Hokkaido Marathon
Road
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  1. 1b4e99
DateAugust
LocationSapporo, Japan
DistanceMarathon
Est1987
RecordMen's: 2:10:13 (1998)
Ambesse Tolosa
Women's: 2:25:10 (2009)
Kiyoko Shimahara
HomepageOfficial website

The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year.

The staging area as well as both the start and finish lines are in Odori Park starting between Nishi 3-chome and Nishi 4-chome and the finishing at Nishi 8-chome. The course is sanctioned by both the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) and AIMS, meaning it is eligible for world record performances.[1]

History

The Hokkaido Marathon was first held in 1987 with 439 entrants and 380 starters.[2]

In 2009, the time limit was increased to 5 hours.[3]

For the 2012 edition of the race, the start was moved from Nakajima Park to Odori Park.[4]

In 2013, the number of finishers of the full marathon exceeded 10,000 for the first time.[4]

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled because the marathon usually took place in August, while the marathon event of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics was scheduled to take place in Sapporo that August as well.[a][5] Logistical issues, such as a likely shortage of staff to organize the marathon due to the Paralympics taking place around the same time, and the short timeframe in which the areas used by the Olympic marathon would have to be reset for the Hokkaido Marathon, led to the decision to cancel the marathon.[b][5]

Winners

Key:

EditionYearMen's WinnerTime
(h:m:s)		Women's WinnerTime
(h:m:s)
1st6 September 1987Fedor Ryzhov (Soviet Union)2:24:28Lutsia Belyayeva (Soviet Union)2:42:17
2nd4 September 1988Masayuki Nishi (Japan)2:17:11Jane Welzel (United States)2:40:53
3rd27 August 1989Hiromi Taniguchi (Japan)2:13:16Lorraine Moller (New Zealand)2:36:39
4th26 August 1990Futoshi Shinohara (Japan)2:15:32Lisa Rainsberger (United States)2:31:29
5th4 August 1991Koichi Fujita (Japan)2:17:05Lorraine Moller (New Zealand)2:33:20
6th30 August 1992Michael Scout (South Africa)2:16:38Olga Appell (Mexico)2:30:22
7th29 August 1993Tadesse Gebre (Ethiopia)2:15:34Nobuko Fujimura (Japan)2:33:10
8th28 August 1994Erick Wainaina (Kenya)2:15:03Olga Appell (United States)2:36:31
9th27 August 1995Tadesse Gebre (Ethiopia)2:15:07Yuko Arimori (Japan)2:29:17
10th25 August 1996Biruk Bekele (Ethiopia)2:14:26Tomoe Abe (Japan)2:31:21
11th31 August 1997Erick Wainaina (Kenya)2:13:45Chihiro Ogura (Japan)2:33:30
12th30 August 1998Ambesse Tolosa (Ethiopia)2:10:13Eri Yamaguchi (Japan)2:27:36
13th29 August 1999Masahiro Matsumoto (Japan)2:12:08Kazumi Matsuo (Japan)2:32:14
14th27 August 2000Dionicio Cerón (Mexico)2:17:14Mayumi Ichikawa (Japan)2:32:30
15th26 August 2001Tsutomu Sassa (Japan)2:13:45Masako Chiba (Japan)2:30:39
16th25 August 2002Samson Kandie (Kenya)2:15:12Chika Horie (Japan)2:26:11
17th31 August 2003Erick Wainaina (Kenya)2:13:13Chihiro Tanaka (Japan)2:34:11
18th29 August 2004Laban Kagika (Kenya)2:12:20Masako Chiba (Japan)2:26:50
19th28 August 2005Tomonori Watanabe (Japan)2:14:49Masako Chiba (Japan)2:25:46
20th27 August 2006Tomonori Watanabe (Japan)2:17:51Kaori Yoshida (Japan)2:32:53
21st9 September 2007Julius Gitahi (Kenya)2:17:26Yuri Kanō (Japan)2:30:43
22nd31 August 2008Masaru Takamizawa (Japan)2:12:10Yukari Sahaku (Japan)2:31:50
23rd30 August 2009Daniel Njenga (Kenya)2:12:03Kiyoko Shimahara (Japan)2:25:10
24th29 August 2010Cyrus Njui (Kenya)2:11:22Yumiko Hara (Japan)2:34:12
25th28 August 2011Harun Mbugua (Kenya)2:14:10Tomo Morimoto (Japan)2:33:45
26th26 August 2012Yuki Kawauchi (Japan)2:18:38Yuri Yoshizumi (Japan)2:39:07
27th25 August 2013Koji Gokaya (Japan)2:14:26Yuko Watanabe (Japan)2:29:13
28th31 August 2014Shigeki Tsuji (Japan)2:15:24Azusa Nojiri (Japan)2:30:26
29th30 August 2015Arata Fujiwara (Japan)2:16:49Yui Okada (Japan)2:32:10
30th28 August 2016Ryo Kiname (Japan)2:13:16Kaori Yoshida (Japan)2:32:33
31st27 August 2017Akinobu Murasawa (Japan)2:14:48Honami Maeda (Japan)2:28:48
32nd26 August 2018Okamoto Naomi (Japan)2:11:29Ayuko Suzuki (Japan)2:28:32
33rd25 August 2019Ryo Matsumoto (Japan)2:12:57Mirai Waku (Japan)2:33:44
2020cancelled due to conflict with Olympic and Paralympic Games [5]
2021Not held
34th28 August 2022Luka Musembi (Kenya)2:10:49Haruka Yamaguchi (Japan)2:29:52[6]
3527 August 2023Patrick Mazenge Wambui (Kenya)2:20:54Tomomi Sawabata (Japan)2:38:18
3625 August 2024Shogo Nakamura (Japan)2:15:36Pauline Kamulu (Kenya)2:31:04

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Olympic marathon event was moved from Tokyo to Sapporo due to concerns about heat.[7] The Paralympic marathon events, however, were to remain in Tokyo.[8]
  2. ^ The Olympic and Paralympic Games were later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.[9]

References

  1. ^ Overview of the 2010 Hokkaido Marathon Archived 2010-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. Hokkaido Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-08-30.
  2. ^ "大会の歴史". 【公式】北海道マラソン2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. ^ "大会の歴史（第21回～第25回）"
  4. ^ "大会の歴史（第26回～第30回）"
  5. ^ "北海道マラソン2020 休止のお知らせ／Notice of Cancellation of Hokkaido Marathon 2020 | 【公式】北海道マラソン2021"
  6. ^ Larner, B., 2022. Musembi and Yamaguchi Win Hokkaido Marathon, Five Qualify for Olympic Marathon Trials. [online] Japanrunningnews.blogspot.com. Available at: <http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2022/08/musembi-and-yamaguchi-win-hokkaido.html> [Accessed 29 August 2022].
  7. ^ "2020 Olympic organizers unveil course for Sapporo marathons". 19 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Paralympic Marathon to remain in Tokyo"
  9. ^ "The 2020 Olympic Marathon in Sapporo - Japan Rail Pass"
Winners