We would like to hype you up for the 65th edition with some useful facts.
The 65th Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon
Qualifying Competition for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, 2010
The Lake Biwa Marathon first fired its starting pistol in 1946 in Osaka and is considered to be the oldest marathon held in Japan. In 1962, the marathon moved to Otsu city which is home to Japan's oldest and largest lake, Lake Biwa. Since this move the race has been renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.
The 65th Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon
Qualifying Competition for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, 2010
The Lake Biwa Marathon first fired its starting pistol in 1946 in Osaka and is considered to be the oldest marathon held in Japan. In 1962, the marathon moved to Otsu city which is home to Japan's oldest and largest lake, Lake Biwa. Since this move the race has been renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.
The course is comparatively flat and considered to be "a fast-speed-course".
Many of the world's foremost athletes have taken part in this race and establishing great records.
The Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is held on the first Sunday of March every year.
In 2010, the race will be held on March 7 and will celebrate its 65th anniversa
Organizers
Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF)
The Mainichi Newspapers
Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefectural Board of Education
Otsu City
Otsu City Board of Education
Race Date Sunday, March 7, 2010
Starting Time 12:30PM
Course Outline
42.195km (AIMS and JAAF-Certified Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon Course)
Ojiyama Stadium --- Yanagasaki --- Seta-Kara Bridge (West) --- Temple of Ishiyama --- Seta River Weir --- Seta-Kara Bridge (East) --- Shiga Prefectural Rowing Park --- Shin-Seta Water Purification Plant (turning point) --- Ojiyama Stadium
Qualification Guidelines
A. Athletes must fulfill the following conditions.
1. Athletes must be 19 years of age or older on the day of the race and must be JAAF-registered
for the year 2008. Also, please note that Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is a men’s only event.
2. Athletes must have one of the following qualifying time standards recorded from March 1, 2008 until the date of entry.
Marathon : 2 hours 30 minutes or faster
Half marathon : 1 hour 10 minutes or faster
30km : 1 hour 40 minutes or faster
20km : 1 hour 05 minutes or faster
10,000m : 31 minutes or faster
* Important Note: For those participants who are not registered JAAF and wish to lodge their
application from overseas, please notify us by e-mail as soon as possible. The registration
procedure for non-JAAF-registered athletes does differ from standard applications therefore
requires individual handling. Please note that all registration enquiries regarding the 2010’s
marathon must be made by December 31, 2009. Enquires made after that date will not be
accepted.
B. Athletes recommended by the JAAF.
Rules
A. Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is organized and directed under the 2009 JAAF Competition
Rules and the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon Rules.
B. For traffic and security reasons and for management of the race, checking stations will be
closed after cut-off times. Cut-off times are as follows;
15km point: 53 minutes
20km point: 1 hour 10 minutes
25km point: 1 hour 28 minutes
30km point: 1 hour 48 minutes
35km point: 2 hours 09 minutes
40km point: 2 hours 30 minutes
C. Athletes who have highly possibility not to be able to arrive at the next checking station in time,
or who are judged not to be able to keep the race by the competition officer might have to stop
to run.
Entry Fee No entry fee is applied to runners participating from outside of Japan.
The first marathon in Japan
The first marathon race was conducted in Japan in 1909. The Mainichi newspapers in its articles had introduced races that had been held in Europe and America. Then on March, 21 they hosted a race which was to be the very first marathon race held in Japan. The course stretched out from Kobe to Osaka.
In 1912, Japan sent a marathon runner to the Stockholm Olympic Games and it cemented the popularity of the marathon in Japan.
History
In 1946, just after the end of the war, a race was conducted in hope of encouraging Japanese people to reconstruct the nation. The Mainichi Newspapers and Japan Association of Athletics Federation organized the Mainichi Marathon which was held on October 20 1946. Sixty three athletes participated in the race on a course laid out in Osaka. Since then the race has been held annually and has constantly served as a qualifying event for major championships such as the Olympic Games, World Championships in Athletics, the World University Games, and Asian Games.
Race History
...
The 35th Race (1980)
104 athletes participated, the greatest number to that date.
The 38th Race (1983)
The race title was renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. Participants more than doubled to 231.
The 39th Race (1984)
Athletes from Asian countries like India and China were invited in order to promote the sport in the region. This project continued till the 41st race. 313 athletes participated.
The 43rd Race (1988)
The race served as the 1st Asian Athletics Championships men’s marathon race and is the final selection race for a Japanese men’s marathon team for the Seoul Olympic Games. Toshihiko Seko of Japan won this race and secured an Olympic berth.
The 45th Race (1990)
Belgian Eddy Hellebuyck’s skillful tactics earned the victory. It was the first time in thirteen years for a foreign athlete to win Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.
The 49th Race (1994)
The race was held in Hiroshima in order for it to be a rehearsal for the Asian Championships men’s marathon to be held in the city in the following year.
The 50th Race (1995)
The race returned to Otsu. The wife of Mr. Bikira Abebe was invited to the commemorative ceremony. A university student, Yuji Nakamura of Japan, won the race.
The 51st Race (1996)
Joaquim Pinheiro of Portugal won the race with the new course record of 2:09:32.
The 52nd Race (1997)
The winner of ’95 World Championships, Martin Fiz of Spain, won the race with a time of 2:08:05, a course record and the fastest time in the world that year.
The 54th Race (1999)
A university student, Atsushi Fujita finished 2nd to Martin Fiz with a time of 2:10:07, breaking the 20-year old Japanese university record of Toshihiko Seko. Mr. Fujita went on to become Japanese record holder.
The 56th Race (2001)
Antonio Pena of Spain won the race at 2:07:34, making the course record that has not been broken up this date.
The 57th Race (2002)
A Japanese athlete, Ryuji Takei, won the race with the best Japanese record of the year at 2:08:35. The last Japanese won the race was four years before.
The 58th Race (2003)
Japhet Kosgei of Kenya won the race. First Japanese to finish was Masakazu Fujiwara, making his debut at the marathon. His time of 2:08:12 was the best Japanese record made by athletes who completed their first marathon.
104 athletes participated, the greatest number to that date.
The 38th Race (1983)
The race title was renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. Participants more than doubled to 231.
The 39th Race (1984)
Athletes from Asian countries like India and China were invited in order to promote the sport in the region. This project continued till the 41st race. 313 athletes participated.
The 43rd Race (1988)
The race served as the 1st Asian Athletics Championships men’s marathon race and is the final selection race for a Japanese men’s marathon team for the Seoul Olympic Games. Toshihiko Seko of Japan won this race and secured an Olympic berth.
The 45th Race (1990)
Belgian Eddy Hellebuyck’s skillful tactics earned the victory. It was the first time in thirteen years for a foreign athlete to win Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.
The 49th Race (1994)
The race was held in Hiroshima in order for it to be a rehearsal for the Asian Championships men’s marathon to be held in the city in the following year.
The 50th Race (1995)
The race returned to Otsu. The wife of Mr. Bikira Abebe was invited to the commemorative ceremony. A university student, Yuji Nakamura of Japan, won the race.
The 51st Race (1996)
Joaquim Pinheiro of Portugal won the race with the new course record of 2:09:32.
The 52nd Race (1997)
The winner of ’95 World Championships, Martin Fiz of Spain, won the race with a time of 2:08:05, a course record and the fastest time in the world that year.
The 54th Race (1999)
A university student, Atsushi Fujita finished 2nd to Martin Fiz with a time of 2:10:07, breaking the 20-year old Japanese university record of Toshihiko Seko. Mr. Fujita went on to become Japanese record holder.
The 56th Race (2001)
Antonio Pena of Spain won the race at 2:07:34, making the course record that has not been broken up this date.
The 57th Race (2002)
A Japanese athlete, Ryuji Takei, won the race with the best Japanese record of the year at 2:08:35. The last Japanese won the race was four years before.
The 58th Race (2003)
Japhet Kosgei of Kenya won the race. First Japanese to finish was Masakazu Fujiwara, making his debut at the marathon. His time of 2:08:12 was the best Japanese record made by athletes who completed their first marathon.
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