神戸マラソン
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Nov 15, 2026
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The Kobe Marathon is a mass-participation marathon through Kobe, on the Seto Inland Sea coast, held on a Sunday in November. The first race was run on 20 November 2011 under the theme 'Gratitude and Friendship', which expresses thanks for the support Kobe received after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and about 20,000 runners take part each year. The 2026 race, on 15 November, starts in front of Kobe City Hall at 09:00 (second wave 09:15), runs west along the coast through Suma and Maiko to a turnaround near Okura Beach in Akashi and finishes at Kobe Harborland on Kobe Gas Lamp Street. This course has been used since the 2025 race, and it is certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and by World Athletics and AIMS. The time limit is seven hours from the first gun and the event closes at 16:00. A relay run for pairs takes place on the same day. The 2026 marathon belongs to the MGC Series 2026-27 (men's G2, women's G3). At the start a choir sings 'Shiawase hakoberu yo ni', and runners traditionally raise yellow gloves, a nod to the sunflower that symbolises recovery.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
In mid-November Kobe averages a daytime high of about 17-18°C and a low of about 11°C, with measurable rain on roughly six days of the month; the race starts at 09:00.
The Race
Kobe
The first Kobe Marathon took place on 20 November 2011, eight months after the Great East Japan earthquake, with about 20,000 runners in the marathon and more than 2,000 in the quarter marathon. Its theme, 'Gratitude and Friendship', carries Kobe's thanks to those in Japan and abroad who supported its recovery from the 1995 earthquake. People affected by the Tohoku disaster were invited to run.
At the start in front of Kobe City Hall, a choir sings 'Shiawase hakoberu yo ni', a song on the theme of recovery from the 1995 earthquake, and runners put on yellow gloves and raise them to the sky. The yellow recalls the sunflower, the symbol of Kobe's recovery.
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