The PSS Imperial Palace Health Running is a practice race held at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. It starts and finishes near the Clock Tower, inside Sakuradamon Gate. The program, held on a Sunday morning in June, includes 5 km, 10 km, 20 km, and a 20 km relay. Most solo entries cost 1,000 yen, and the relay is 4,000 yen. It welcomes beginners and experienced runners alike. Timing is done manually with a stopwatch and printer, not a chip system.
The race follows the standard Imperial Palace loop, allowing participants to use it for structured training, fitness assessment, or marathon preparation. Feedback highlights its affordability, emphasis on lap times, and organizer support before the start. The event offers notable flexibility: late arrivals, same-day registration, distance changes on the day, finishing early without penalty, and even creating custom distances are permitted. Cutoff times apply to longer distances. The event will be canceled in case of rain or snow. All participants receive an award, typically via email.