Mt. Fuji International Marathon, live.

Two lakes under Mount Fuji in December

The Mt. Fuji International Marathon is a December weekend of road running around Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi.

The 2026 race is the 15th under the name Mt. Fuji International Marathon (Fujisan Marathon in Japanese). It grew out of the Kawaguchiko Marathon, first run in 1976, and the organiser counts this as the 51st edition in all. Racing takes place on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026, with the start and finish at the Funatsuhama Hirahama car park in Fujikawaguchiko.

The marathon starts at 9:00 on Sunday on a course certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations that runs around Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko. The time limit is 6 hours, measured from the gun, with six checkpoints on the way, and entrants must be 18 or older. The organiser notes one well known steep hill, but says the shores of both lakes are basically flat, and the course lies inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park with views of Mount Fuji along the way.

Shorter options fill the rest of the weekend. The Lake Kawaguchi loop of about 17 km starts at 10:30 on Sunday with a 3 hour limit. The Charity Fun Run of about 10.5 km starts at 9:20 from Oike Park, and 223 yen of each entry goes to the town fund that protects Mount Fuji as a World Cultural Heritage site. On Saturday the Zekkei Run offers 4 km at 8:40 and 8 km, two laps of the same lakeside course, at 8:30, and the Fuji View Walk of about 4 km sets off at 12:00.

The mix suits first timers on the short courses and marathon runners who want a late season race with a mountain backdrop. Expect a cold morning in December. Supporters can watch at the start and finish area at Funatsuhama, and the marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors age group ranking for runners aged 40 and over.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the Mt. Fuji International Marathon.