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 is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,541 in 46101 households and a population density of 970 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Marugame is located in north-ce ...

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 Fuji Network System (known in Japan as simply , FNS) is a Japanese television network operated by Fuji Television Network, Inc., part of the Fujisankei Communications Group. FNS distributes entertainment and other non-news television programmes t ...

. 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 Hal ...

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

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