The was a

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 ...

race held in Otsu, Shiga,

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 was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)
Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown

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 ...

. Retrieved on 2010-03-08. It was first held in 1946 and, having taken place every year since then, it was Japan's oldest annual marathon race.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-05)
Course record in jeopardy at Lake Biwa Marathon? - Preview

. Retrieved on 2010-03-08. The early editions of the race were held in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

until a switch to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

occurred for the 1963–64 marathons, and all subsequent races thereafter were held in

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

, starting in

Ōtsu file:Otsu City Hall.JPG, 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total a ...

fronting

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

, where the race received its name. It was sponsored by Mainichi and was known simply as the Mainichi Marathon for a period.Biwa-ko Mainichi Marathon

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2010-02-08. The final race was held in 2021. The race began and ended at the

Ojiyama Stadium is an athletic stadium in Ōtsu City, Japan. External linksŌtsu city parks and greenery associationOjiyama sport park Athletics (track and field) venues in Japan Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Sports venues in Sh ...

. The Lake Biwa Marathon was selected as the Japanese national marathon championships on dozens of occasions, starting in 1960. The course record for the competition was 2:04:56 hours, set by at the final 2021 edition. The 2021 race was also noteworthy for having 29 runners finish in under 2:09:00 and 42 runners finish under 2:10:00. The race was merged into the

Osaka Marathon The is an annual marathon road running event for non-elite men and elite and non-elite women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held in late October in the city of Osaka, Japan. There is also a "challenge run" with a dis ...

by the JAAF. The elite men's race at the Osaka Marathon for 2022 was designated by officials as the 77th Annual Lake Biwa Marathon, while the other races were billed as the Osaka Marathon.

Winners

Key:

Samuel Ndungu san at the 2015 Lake Biwa Marathon

Statistics

Winners by country

Multiple winners

Qualifications

The runners needed to meet both of the following requirements, or have a special recommendation from the JAAF, to enter the competition. 1, The runner must be at least 19 years old on the day of competition. 2, The runner should have achieved one of the following time within two years from the date of the competition. *(1)Marathon: 2 hours 30 minutes or less *(2)Half Marathon: 1 hour 10 minutes or less *(3)30km: 1 hour 40 minutes or less *(4)20km: 1 hour 5 minutes or less *(5)10000m: 31 minutes or less

References

External links

*
Marathoninfo - Lake Biwa Marathon
{{IAAF Gold Label Marathons in Japan Recurring sporting events established in 1946 Sport in Shiga Prefecture Men's marathons