Osaka Marathon 42.195km Buffet Marathon Review

Hello, I'm a 10-year veteran runner <span>#RunningHaeyoung</span>. I recently participated in the Osaka Marathon, famous for its <span>#BuffetMarathon</span>, and I'd like to share my experience with you, hoping it will help you if you're considering the Osaka Marathon in 2026. ㅎㅎ

You probably know about the Osaka Marathon, or Buffet Marathon, through <span>#Miusae</span>. I finished the race in 4 hours and 1 minute, enjoying the buffet along the way.

The Osaka Marathon expo indicated what food would be available from around the 35km mark, although I think it actually started around 30km. However, if you just walk, you'll get cut off, so you need to aim for a sub-4 finish to properly enjoy the food (?).

I remember karaage (Japanese fried chicken), tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet), white chocolate, inari sushi (sushi rice in fried tofu pouches), pickled ginger (rakkyo), croissants, chocolate bars, and kimbap (Korean seaweed rice rolls), among other things.

For most of the food, you start walking to eat, and if you try to run while eating, you might not be able to eat much. ㅎㅎㅎ

It was a bit ambiguous whether the course was ideal for running. The distance was about 0.5km longer than expected, and there were many turns, making it difficult to achieve a personal best (PB). However, the lack of elevation (only about one uphill section) might make achieving a PB possible.

- Mostly clean, enthusiastic support everywhere - Start time strictly enforced. No late entries. - Different gathering points for different groups (abc, def) - Generous 7-hour cut-off time - Cheerful spectators, no collisions with runners - Ample water and food; didn't even need my two power gels. - However, baggage storage in a large gymnasium-like area led to long lines due to disorganized queues. - Even sub-3 runners reported about a 1-hour wait for baggage retrieval (including walking time). - They gave out towels at the end, which was great because it was so cold.

If I go again, I'll get a hotel nearby to avoid baggage issues and make it perfect.

For detailed video, please refer to the <span>#RunningHaeyoung</span> YouTube channel.