.

We made it in good time and passed the temperature check. We were required to take a wrist tag to show that we had cleared the temperature station. If we did not wear this, we would not be allowed to race. 

Crazy wait to use toilets 

There was a long walk to the baggage deposit and race start areas. This was a pretty scenic walk, but I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to enjoy the scenery, as I had a marathon to run.

Along the way, there were several toilets, but the queues were completely crazy for both the Men’s and Women’s sides. 

My wait was about 20 minutes long because I went to the toilets inside nearer to the start pen. But my friend Justina had to wait an hour to use the toilet outside, near the foot of the staircase. This is indeed nuts.

I had already been to the toilet at least two or three times before leaving the hotel but for some reason, I still had the urge to go again. 

Finally made it to start pen

I got to the start line at the about 8:40am and entered Pen B which I had been assigned to.

From that point onwards, it was a wait in the freezing now 6 degrees C temperatures for the race to flag off. 

Even with my long sleeved attire, plus both a jacket and a poncho, I found that I was still shivering like crazy. I think I really can’t tahan the cold. But I told myself that once I started running, I would be okay. 

Punctual flag off 

As expected, the race was flagged off sharp at 9:15am.

Slow start and target pace

At the very beginning, there was a massive human jam that took at least the first 3 plus kilometres or so to clear completely. 

At the same time, I was feeling cold still and it took a while for my engine to warm up properly. Therefore this was the reason behind the slow start. 

Once the crowd thinned, I tried to settle into a 5 mins/km pace.

I had been hoping to run a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time of sub 3hours 35mins for the full marathon. But as this would be my first try at a BQ, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, if I was unable to hold the pace. My plan B was a sub 3:45hr timing, which would be a PB if I managed that. If all else failed, plan C was sub 4 as the bare minimum target. 

Running route

The race route, which had been changed recently, took us from Osaka Castle Park and passing through the Sennichimae, Midosuji, Nakanoshima, Central Public Hall, Kyocera Dome Osaka, Tsutenkaku and Nanko Port areas, finishing in front of the international exhibition hall INTEX Osaka.

This hall had also been the site where we had picked up our race packs. 

The new route was apparently more challenging than the previous one, with multiple inclines and slopes in the second half of the race. 

Good pace to halfway

I would say that my pace was on target for a 3:35 timing until the halfway mark. I hit the 21.1km mark in approximately 1 hour 47mins 15sec, according to my Garmin. 

A cold Marathon

The temperature throughout the race continued to hover around 6 to 8 degrees, making for a cold marathon the whole way. 

It was also pretty cloudy with the sun only coming out for short bouts of time. This added further to the chilly day.

Gels

My gel strategy was to consume gels around every 8km to 9km and I made sure I stuck to this in order to achieve the best outcome possible for the race. 

There were a couple of long u-turns along the way and I kept a watch out for Justina as I knew that she would be more or less close behind me. Spotting her, she was running strong and pacing well.

Pace fell off target

I’m not quite sure what happened after the halfway mark, but my wheels fell off and the pace dropped, fluctuating from 5:15 to 5:40 plus per kilometre. 

Maybe the slopes in the second half had got to me and I wasn’t able to pick up the momentum, or else my body simply wasn’t strong enough. It’s weird though because my lungs weren’t working that hard, with my heart rate being about 155 at the halfway mark. I should really have been able to hold onto the original target pace for longer. 

Km markers were on point 

The kilometre markers throughout the race was accurate and on point, with the difference in variation being roughly about 100m to 200m. This was good. 

Great crowd support

The crowd support was also insane and at some parts, the crowd was several levels deep. 

There were so many supporters out and about to cheer on runners.

Many of them held up signs as well as gave out snacks and sweets to runners. It was pretty amazing and very motivating especially in the final stages of the race.

Snacks and hydration support

Besides food from the crowds, the organisers also had food aid support at a few points along the race route from about 16km to 32km. Types of food included biscuits, cakes, salt candy and bread. I took a few of these.

However with all the foods being individually bagged up due to Covid-19 measures, my cold fingers found it difficult to tear open some of the wrappers. 

The food had been in addition to the hydration stations, which were providing both water as well as Aquarius isotonic drink. 

There was no hydration for the first 5km but beyond that, hydration was available every 2km to 3km along the course. I tried to take the isotonic over the water wherever it was available. This is because I know how important it is to replenish your salt intake during running.

Lots of costumed runners 

Costumed runners and supporters were aplenty in Osaka. Along the running route, I spotted participants dressed as Super Mario, Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon and two Pikachus running along together. 

I always like keeping a lookout for costumed runners, and there is certainly no shortage of them in Japan.

Changing to PB mode 

Once I felt that the BQ was not going to happen and that it was unlikely my legs were going to work properly in order to pick up the pace, I settled into PB mode aiming to complete the race in a decent timing. 

My pace dropped further after 32km. My legs were sore and protesting and I just wanted to complete the marathon.

The mind games were playing out in my head and I was questioning myself at why I was putting myself through this misery yet again. The numerous rolling hills didn’t help either. Every incline felt like Mt Everest to my tired legs. At least the crowd support egging me on had helped to some extent though. 

Pacers gave me a jolt from behind

Seeing the 3:45 pacers chanting loudly right behind me jolted me at around 40km. 

This was when I picked up the pace again before a final sprint in the last kilometre, finishing strong, taking the pace back down to under 5 mins per km. I was wondering, how come now my legs were working, after protesting earlier.

PB by three minutes 

When I crossed the line, I stopped the clock at 3 hours 42 minutes 28 seconds. It is a marathon PB by three minutes and I’ll take that. 

Finisher items 

Upon finishing, we were ushered in an orderly fashion to pick up our finisher stuff: a huge green finisher towel and our race medal.

The design of the medal is really nice and thoughtfully done. It is one of the better medals in my opinion. 

We also received a bottle of the Aquarius isotonic drink, as well as several more food items including crackers and bread. These were definitely welcomed as I was beginning to feel quite hungry after finishing.

It felt like a long walk in the freezing cold 8 degrees weather back to the Osaka castle area, in order to pick my luggage up and find my friends. I was so cold and my teeth were chattering. Even after collecting my bag and wearing the jacket that I had dropped in, I was still shivering. 

So after we had all reunited upon finishing the race, we headed straight back to the hotel for a nice hot shower before our post-marathon celebrations. 

A well organised race 

In summary, I would say that the Osaka Marathon is a well-organised race. While the Covid-19 measures for this year’s event were still pretty strict, everything went smoothly and the race was an enjoyable and fun experience, helped by the crowd support and the lively atmosphere. It is definitely a race that I would recommend.