Echigo Country Trail set for 21 June!

Echigo Country Trail has become a classic event in our Asia Trail Master Championship series as it has been a points race since 2016. The colourful 53km race in the Oguni Forest Park outside Nagaoka in Niigata has also grown in the Japanese trail scene itself with over one thousand participants in the last two seasons. The 2020 edition will build onto the success of the past five years and is set for its traditional weekend on 20/21 June.

Echigo Country Trail will, naturally, appeal to the faster trail runner, but sometimes those also get a small shock during the race. The course is not as easy as it may look on paper. Some of the forest climbs are very steep and even have ropes for those who need. The elevation profile is well-balanced with the final big bump coming after km 41.

The event is known for the enthusiastic support it receives from the local community around Nagaoka. For those coming from outside the country, Echigo offers a fine glimpse of rural life in Japan. This is emphasised when you stay in the traditional guesthouses or join the communal bathhouse. A welcoming show in the local town hall on Saturday afternoon is another feature participants have come to appreciate a lot. As a result, the opening ceremony now has a separate registration process that will be launched in May. The reason: there’s just too many runners now who join Echigo. This comes highly recommended and we will remind runners of this add-on come May.

To get to the Echigo Country Trail, you need to make your way to Tokyo or to Niigata directly. A few countries in Asia have direct flights to Niigata. Otherwise, it’s easy from Tokyo as well. Take the shinkansen to Nagaoka. There you could book accommodation, too. Shuttle services are foreseen between Nagaoka and the event venue at the Oguni Park.

New in 2020 is also that after five years, Hiroaki Matsunaga has left Echigo and no other than Yuta Matsuyama, who won Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand last August and has run Echigo several times himself, is now the new race director of the event.

The race registration is now open. Note that only the 53km is valid for ATM Championship points.

Yuta Matsuyama, winner of UT Chiang Mai last year, is the new race director of Echigo Country Trail