WATCH: Nara Marathon runners slow down for the cutest course crossing

The Nara Marathon, held in Nara City, Japan, served up the usual mix of big-race effort and postcard scenery on Sunday, with one very Nara twist: a few brief “deer delays.” Nara Park’s famous residents wandered onto the road and padded across in front of the runners, forcing a momentary slowdown. (Probably the only traffic you’ll smile at mid-race.)

タイミングよ🤣🤣🤣
奈良マラソン先頭選手にシカ🦌の横断！ pic.twitter.com/LodV4kJSvX

— cheer HAIRRELAXATION (@03201983mk) December 14, 2025

Why deer on the course isn’t that strange

If you’ve ever been to Nara Park, you know the deer aren’t exactly contained. The park is described as a vast green space where deer roam freely among temples and walking paths. On the official Nara Park site, the deer are described as wild, and designated as a Natural Monument, and they’re also cherished locally as “messengers of the gods.”

There are also a lot of them. Nara’s official travel guide puts the number at around 1,400 wild deer living around Nara Park. They’re actually Japanese sika deer–the same species found elsewhere in Japan, but Nara’s herd has its own long, managed history.

A race built around historic Nara

The Nara Marathon is staged across Nara City and Tenri City, and included a full marathon on Dec. 14, with other race options held over the weekend. The course leans hard into the setting, weaving in famous local landmarks and scenery. Organizers highlight locations like the Heijō Palace site as part of the route’s appeal.

When the deer wander across the marathon route in Nara, it doesn’t feel like a freak occurrence so much as a local rule—runners get the road—until they don’t. For a few seconds, pace goals and splits take a back seat to letting a small herd do what it wants, when it wants.