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Olympic Test Event Half Marathon Planned for Sapporo in May

On Dec. 7 it was learned that the organizers of next summer's Tokyo Olympic Games are planning to stage a half marathon test race in Sapporo, site of the Olympic women's and men's marathons, on May 5 next year in order to give their operation of the event a dry run. Organizers are considering whether the event will be open to international entrants or mass-participation runners and plan to announce a final plan for the event before the end of the year.

The Olympic marathon course starts at Sapporo's Ohori Park and covers a roughly 20 km loop before two more laps of the 10 km northern half of the longer loop. The first lap is approximately a half marathon in distance.

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translated by Brett Larner

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