Founded in 1961 as the Oita Godo Marathon, as the only JAAF-certified half marathon within Oita Prefecture a major draw every year for runners from throughout the area and country, the Oita City Half Marathon has been discontinued as of this year's running. Long a proving ground for the area's long distance runners, in recent years the area around the race has undergone significant change and numerous problems have arisen including the increasing difficulty of ensuring runners' safety amidst the ever-increasing traffic.
The organizers issued a statement on Sept. 4 thanking everyone who participated in the race with passion and inspiration over the years, to all those who helped to organize and conduct it, and to all the local residents who turned out faithfully every year to cheer along the roadside.
A day later, the organizers of the Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden, a longtime fixture on the area and national calendar every January, announced that it has also been discontinued as of this year. The race's history dates back to the pre-war era, but at this year's 82nd running on Jan. 27 there was an accident in which a vehicle entered the course and struck a runner. Plans were drawn up to improve traffic control with more course marshals, but limitations of budget and available personnel were judged to make them impractical to put into effect.
In response to a request by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police Department, organizers looked at whether it was possible to cut the section of the course along the busy Route 2 where the accident occurred this year, or whether implementing better traffic control along the entire course was feasible. However, they found it likely that if the course were changed it would result in many fewer people coming out to cheer, and that the cost and availability of personnel for putting tighter traffic control into place were prohibitive. Given these circumstances, organizers made the judgment that it was no longer possible to conduct the ekiden.
The Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden covered the 84.4 km from Ube to Shunan in seven stages. Founded in 1936, it was the third-oldest ekiden in Japan after the Hakone Ekiden and Kyoto University Ekiden. The event's unique format let amateur and high school runners compete in the same race alongside top corporate league runners from Athens Olympians Shigeru Aburaya and Tomoaki Kunichika to MGC Race qualifier Kenji Yamamoto (Mazda). Former governor and current head of the Yamaguchi Athletics Association Sekinari Nii commented, "The accident that occurred should not have happened, and we had to examine the situation from every angle. I would like to thank all the fans who turned out faithfully to support the event."
source articles:
https://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/local/news/article.php?comment_id=568085&comment_sub_id=0&category_id=256&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
https://www.oita-press.co.jp/1010000000/2019/09/04/JD0058445969
translated and edited by Brett Larner
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