Japan hosts several well-known and well-loved races all year round but this is one truly colourful and profoundly humanitarian initiative. Aiming to help people develop a deeper understanding of charitable activities, the Osaka Marathon encourages race participants, and even supporters on the sidelines and volunteers, to participate in various charity programs.

On top of entry fees, participants are asked to donate at least two units or more as a condition of entry, one unit being 500 JPY. You will be able to select the charity colour(s) representing the charity theme and activities of the charitable organisation you wish to support: Red—to support your hopes to live, Orange—to assist your dreams, Yellow—to support families, Green—to conserve our natural environment, Light blue—to provide clean water, Navy—to brighten children's future, and Purple—to preserve the beautiful Osaka city. Check out their charity page on their website to find out more.

To top that off, the organisers have upped the game even further with a Nanairo (Rainbow Colour) Team Competition. Here's how it works: All participating marathon runners will be divided into seven teams. The team with the best average time among all finishers will be the winner. 500 runners randomly drawn among the finishers of the winning team will be given priority application places for the Osaka Marathon 2016.

Happening on Sunday, 25 October 2015, the 2015 Osaka Marathon is expecting a staggering 30,000 marathoners—including 1,000 city athletes, 30 wheelchair athletes and 350 charity runners—and 2,000 runners in the 8.8km Challenge Run.

The grand sporting event will kick off at 8:55 a.m. with the wheelchair race, followed by the Marathon and Challenge Run at 9:00 a.m. Both marathoners and challenge runners will flag off at the exquisite Osaka Castle Park, nestled in the city centre. The marathon course, which is certified by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) and the Japan Association of Athletics Federations for the Disabled (JAAFD), will finish at INTEX Osaka, the Registration Expo. The Challenge Run will follow this course and end at Osaka City Hall.

The overall top eight male and female marathoners will be commended respectively, as will the male and female runners finishing in first place who are Osaka residents, JAAF members and general participants. The leading three male and female runners in each five-year age bracket will be awarded as well. Of course, not forgetting, the best charity runner who has raised the most donations will also be commended.

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Entry fees are 10,800 JPY for the marathon and 5,400 JPY for the Challenge Run.

To raise funds for charity, Nanairo (Rainbow Colour) Charity T-shirts, caps and personalised number cards will be available for purchase upon successful race registration. For 4,000 JPY, you can choose any of seven different T-shirt designs and rest assured that 2,000 JPY excluding production costs will be directly donated. Newly launched this year, the adjustable caps in various colours are priced at 2,000 JPY and, likewise, a portion of these sales excluding production costs will be given to charity, too.

Find out more and sign up online with a Guaranteed-Race-Entry Package with Crest Travel & Tours Pte Ltd.