The was an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which took place each July in Sapporo, Japan. First held in 1958, the race began as a full

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 ...

competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. This lasted until 1973, as it was replaced with a shorter race of 30 km in 1974 and became known as the Times 30K. A women's programme was introduced in 1981, at which point the men's 30 km race was complemented with a women's 20 km. The women's race was slightly extend to the half marathon distance in 1986 and the men's race followed suit the following year. The road racing competition was known as the Sapporo Half Marathon from 1990 onwards. The race had a strictly looped course in the city of Sapporo which doubled back on itself, having Maruyama Stadium as the start and end point. The competition was broadcast live on national television each year via Nihon TV. The course was certified by

AIMS AIMS or Aims may refer to: Education * Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India * Adventist International Mission School, Muak Lek, Thailand * African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cape Town, South Afric ...

and the

Japanese Association of Athletics Federations The is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Japan. Presidents *Ryōzō Hiranuma (1929–1958) *Hiroshi Kasuga (1958–1964) *Ichirō Kōno (1965) *Kenzō Kōno (1965–1975) *Hanji Aoki (1975–1999) * Yōhei Kōno (1999–20 ...

.Race Summary
. Sapporo Television Broadcasting. Retrieved on 2010-07-23. The competition doubled up to act as the national selection race for the

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake. The Kenyan ...

. The Japanese Olympic marathon champion

Mizuki Noguchi is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance. Initially starting out as a track and cross country athlete, her first major success was becoming the Asian c ...

set a women's course record of 1:08:14 in 2006. Kenya's Mekubo Mogusu is the only runner to finish the course in under an hour, with his men's course record set in 2007 standing at 59 minutes and 54 seconds. Four athletes won the race on three separate occasions: Mogusu,

Stephen Mayaka Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...

and Juma Ikangaa on the men's side, and Catherine Ndereba on the women's side. Following the withdrawal of support from its traditional broadcaster, the race ceased to be held after the 2012 edition. On 16 October 2019, the International Olympic Committee announced plans to re-locate the marathon and racewalking events of the Tokyo-based

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

to Sapporo due to heat concerns. The plans were made official on 1 November 2019 after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike accepted the IOC's decision, despite her belief that the events should have remained in Tokyo.

Past winners

Key:
Distances:

References

;List of winners
Winner list
. Sapporo Television Broadcasting. Retrieved on 2010-07-23.

External links

at Sapporo Television Broadcasting {{defunct athletics competitions Half marathons Road running competitions in Japan Recurring sporting events established in 1958 Sports competitions in Sapporo Tourist attractions in Sapporo Defunct athletics competitions 1958 establishments in Japan Defunct sports competitions in Japan Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2012