2027 Kitakyushu Marathon - Feb 21

2027 Kitakyushu Marathon - Feb 21 Countdown

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Race Information

Race2027 Kitakyushu Marathon - Feb 21
CityKitakyushu
Date2027-02-21 at 09:00
Field Size~10,800 runners
Time Limit6 hours
Cutoff pace8:32/km
TimezoneAsia/Tokyo
Official SiteKitakyushu Marathon Organizing Committee (北九州マラソン実行委員会)
Fee trend 2025 ¥14,5002026 ¥14,5002027 ¥15,500(2-yr +6.9%)· below industry avg (+3.4% vs +4.9%/yr)
International ¥20,000 · 1.3× domestic

Race Day Weather

Average Temperature8.8°C / 48°F
Humidity72%
Wind28.9 km/h
Rain Chance39%
Typical ConditionsCool coastal winter. Across the last 20 years the late-February average is 8.8C, with a 10th-to-90th percentile band of 5.7-12.1C and median humidity of 72%. Wind is the variable most runners underestimate here: the median wind speed is 28.9 km/h and the 90th percentile reaches 40.4 km/h.

What to Prepare: Dress for wind rather than for cold. A thin windproof shell or a throwaway layer over your race kit covers the 9:00 start, and the long exposed stretch along the Kanmon Strait in the second half is where an unprotected torso costs you.

Based on historical averages for race week. Use our Weather Score Calculator and What to Wear Guide for personalized advice.

Wind Impact on Race Day

Wind at 28.9 km/h can affect your marathon pace by 5-15 seconds per kilometer. Headwinds slow you down exponentially — a 20 km/h wind costs more than twice a 10 km/h wind.

Calculate your wind-adjusted pace →

Race-Week Climate

Based on 20 years of race-week weather (2005-2024), MERRA-2 reanalysis

Cooler Typical Warmer
Temperature 5.7°C 8.7°C 12.1°C
Dew point -0.4°C 3.5°C 9.4°C
Wet-day chance: 39% Runnability: 71/100

Data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), NASA Langley Research Center

Course Profile

Course TypeCity road course from Kokura with western and eastern out-and-back legs
TerrainRoad
ProfileThe official elevation chart is scaled 0-60 m, and the only sustained rise is a high point of roughly 40 m around km 5-6. Everything else runs close to sea level, with both start and finish near zero. Terrain is not the limiting factor on this course, the progressively tightening cutoff schedule and the coastal wind are.
Boston QualifierYes — Check your BQ time

Course Analysis

Course Overview and How Entry Actually Works

The Kitakyushu Marathon 2027 is run on Sunday, February 21, 2027, starting at 9:00, from Kitakyushu City Hall to a finish outside the Kitakyushu International Conference Center, both in the Kokura district. The course is certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) and by AIMS, the marathon field is capped at 10,800 (a figure the organizers state includes both lottery and first-come places), and the time limit is 6 hours measured from the gun. The race was first held in 2014, and the 2021 and 2022 editions were cancelled. The 2026 running drew 12,638 participants across its four events, a record for the race, per Mainichi Shimbun, one of the organizations involved in producing it.

The single most useful fact for a runner based outside Japan: you do not have to go through the lottery. The 2027 guidelines list eight separate entry routes, and only three of them are ballots. One of the first-come routes is an overseas runners allocation of 100 marathon places, open from July 31 at 10:00 JST until November 6 at 20:00 JST, for applicants resident outside Japan. The fee on that route is 20,000 yen, and places go in order of application rather than by draw. It also closes six weeks later than the general lottery, so a late decision is still recoverable.

None of this was available in English from the organizers when entry opened. As of the July 2026 opening, the English guideline PDF linked from the official site documented the February 2025 edition, with a 14,500 / 16,500 yen fee pair, a two-day bib collection and a fun-run line-up that no longer exists. Every figure on this page comes from the Japanese 2027 race guidelines and the official race outline page.

First Half: West to the Higashida Steel Heritage District

Read the official checkpoint table in distance order and the shape of the course emerges. The 7.5 km checkpoint is named for the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History, which places it in the Higashida area of Yawatahigashi ward, home to the surviving first blast furnace of the former government-run Yawata Steel Works. So the route swings west out of Kokura first, then comes back into the city centre at the 20.3 km checkpoint outside Kokura Station. Coverage of the 2026 race singled out the Higashida blast furnace site and the Mojiko retro district as the two landmarks of the course.

The early checkpoints are strikingly soft, and that is the trap. The 3 km checkpoint (3.1 km, closing 9:40) only requires a cumulative pace of 12:54 per km. The 8 km checkpoint (7.5 km, 10:16) needs 10:08, the 11 km checkpoint (11.3 km, 10:47) needs 9:28, the 15 km checkpoint (15.3 km, 11:20) needs 9:09, and the 20 km checkpoint (20.3 km, 12:00) needs 8:52. Clearing these comfortably does not mean you have banked time; the schedule tightens with every checkpoint.

Elevation will not decide your day. The official profile chart is scaled 0-60 m and the only sustained rise is a high point of about 45 m around km 5-6; the rest of the route runs close to sea level. Use our Splits Calculator to convert each checkpoint into a clock time before race morning.

Second Half: The Mojiko Turnaround and the Last 2.295 km

The second half heads east toward the strait: the 25.5 km checkpoint at Mojieki-mae-kita, then 28.8 km at Seaside Plaza, and the official course map marks the turnaround at Mojiko Retro near the 30 km point. The return leg runs the coast back toward Kokura through checkpoints at 32.0 km (West Coast car park), 35.8 km and 39.9 km (Akasaka Kaigan junction). The checkpoint names tell you what to expect: the closing stretch is long, exposed and beside the water, which is why a median wind of 28.9 km/h matters more here than the flat profile suggests.

The cumulative pace each checkpoint demands keeps rising: 8:44 per km at the 25 km checkpoint (closing 12:43), 8:40 at 29 km (13:10), 8:37 at 32 km (13:36), 8:34 at 36 km (14:07), and 8:32 per km at the 40 km checkpoint (39.9 km, closing 14:41). A flat 6-hour finish averages 8:31 per km. In other words the 40 km checkpoint effectively demands six-hour pace outright, and unlike the opening kilometres it leaves no margin at all.

The detail almost nobody accounts for is the finish itself. Clear the 40 km checkpoint at exactly 14:41 and you have 19 minutes to cover the remaining 2.295 km, which works out at 8:16 per km, faster than your six-hour average for the whole race. If you expect to fade late, plan to reach 40 km with about five minutes in hand rather than arriving on the limit. Build the plan with our Pace Calculator before you enter.

Race Strategy and Trip Logistics

Entry route first. If you live outside Japan, the overseas allocation is the straightforward answer: 100 marathon places, first come, open July 31 to November 6, 20,000 yen, applied for through the organizers' overseas entry site rather than the domestic lottery. If you hold a marathon time inside 3:30 (or a half inside 1:30, or a 10 km inside 35:00) you may prefer the speed-runner ballot of 1,000 places, which also earns a forward start block; that route requires a performance set on or after January 1, 2024 on a JAAF- or AIMS-certified course, with proof uploaded by September 4. Note that duplicate applications are disqualified, with the single exception of entering the marathon and the 20.7 km event together.

Budget for the real total, not the headline fee. The overseas route is 20,000 yen against 15,500 yen for a domestic entrant, a 4,500 yen premium, about 29 percent. The trajectory is not one-way, though: the premium was 2,000 yen (about 14 percent) in 2025, peaked at 5,500 yen (about 38 percent) in 2026 when the overseas fee first reached 20,000 yen, and has actually narrowed to 29 percent for 2027 as the domestic fee rose while the overseas fee held flat. On top of the entry fee, the participant pack does not include a T-shirt - the official shirt is a 2,000 yen add-on - and a nicknamed bib is another 500 yen. Finisher certificates are issued online only, with no printed version.

Bib collection is the trap for travellers. Runner check-in happens on Saturday, February 20 from 9:00 to 20:00 only, at the Kitakyushu Messe convention complex, and the guidelines state plainly that there is no collection two days before the race and none on race morning. If you cannot be in the city on the Saturday, the domestic pre-shipping route will not help you (it is limited to residents of Japan), so build your travel around arriving no later than that afternoon.

Race-day conditions. Late February in Kitakyushu averages 8.8C with a 5.7-12.1C typical band and 72 percent median humidity, which is close to ideal marathon weather. The variable to prepare for is wind along the strait in the second half. A throwaway or packable wind layer is worth more here than extra insulation. Two practical details for the day itself: the guidelines run the drink stations on a bring-your-own-cup system (fun run excepted), so pack a collapsible cup, and the on-course food listing promises Kokura beef again this year. Check your own kit call with our What to Wear Calculator.

Prepare for 2027 Kitakyushu Marathon - Feb 21

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can runners living outside Japan avoid the lottery?

Yes. The 2027 guidelines create eight entry routes and only three are ballots - and even those are conditional, since the organizers state that the general route is drawn only if applications exceed the cap. One of the first-come routes is an overseas runners allocation of 100 marathon places, open to applicants resident outside Japan from July 31 at 10:00 JST to November 6 at 20:00 JST. Places are taken in order of application, so there is no draw and no result to wait for, and the window closes six weeks after the domestic general entry closes on September 24. The fee on this route is 20,000 yen. Applications go through the organizers' overseas entry site, which is linked from the official race site; the English guideline PDF hosted there still describes the 2025 edition, so use the dates and fees on this page rather than that document.

What does the Kitakyushu Marathon 2027 cost for an international entrant?

20,000 yen for the marathon via the overseas entry site, against 15,500 yen for a domestic entrant - a premium of 4,500 yen, roughly 29 percent. Domestic entrants also pay a separate 870 yen administrative charge, taking their total to 16,370 yen. The premium has grown quickly: for the February 2025 edition the two figures were 16,500 and 14,500 yen, a gap of 2,000 yen or about 14 percent. Optional extras are billed on top for everyone - the official T-shirt is 2,000 yen and is not included in the participant pack, and a nicknamed bib is 500 yen. For reference, the pair-relay marathon is 29,000 yen per two-person team and the 20.7 km event is 14,500 yen.

When does entry open and close for the 2027 race?

Entry opens for every route at 10:00 JST on Friday, July 31, 2026. Closing dates differ by route. The speed-runner ballot and the seeded route close on September 4 at 20:00; the general ballot, the Kitakyushu residents ballot and the domestic pre-shipping route close on September 24 at 20:00; and the hometown-tax, overseas and volunteer routes stay open until November 6 at 20:00. Lottery results are announced on October 16 and successful applicants must pay by October 30. Entry is online only, via computer, smartphone or tablet.

Is the 6-hour time limit generous?

Less than it looks. The limit is six hours but the guidelines specify it is measured from the gun, not from your own chip crossing, so a later start block eats into your allowance. The organizers also set the entry requirement at being able to finish within 5 hours 40 minutes, which is 8:03 per km - a full 28 seconds per km faster than the 8:31 pace a six-hour finish implies. The checkpoints tighten steadily, from 12:54 per km at 3.1 km to 8:32 per km at the 40 km checkpoint, and the closing 2.295 km after that checkpoint must be covered in 19 minutes, or 8:16 per km. Model your own splits with our Pace Calculator.

When is bib collection, and can I pick up on race morning?

There is no race-morning collection. Runner check-in runs on Saturday, February 20, from 9:00 to 20:00, at the Kitakyushu Messe complex, and the guidelines state that no check-in is held two days before the race or on race day. A proxy may collect on your behalf, with the procedure published in the race programme in late January. The pre-shipping option that lets domestic entrants skip check-in entirely is restricted to residents of Japan, so an international runner must plan to be in Kitakyushu on the Saturday. The bib voucher itself is emailed in mid-January to the address registered with the entry platform.

Is the course fast, and how much climbing is there?

It is genuinely flat. The organizers publish a profile chart rather than a total climb figure, and that chart is scaled 0-60 m with the only real rise being a high point of about 45 m around km 5-6; the rest of the route sits close to sea level, with the start and finish both near zero. What can cost you time is not gradient but exposure - the second half runs along the Kanmon Strait, where the median wind is 28.9 km/h and the 90th percentile reaches 40.4 km/h. Combine that with cool 8.8C average conditions and this is a course where a well-paced runner should hold form; set a realistic target with our Race Time Predictor.

Does a Kitakyushu Marathon time count for Boston?

Yes. The course is certified by both the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and AIMS, and the race is chip-timed, which satisfies the Boston Marathon requirement for a certified course and a verifiable result. Note that the finisher certificate is issued online only - the organizers do not print paper certificates - so save or export your result record when it becomes available. Check the standard for your age group with our Boston Qualifying Calculator before you commit to the trip.

How do I get to Kitakyushu and where does the race start?

The start line is outside Kitakyushu City Hall in Kokura, and the finish is a short distance away outside the Kitakyushu International Conference Center, so a single base near Kokura Station covers the whole weekend including Saturday check-in at Kitakyushu Messe. Kokura Station is a Sanyo Shinkansen stop, about 15 minutes from Hakata in Fukuoka, which makes Fukuoka Airport a practical arrival point for international runners; Kitakyushu Airport handles domestic services. There is no parking at the venue and the organizers ask participants to use public transport. Many nationalities can enter Japan visa-free for short tourist stays, but confirm the current rule for your own passport before booking.

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