Marathon Route Passing through Akihabra, Ginza, Tokyo Station Area at 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, September 16, 2024

Marathon athletes will run a course that passes through Akihabara, Ginza and the Tokyo Station area at the World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo next September, according to an announcement on Saturday by the body behind the event.

The women’s marathon on Sep. 14 and the men’s on Sep. 15 will take place along the announced course, many parts of which are the same as the course used in last October’s Marathon Grand Championship, the qualifier for the Paris Olympics.

With the start and finish line located at the Japan National Stadium, the runners will pass through the Tokyo Dome area toward Jimbocho, completing two laps of the 13-kilometer circuit, which covers various areas including Akihabara and Ginza. On the final leg of the journey after passing Jimbocho, a long uphill stretch awaits, which will likely be a make-or-break part of the race.

The routes for the race walk events run along a circuit and include such areas as a ginkgo tree-lined avenue at Meijijingu Gaien. The 35-kilometer race walk events for men and women are scheduled for Sep. 13, while the 20-kilometer race walk events will take place on Sep. 20.