Echigo Country Trail 2017 opens registration

The 2017 edition of the Echigo Country Trail in Oguni Forest Park, near Nagaoka in Niigata, Japan, takes place on the weekend of 17 and 18 June. This colourful race counts 53 kilometers and a substantial 2500 metres of elevation gain that are often quite steep as well. The entire event receives the kind support of the local communities in this countryside area of Japan that international runners otherwise seldom get to experience. The local online registration has already opened and there is also the possibility for international runners to register using PayPal. 

Registration via Japanese site (PayPal payment) 

You can check our Tale of the Trail on our cover page, and you can watch the below video to get an idea of what this colourful Japanese race is all about. There's a substantial part of road in the 53 km as well, but the experienced organiser Hiroaki Matsunaga has announced his intention to reduce the stretches of tarmac and use as much trail and offroad as possible to connect between villages. As such, the total race distance and course map may still be altered somewhat come next spring.