Skip to main content

Oct. 16 Shimantogawa Ultra Canceled Due to Pandemic's Effects on Aging Local Population


Scheduled to happen Oct. 16 for the first time in three years, the 28th Shimantogawa Ultramarathon has been abruptly canceled. Shimanto mayor Masahiro Nakahira, chairperson of the event's organizing committee, announced the decision at a press conference. The mayor cited the difficulty in locating volunteers due to the ongoing pandemic situation in the city and area, and concerns that the local medical system could be overwhelmed. Whether the race will go ahead next year remains undetermined.

Applications for the race were open until July 29. 1506 people paid to sign up for the 1800 slots available in the 100 km division, with the 60 km division attracting 524 paid entrants out of a maximum field size of 600. Mayor Nakahira commented, "In the past we've always had more applicants than available slots, and there were even years where the number of applicants was triple the field maximum field size. This is one impact of the coronavirus pandemic." The number of volunteers was also lower than anticipated. 1800 applicants were expected, but only 1300 people applied to volunteer.

The race's course along the Shimanto River passes through mountainous areas where the effects of depopulation and the aging of those who remain are evident. "We heard from several villages this month that said they are afraid of the coronavirus or are simply too old to volunteer anymore," said Mayor Nakahira. "We might have still been able to do something by playing around with the course layout, but we thought it was important to make a decision as early as possible."

The event's future is currently a blank page in its history book. The organizing committee is exploring ways to keep the race going by re-examining its recruitment and utilization of volunteers, but the struggle to get enough volunteers has been an issue for years and the organizers are said to be considering ending the race as one option. "The Shimantogawa Ultramarathon is a very popular event, and locals in the mountains always turn out to cheer the runners on," said Mayor Nakahira. "It's my hope that we'll be able to come up with options."

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...
4 comments
Read more

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance?  Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance.  This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere.  It was put into place in 1986.  In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made.  Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km.  When a bicycle is u...
2 comments
Read more

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...
2 comments
Read more