Overview

The moment you leave the city center, another Hiroshima rises: ridgelines folding into the horizon, deep forest, mountain shrines, and rivers braiding their way to the sea. Between the peaks, your route passes through country towns, and from the high ground the view opens over Hiroshima Bay — islands scattered near and far across the Seto Inland Sea. Few ultras start and finish in the heart of a great city — here you run from the streets straight into the mountains, and back. This is a city that chose to rebuild as a place of peace, and the run carries that spirit, returning along the Peace Line, the axis that joins the Cenotaph to the A-bomb Dome.

Join us for the first-ever Hiroshima Ultra-Trail by UTMB® — and discover an iconic city that welcomes runners from Japan and around the world.

Hiroshima is a city that embodies its message of peace to the world and has overcome great hardship, rebuilding itself through the strength of its people. Hiroshima’s journey mirrors the spirit of trail running itself — continually moving forward, one step at a time, in the face of challenge.

Through this race, you'll experience the full richness of Hiroshima with every step: beautiful mountains, stunning views of the Seto Inland Sea, history, culture, and the warmth of its people.

Hiroshima is easily accessible from within Japan and overseas, making it an ideal destination for an international trail running trip. Before or after your race, explore our World Heritage sites and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, and experience the history and culture unique to this region. A rich food culture — oysters, okonomiyaki, and more — along with the bounty of the area and some of the best sake Japan has to offer, will add color to your journey.

The connections you make here will become treasures of their own. Runners gathered from around the world, local residents, volunteers, and staff — the friendships and memories you build along the way are part of what makes this race unforgettable.

More than just a race, Hiroshima Ultra-Trail by UTMB® will be an experience that stays with you long after you cross the finish line. Come not just to run, but to immerse yourself in the culture of Hiroshima, get to know its people, and discover why so many fall in love with this unique city.

Every runner who takes on this challenge will help write the history of this race, and this is a chance to be part of the very first chapter.

We look forward, with all our hearts, to welcoming you here in Hiroshima.

Hiroshima Ultra-Trail by UTMB®
Race Organizer, Mitsukuni Bunyu

I feel truly honored and deeply proud to welcome the UTMB World Series to my hometown of Hiroshima.

I set out to design a course I've designed that lets you experience what makes Hiroshima Hiroshima to the fullest. Starting and finishing in downtown Hiroshima, the route seamlessly connects the city and the mountains in a way that I'm confident is genuinely unique, both in Japan and internationally.

The 100K weaves between city and mountain, letting runners feel the everyday rhythm of life in Hiroshima while facing steep, demanding climbs and descents — a course that will truly test you. The 50K distills the best of Hiroshima's trails into one satisfying route. The 25K is designed so that even beginners can take on the challenge with confidence and aim for a strong finish. In every category, runners will be treated to beautiful views of the Hiroshima cityscape and the Seto Inland Sea from the summits and viewpoints along the course.

I ran UTMB myself in 2024, and I was deeply moved by the sense of unity among athletes — crossing lines of gender, age, nationality, and culture — all moving toward a single goal.

If this race can become a stage that connects not just runner to runner, but Hiroshima to the world, and if the time spent here allows even a small chance to reflect on what peace truly means, there would be no greater joy for me as Course Director of Hiroshima Ultra-Trail by UTMB®.

I look forward to sharing the mountains I run with my friends and training partners with trail runners from Japan and around the world.

Hiroshima Ultra-Trail by UTMB® Course Director
Shigeyuki Oda