Skip to main content

Nagoya Women's Marathon Upgraded to Highest IAAF Ranking

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2012/09/18/kiji/K20120918004142040.html
http://www.gifu-np.co.jp/news/sports/20120919/201209191210_5077.shtml

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The organizers of the Nagoya Women's Marathon announced Sept. 18 that based on criteria established by the IAAF to evaluate worldwide road races on the quality and size of their fields, beginning with next year's running on Mar. 10 the Nagoya Women's Marathon will be upgraded from its current silver label to a gold label, the highest ranking.  Nagoya is the fourth domestic Japanese race to receive a gold label, following the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Tokyo Marathon and Fukuoka International Marathon, and the first women-only marathon featuring both professional and amateur runners to be recognized as a gold-label event.  This year Nagoya changed from its historic elite Nagoya International Women's Marathon format to become a mass-participation event.  With 13000 runners it was the world's largest women-only marathon.

Also announced on the 18th was that the Naoko Takahashi Cup Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon will pick up a bronze label for its third running next May.  The IAAF awards eligible races one of three rankings, gold, silver or bronze, under its ranking system.  Seventy-one major races worldwide received labels this year, with nine domestic Japanese races slated for labels next year.  Criteria for receiving a bronze label include an elite field of more than five athletes from at least five countries.  9250 people took part in this year's second running of the Naoko Takahashi Cup Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon.  Sydney Olympics marathon gold medalist and former world record holder Naoko Takahashi oversees the race, which has a course certified according to IAAF and JAAF regulations.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

M.I.A.

Sorry to have been silent for a while. JRN associate editor Mika Tokairin  was in Taiwan for Ironman Penghu, where she won her age group to qualify for Kona for the first time. Right after that we moved for the first time in 14 years, and immediately after that I headed to the U.S. to help Keita Sato  get settled in his new training base in Flagstaff. We'll be resuming normal operations shortly with a big roundup of results over the last 2 weeks. Brett Larner

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...