Skip to main content

Okayama Marathon Has Record-Breaking Economic Impact on Local Community

On Feb. 5 the organizing committee of last November's 2018 Okayama Marathon announced that the event brought a record 1,580,000,000 yen [~$14.5 million USD] into the local economy. Compared to the 2017 edition the race's economic impact increased by 110,000.000 yen [~$14.5 million USD] thanks in part to a larger number of runners from overseas and beautiful weather that brought out more spectators along the course. The race's 5th running is scheduled for Nov. 10 this year.

16,547 runners took part in last year's Okayama Marathon and fun run, and factoring in visitors to the event venue, volunteers and others, a total of roughly 293,000 people participated, an increase of 8000 over 2017. Based on 2065 valid responses to a participants' survey, runners spent a total of 1,040,000,000 yen [~$9.5 million USD] locally on food and accommodations, an increase of 80,000,000 yen [~$750,000 USD]. Visitors from outside Okayama prefecture spent an average of 23,624 yen [~$225 USD], an increase of 2360 yen [~$24 USD] per person.

According to leading race entry site Runnet, over 7000 participants in the 2018 edition ranked the Okayama Marathon the #1 marathon in the country, rating it highly on items such as flatness of the course and quality of refreshment stations. The 2019 edition will have a maximum field size of 15,000, with the number of entries reserved for international runners increased from 100 to 250. The 5.6 km fun run field size has also been increased by 100 to 1400 participants.

source article:
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO40928930V00C19A2LC0000/
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...