Tokyo Great Race 250km

Event Overview

Course & Terrain

A single-stage road circuit of Tokyo. Runners check in at the Eitai District Community Hall in Koto City, start at Kiba Park and finish back at the hall. The route reaches Musashi-Itsukaichi, where the 124 km race ends, then returns through parks and along rivers to Koto City.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Tomioka Hachimangu, Kameido Tenjin, Tokyo Skytree and Kaminarimon
• Sumida River Terrace, the former Harumi railway bridge, Toyosu and Odaiba
• Gundam Plaza and Rainbow Bridge
• The old Tokaido road, the Tama River, Tama New Town, Machida and Takao
• Musashi-Itsukaichi, end of the 124 km race
• Tamagawa Aqueduct greenway, Koganei Park, Inokashira Park and Hikarigaoka Park
• The Arakawa and Ayase rivers, Mizumoto Park, the Edogawa River and Kasai Rinkai Park

The route uses city streets, the Tamagawa Aqueduct greenway, park paths and riverside routes along the Tama, Arakawa, Ayase and Edogawa rivers. DUV classes it as a road race, and SportsEntry tags the course as low in climbing. Runners must obey traffic rules throughout.

Entry & Logistics

Why This Race Matters

The Tokyo Great Race is a run around Tokyo Metropolis on foot. The running group Yururan@Arukōkai (ゆるラン＠あるこう会), based in Funabashi, Chiba, organized the first edition in 2020 and still runs the race. The first edition and the 2025 edition both started and finished at Oruri no Ie in Hachioji; in 2025 the course circled Tokyo clockwise. The 2026 edition moves the start and finish to Koto City and adds a new opening section past Tokyo Skytree, Kaminarimon, Odaiba and Rainbow Bridge.

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Fastest men’s times in DUV’s results: Shuji Ikeda, 29:28:27 on the 252 km course in 2021, and 30:48:16 in 2024 (EL wave). DUV also lists him at 22:08:59 in 2025, more than seven hours faster than any other time for the race; no organizer result confirms it.
• Fastest women’s time in DUV: Yumiko Mukoyama, 32:10:36, 2024 (EL wave)
• All past times were set on earlier courses of 250–252 km. The 2026 course is new and 244 km.

Preparing for a Race Like Tokyo Great Race 250km

The fixed-distance race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Walking strategy for ultramarathons: When and how to walk by terrain, effort and cutoffs.
• Crew and aid-station strategy: Crew tables, aid stops, drop bags and runner preferences.
• Hydration and sodium for ultramarathons: Fluid, sodium, thirst, sweat rate and hyponatremia risk.
• Tapering for ultramarathons: Plan the taper and race week around your own recovery.

Best Fit

• Road ultrarunners with a 100 km finish under 14 hours and experience running through the night
• Runners who want to see Tokyo’s landmarks, rivers and parks on foot in a single push

Planning Notes

• Prepare for sleep decisions, weather swings, and aid-station discipline. The distance is only one part of a multi-day fixed-distance race.
• Repetitive surfaces can expose fit, friction, and loading problems. Check in when symptoms or conditions change, and use only footwear already tested for the course.
• The directory does not mark this as having simpler logistics. Confirm qualification, terrain, support, registration, medical, and withdrawal requirements before planning around it.
• Required gear: two or more headlamps or handheld lights, two or more blinking rear lights, a reflector, a spare phone battery, a copy of the map (a copy downloaded to a phone is accepted) and a waterproof jacket that keeps out the cold.
• Runners who finish up to 30 minutes after the 48-hour limit get a record certificate but no finisher plaque. Later finishes are not recorded.
• Littering or breaking the toilet rules means immediate disqualification.
• The entry page and organizer contacts are in Japanese only.

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Open the Fixed-Distance format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Plan checkpoint arrivals and cutoff buffers
• Print a pace band for your goal time
• Estimate race calories and plan fueling
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist