Where every woman has a starring role

Positioned as a trial for the national team for the Olympics and the World Championships, the World Athletics Platinum label road race is one of the world’s leading all-women marathons. Top-flight female elite athletes from home and abroad compete. It is also a beginner-friendly event that welcomes many amateur and fun runners; with a time limit of seven hours it is a perfect race for first-time marathon runners.

Nagoya is conveniently located in the centre of Japan with a major international airport. The race course takes runners to the centre of the city, including the historical Nagoya Castle. The course is mostly flat and the streets are wide, making it very easy to run and finish with a good time. The start and finish are both at Vantelin Dome Nagoya, a baseball stadium, which sends off and welcomes back the runners with spectacular concert-like music and lighting. It is not a typical marathon venue, as often remarked upon by visitors, and that is the Nagoya Women’s Marathon style. On race weekend the Marathon Expo is held in the Dome, where sports manufacturers and other exhibitors display their products and provide services, attracting many visitors. Local gourmet foods are also available and add extra excitement to the festive atmosphere.

The competition also features a virtual marathon race using a smartphone app, which allows participation from anywhere in the world without the hustle of traveling all the way to Japan.

To all runners who have crossed the finish line, a beautiful crystal tumbler from Baccarat, the French luxury lifestyle brand celebrating its 260th anniversary, will be presented. It will be a “trophy” to congratulate finishers on their accomplishment and when runners receive it smiles and tears will fill their eyes and joy will spread around.

Runners start the race with their own goals, aiming to complete the marathon. They work so hard and keep pushing themselves to their limits until they finally reach the finish line, supported by family, friends, spectators, and volunteers. On race day each and every woman runner becomes the “star,” who plays the leading role in their own story in the marathon. The Nagoya Women’s Marathon wishes to be a special page in the lifetime of their memories.