This was my first international marathon. if anyone has run this, can you tell me how or if i can get pictures. Other marathons offer pictures to purchase after the event. I'm sad I have no pictures. Thank you.

I was one of only a handful of non-Japanese in this marathon, and not even a Japan resident, but I felt thoroughly welcome every step of the way. The crowd support was unbelievable, vocal and enthusiastic.
Most things I needed to know were easy to figure out, like the bus to the expo and the train to the start line. I stayed at the Sunroute Hotel which was convenient and a reasonable price. The restaurants near the station are good and handle foreigners well.
Altogether a great experience.

This was my first international marathon. It was hot. I even got a sunburn. Am I the only one who thinks this was not a flat and fast course? There were so many inclines which I wasn't expecting. But, overall it was a wonderful experience. The quietest and most conservative start I have ever been in. The people in Nagano are so nice. But, I could not figure out my time or placement.

Flat course, beautiful scenery in the background, an enthusiastic and supportive crowd lining the course, sufficient fueling stations and an epic finish in the olympic stadium makes Nagano the perfect destination to run a marathon. I ran a personal best and my first Boston qualifying time in the 2012 race and had such an incredible time that I am now debating whether to pursue my dream to run in Boston in 2013 or return to Nagano for a second straight year.

I'm not usually the foreigner who complains about people not being able to speak my language. However, when I had to drop out at the 30K-point due to a blown knee, I realized that none of the volunteers or medical staff could speak English (or any language other than Japanese). It took some high-level charades skills for me to convey the message that I needed to drop out - the first time I tried to alert volunteers/medical staff to my problem, they gave me some cold spray and shoved me on my way.

Then, when I finally conveyed the message, I was brought to a medical tent where I pantomimed to the Japanese-speaking medical official that I had hurt my knee and could not finish. He taped it up which solved the problem for the time being, so I have no personal complaints.

However, if someone happens to suffer from a more severe medical condition, such as a heart attack or hyponatremia (which is often confused with dehydration, with deadly results), I would be very concerned for their safety if they do not speak Japanese. There are a number of Cantonese speakers as well (being so close to Hong Kong), so I'd suggest that the race needs English, Cantonese and Japanese speakers for their medical staff.

That is the only complaint. However, since it is a complaint which, in the case of someone else, might mean the difference between life and death (or proper immediate care and improper immediate care), I cannot recommend this marathon to anyone who does not speak Japanese.

It also was very hot, about 25 degrees CELSIUS at the tail end of the race (and this is coming from a 3-hour marathoner). I understand that this was the hottest that the race has been in its 11-year history, but this is another argument to start the race at 7 a.m. and not 8:30. I was already feeling warm at 8:30 in my sports bra and shorts. While organizers can't control the weather, they can control the time the race starts. It is not humid, so early morning temperatures are quite pleasant and runners would rather run early than run hot!

This is a quality marathon, with 200 people breaking three hours.

The course is almost completely flat, but it is also exposed (which means it can be windy) and not particularly pretty until the end when there is some nice scenery. There are plenty of fans pretty much everywhere, yelling, "Gambate" ("do your best").

The race is very well organized in the sense that things happen as and when planned. No problem getting registered, to the start or home from the finish, and your bag will be at the finish waiting for you.

On the other hand, there is really no excuse for starting the race at 8:30 a.m. rather than, say, 7 a.m. And, there was very little to drink at the finish line. Grab a second bottle of sports drink before leaving the immediate finish area, or you will not get any more liquid until you buy it!

Aid stations along the way were sufficient: sports drink, water and bananas every few miles.

Split times are at 5K intervals and the halfway point. There are markers, but not times, at each 1K. There are also signs at each 1K to go in the race, starting at 5K to go. No mile splits or markers.

The seeding at the start is poor. Runners from a Japanese club or association apparently get automatic seeding in the first 1,000 places, even though they may be four-hour marathoners. Foreigners seem to get intermediate treatment - they go in the second bin, regardless of time. That is great if you run four hours, but if you run three hours, you are starting behind a lot of slower runners.

Foreigners also get a few other freebies, including an invite to the "farewell party," which was fun to watch and included decent food and drink.

Just completed the Nagano Marathon, which I selected as my first international marathon after reading reviews here.

As stated, the course is relatively flat. There are some longer ups and downs, but nothing too tough. There was a decent headwind in the last 5 miles that was probably less severe in reality but magnified in my mind by it happening at mile 21. I finished 4 minutes off of my PR of 3:19 (but 13 ahead of my previous 2nd best time - 3:36 at MCM).

Organization was super. There was a specific registration table for international participants (about 200 this year of the 6,500 in the race; and 65 of the 200 were in one group from Taiwan). Racers are grouped in corrals to the start that seem to relate to expected finishing times. Instructions and announcements are in Japanese (of course) and English.

Food along the way is readily available. Post-race food was light (a yummy rice and seaweed packet) and a sports drink. There is a festival where you can buy food. You get a finisher's towel (no medal for non-winners). The people were great. Bag recovery was easy and quick. Ample toilets along the way (mostly in the various Olympic stadiums that are part of the course).

We stayed outside Nagano in Hakuba at an inn where the manager was also running the race, which was very nice. It's an hour by bus into town, but it's worth it to be in the mountains. The town itself has a nice, old temple to see and tons of great soba (Japanese pasta) restaurants.

You couldn't ask for a better marathon to run. I came to Japan to to get to Boston. With all the support of the the Japanese crowds I finally qualified for Boston at age 58. The course is flat and fast, and the weather for the last two years has been perfect. ARIGATO, Japan!

We did the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon at the end of our vacation to Japan, and it was one of the best things we did there! Nagano is great city - much smaller than Tokyo obviously, but very relaxed, foreigner-friendly and pretty, with plenty to see and do. The marathon was extremely well organized; also, the website and all pre-race instructions were clearly explained in English, so we had no trouble booking a hotel, registering, or getting to the start line. The course itself was a great way to see Nagano: we ran through the city for about half of the marathon; the other half was through pear and apple orchards, along a river and with the Japanese alps in the background. The sakura trees were also still in near full bloom. The spectator support was fantastic, with people completely lining the streets in the city, and frequent spectators even in the more rural areas. The course was flat and easy, making for a fast race (unless you are exhausted from sightseeing for 10 days beforehand, like we were!). The weather was gorgeous: sunny, about 40F at the start and 60F at the end. I would love to go back to Japan and run this race again, and would highly recommend it to any runner who is visiting Japan, or happens to be in Japan.

The race started out in the city with lots of cheering people on both sides of the street. There were whole youth baseball teams in uniform cheering as well as elderly people all saying, "Fight - go - ganbate!" There were plenty of well spaced water stops and lots of staff to assist runners that could not make it. The finish had tyco drummers and even more cheering people. Good course + great weather + nice people = great race!