うたぴょんスポーツThis one is not a race report, exactly. It is a scouting trip. The Saitama Marathon 2026, in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, has a Fun Run course, and a severe cold wave had just rolled into Japan right before it, so nobody was quite sure the event would even go ahead.
Uta is nine now, and before anything official happens she likes to go see the route for herself. So on February 7, 2026, we went out and ran the course as a trial, cold wave and all.
How the day went
It was properly cold. The kind of cold wave that makes the news, which is partly why the video title asks 'can they even hold it?' Saitama in February is already brisk, and this particular week pushed well past normal. Uta bundled up more than usual and we talked about pacing herself against the wind rather than the clock.
She was in good spirits even so. Test runs like this are something she enjoys, since it's low pressure, no bib number, no start gun, just her checking out where the turns are and where the course might get tough.
The test run itself
We walked and jogged the Fun Run course route together, section by section. There was no official result to report, since this was not the marathon itself but a preview of it, done ahead of race day. The point was to get a feel for the ground, the hills if there were any, and where the cold wind would hit hardest along the way.
It also happened to be a bit of a big week for her outside of running. She appeared briefly on the TV program Nステ alongside another young runner known online as Rungal-chan, which was a fun, unexpected bit of attention layered on top of an otherwise quiet training week.
What a parent took away from it
Running a course before the event, even just once, takes a lot of the mystery out of it for a kid. Uta knew the Saitama Marathon course was coming up, and walking it in advance meant race day would be about effort, not surprises.
The cold wave was the bigger lesson, honestly. We talked about layering, about warming up properly, and about the fact that sometimes events get moved or cancelled and that is simply part of outdoor sport, not a disappointment to dwell on. She currently sits 10th nationally in the 1000m for third-grade girls as of the 2024 school year, and none of that ranking matters if she catches a cold the week before a race. So for us, the next step is simple: stay warm, stay consistent, and see what the weather actually does before the real Saitama Marathon day arrives.
We will find out soon enough whether the marathon goes ahead as planned. Either way, Uta now knows the course, cold wave or not.
The video shows the full test run, course turns, cold-weather gear and all.