Minami Aso Caldera Trail 2026
The 18 km category starts and finishes at the Aspecta outdoor theater. It climbs onto the southern rim of the Aso caldera at Komagaeshi Pass, crosses Mt. Oya and descends from the Jizo Pass aid station back to Aspecta in a single loop, with about 1,000 m of climbing. Men start separately from women and pairs.
The course tops out at 1,232 m (low point 519 m). The main climb comes right from the start: 664 m around 0–10 km. Only about 20% is gentle (under 5% grade); most of it is climbing or descending. In 2025, 98% of starters finished. The median finish was about 3 h.
Predict your finish from your ITRA index
Enter your ITRA performance index to get your finish time, aid-station splits and cutoff margins from the results of 40 finishers of this race — the same model as the TRAIL STATUS app. Nothing is saved or sent.
The app adds predictions from your training log (Strava), race-day pacing and more. Free, no sign-up.
Predict in detail from my Strava trainingOverview
- Date
- Sat, 19 Dec 2026
- Start
- 08:00
- Location
- Kumamoto, Japan
- Distance
- 18 km
- Elevation gain
- 1,000 m
- Time limit
- 7h 30m
- ITRA
- H
- Official website
- local-gain.com/minamiaso_trail/winter/about.html
Elevation profile
Aid stations and cutoffs
| # | Distance | Aid station | Segment | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 km | Aid 1W1 給水（駒返峠手前） | 5 km | — |
| 2 | 12 km | Aid 2A1 地蔵峠（関門） | 7 km | 14:306h 30m |
| F | 18 km | FinishFINISH（アスペクタ） | 6 km | 15:307h 30m |
The small figure under each cutoff is the time from the start.
Registration
- Registration
- Fri, 19 Jun 2026 – Sun, 20 Sep 2026
- Entry
- First come, first served
Add the race in the app to put registration opening and closing and the lottery results into your calendar.
2025 results
327 starters, 322 finishers (98.5% finish rate). Finish times of those who finished:
- Fastest
- 1h 50m
- Top 10%
- 2h 39m
- Top 25%
- 3h 2m
- Median
- 3h 25m
- Top 75%
- 3h 53m
- Top 90%
- 4h 24m
- Last finisher
- 5h 25m
"Top 25%" means one in four finishers had crossed the line by this time.
Years with a different course or different cutoffs are not directly comparable.
Other races
- ASO VOLCANO 114 km 2026Sat, 9 May 2026 · Kumamoto, Japan · 114 km
- ASO VOLCANO TRAIL Short 32km 2026Sat, 9 May 2026 · Kumamoto, Japan · 32 km
- SWAN AND WOLF 70K 2026Sat, 14 Nov 2026 · Kumamoto, Japan · 70 km
- Minami Aso Caldera Trail 50 km 2026Sat, 19 Dec 2026 · Kumamoto, Japan · 50 km
- Minami Aso Caldera Trail 32 km 2026Sat, 19 Dec 2026 · Kumamoto, Japan · 32 km
- ONAGAWA 100 TRAILS 16km 2026Sat, 7 Mar 2026 · Miyagi, Japan · 16 km
From your training log, TRAIL STATUS estimates your finish time, aid-station splits and cutoff margins for this race.
Predict my raceCompiled from each race's official information. Details can change, so always check the race's official website for the latest. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us through the contact form.
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