The is an annual
road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...
competition which takes place in early February in
Marugame,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It currently holds
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
Silver Label Road Race status and the professional races attract over 1000 entries each year,
[Ota, Shigenobu (2009-02-02)]
Marugame Half Marathon
ARRS. Retrieved on 2010-02-07. and hosted by the
Sankei Shimbun
The (short for ) is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', Seikyo Shimbun, ''Asah ...
,
Sankei Sports
is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper published by Sankei Shimbun. In 2014, it had a circulation of 1,270,000. The newspaper is known by its nickname .
Relating sports teams
* Kanto area - Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Nippon Professional Baseb ...
,
Okayama Broadcasting
Okayama Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (岡山放送株式会社) is a TV station broadcast in Okayama and Kagawa Prefectures. The abbreviation, OHK stands for Okayama Hoso K. K., the corporate name in romaji. It is a network affiliate of Fuji News Net ...
,
BS Fuji.
The race in Marugame was first held in 1947 as a full-length
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, known as the Kagawa Marathon. A companion 20 km race began in 1949 in addition to the scheduled marathon. The course lengths were gradually reduced over time: the main race lasted as a full marathon until 1961 when a 35 km race was held and the shorter race became a 10 km competition. The main race was again shortened in 1971, being reduced to a 20 km race. The competitions were known as the Kagawa Road Races until 1997, when the main race was slightly extended to the
half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...
distance and the competition received its current moniker.
[
Competitors in the professional races are largely Japanese athletes, supplemented by ]Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n athletes based in the country. In addition, a small number of foreign athletes are invited to compete each year. The level of competition is strong: Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
n runner Mekubo Mogusu
Mekubo Job Mogusu (born 25 December 1986) is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running, particularly the half marathon. An emigrant to Japan, he has won the Sapporo Half Marathon on three occasions and the Kagawa Marugame Ha ...
recorded a sub-60 minute time in 2007 for the men's course record (59:48), while the women's course record of 1:07:26, set by Kayoko Fukushi
is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000, 10,000 metres and marathon. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2013 World Championships in ...
in 2006, is the Asian record for the half marathon. The course is AIMS-certified making performances at the course eligible for national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
s.
The course of the half marathon is largely linear, beginning at the Marugame Stadium
is a multi-purpose stadium in Marugame, Kagawa, Japan, formally called ''Kagawa Marugame Stadium''. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 30,099 people. The stadium was built in 1997.
It was formerly known as Kag ...
and heading eastwards before abruptly looping back to follow the same path back towards the finish point within the stadium.Course Map
. Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
Past winners
Early distances
Key:
Half marathon
Key:
Statistics
*''Note: All statistics apply to international half marathon only''
Winners by country
Multiple winners
See also
*
Tokyo Marathon
The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro.
H ...
*
Osaka International Ladies Marathon
The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai T ...
(
Osaka Women's Marathon)
*
Sankei Shimbun
The (short for ) is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', Seikyo Shimbun, ''Asah ...
- daily newspaper in Japan
*
Okayama Broadcasting
Okayama Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (岡山放送株式会社) is a TV station broadcast in Okayama and Kagawa Prefectures. The abbreviation, OHK stands for Okayama Hoso K. K., the corporate name in romaji. It is a network affiliate of Fuji News Net ...
.
*
Fujisankei Communications Group
, abbreviated FCG, is a keiretsu in Japan. In 1991, it was the fourth-largest media company in the world and the largest one in Japan. In the same year, the company's yearly revenue was $5 billion. Many of its affiliates are owned by Fuji Med ...
- Sankei Shimbun and
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
, the largest
media conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...
in Japan
References
External links
Official website
{{Fuji Television Networks
Half marathons
Road running competitions in Japan
Recurring sporting events established in 1947
Fujisankei Communications Group
Sports competitions in Kagawa Prefecture
Marugame, Kagawa