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40% of Road Races Report Participation Levels Under Capacity



NHK has reported finding that 40% of mass-participation races across the country sponsored or co-sponsored by local prefectural governments reported lower participation levels. Experts in the field suggested that events need to take creative approaches to increase their popularity. February's Kochi Ryoma Marathon had a maximum field size of 12,000, but only 9,300 people entered. It was the second year in a row for the event to come in under capacity, forcing co-organizer Kochi Prefecture to utilize supplementary budget resources to cover the deficit caused by the missing revenue from entry fees.

NHK found that out of 25 full and half marathon races across the country sponsored or co-sponsored by prefectural governments last year, nine were in the same situation as the Kochi Ryoma Marathon with shortfalls in numbers of entries. In terms of the ratio of entries to maximum field size, the Tottori Marathon was at only 70% capacity, the Tohoku Miyagi Fukko Marathon at 77%, Kochi Ryoma at 78%, the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon at 88%, and the Tokushima Marathon at 97%.

One reason cited for the lower than anticipated participation rates is the increase in entry fees, which remain high due to rising labor and fuel costs. There is also a large number of races all over Japan, and people have choice in which events to do. Sports journalist Akemi Masuda commented, "Runners are interested in doing events that have some special appeal, so it is essential to increase your event's originality to make it stand out."

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