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NARA MARATHON

José Carlos Gómez Delgado
Dec 16, 2015
2 min read

Nara marathon took place last sunday. It is a day with a special atmosphere, which involved not only the runners but the public itself and the large number of workers in the organization of the event. The weather cooperated by offering an unusually warm day for the present date.

The day before our hostel was fully booked with guests who came to participate the marathon, including two Taiwanese who had made the trip to run and return the next day.

In its six years, the marathon has become very popular, bringing together a large number of participants attracted by the experience of running between parks and temples of Nara.

Like in all marathons, many participants are just looking for a fun time and live the experience of running surrounded by a big crowd of runners. On the other hand, there are professional runners trying to get a good mark.

Because of japanese's fondness for costume, we can see very fun images along the marathon. The costumes are varied: deer emblem of the city of Nara, new and classic characters from movies, anime characters of diferent decades...

Cheering is something that is also taken very seriously, offering taiko performances, marching bands, or Japanese pop dances along the route at the time the runners passing.

For an event as crowded as it is, organization has to be very efficient, and as expected, the city of Nara set in motion a large number of employees and volunteers in cleaning, health care, giving information, on the refreshment stations , etc.

The route of the marathon runs for the first 10 kilometers through the beautiful streets of the city of Nara, to leave Nara City towards Tenri City, which is the turning point to come back to Nara.

The winners are available on the website of the organization: http://www.nara-marathon.jp/

Congratulations to the winners, and to all who were able to finish the race. And also congratulations to the city of Nara for organizing so successfully such a lively event, in which participants, public, locals and visitors could share a truly special day.