170,000 Apply for Osaka Marathon's First Running

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/osaka/sports/article/news/20110318-OHO1T00086.htm

translated by Brett Larner

On Mar. 17 the organizers of the first running of the Osaka Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 30, announced that 171,744 people applied for the new race by the Mar. 15 application deadline, 5.7 times the number of available spots. 154,822 people applied for the 28,000 places in the full marathon, while 16,922 people applied for the 2000 places in the 8.8 km challenge run.

Among areas affected by last week's earthquake and tsunami disasters, 440 people from Miyagi prefecture, 144 from Iwate, 290 from Fukushima and 977 from Ibaraki applied for the race. Results of the lottery for entries are scheduled to be sent out in mid-April to the email address applicants registered at the time of entry, but organizers expect many people affected by the disasters to be unable to confirm their entries. A spokesperson for the organizers commented, "We are looking at the options for how to deal with people from the affected areas who are selected in the lottery, including how to accommodate payment of their entry fees."

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