Beppu-Ōita Marathon
The Beppu-Ōita Marathon (別府大分マラソン, Beppu Ōita Marason?) is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. First held in 1952 as a 35 km race, the looped marathon course begins at the bottom of Takasaki Mountain and reaches Beppu's Kankoko International Port before turning back towards the finishing point in the Ōita Municipal Athletic Stadium.[1] The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status.[2] The event is sponsored by Mainichi and is formally known as the Beppu-Ōita Mainichi Marathon.[3]
The course is AIMS-certified which means that performances on the course are eligible for national and world records.[4] The course has historically provided fast times: in 1963 Tōru Terasawa's time of 2:15:15.8 was recognised as the marathon world best and fifteen years later Shigeru Sō brought the course its second world best with his winning time of 2:09:05.6 in 1978.[nb 1] Furthermore, Koichi Morishita's win in 1991 was the fastest time recorded that year.[7] The current course record holder is Gert Thys of South Africa who won the race in 1996 with a time of 2:08:30.[8]
The marathon race attracts approximately 500 entrants each year, of whom around two-thirds finish the course.[9] The large majority of the runners are Japanese, or Japanese-based. A small number of international athletes are invited to compete each year, although other foreign athletes also appear in the race for pace setting purposes.[10] An additional road race, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Half Marathon, was held in conjunction with the main race between 1976 and 2001.[9]
Past winners
Key: Course record 35 km course
Statistics
Winners by country
|
Multiple winners
| Athlete |
Country |
Wins |
Years |
| Tōru Terasawa |
Japan |
4 |
1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 |
| Kenji Kimihara |
Japan |
4 |
1967, 1970, 1971, 1973 |
| Kurao Hiroshima |
Japan |
2 |
1956, 1958 |
| Yasunori Hamada |
Japan |
2 |
1974, 1977 |
| Shigeru Sō |
Japan |
2 |
1978, 1981 |
| Yoshihiro Nishimura |
Japan |
2 |
1983, 1987 |
| Gert Thys |
South Africa |
2 |
1996, 2006 |
|
Notes
- ^ The International Association of Athletics Federations has published a progression of road racing world bests and records that were widely recognized prior to ratification and official acceptance by the IAAF. According to that progression, Derek Clayton's 2:08:34 performance in Antwerp on May 30, 1969 was a world best at the time.[5] Other road racing authorities, including the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, consider Clayton's performance to have occurred on a short course and recognize other athletes in the progression for world best in the marathon.[6]
References
- General
- Specific
- ^ Event Information Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Meet Ōita Net Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
- ^ IAAF Road Race Label Events. IAAF (2010). Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken & Onishi, Akihiro Kipkorir prevails at Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. IAAF (2010-02-07). Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
- ^ AIMS Race Directory. AIMS. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
- ^ "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. 546, 563, 565, 651, and 653. http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Association of Road Racing Statisticians, World Best Progressions- Road. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Yearly Rankings- Marathon. ARRS (2009-12-31). Retrieved on 2010-02-08.
- ^ Biography Thys, Gert. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-08.
- ^ a b Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. ARRS (2009-12-24). Retrieved on 2010-02-08.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken Invited Runners For February's Beppu-Oita Marathon. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2010-02-08.
External links