On Nov. 7 it was learned that the Fukuoka International Marathon is likely move from its traditional date on the first Sunday of December to a mid-February date following this year's race. First held in 1947, Fukuoka International has a long history with a permanent home in Fukuoka starting in 1959, apart from the 1963 edition. Many of the top global talents of past generations competed there, and world records were set there twice by Australians. Derek Clayton ran a 2:09:36.4 WR in 1967, and Rob De Castella followed that up with a 2:08:18 in 1981 that was later recognized as the WR after another athlete's performance at another race was disallowed for having been run on a short course.
Top-tier Japanese athlete have always run at Fukuoka and turned in countless great performances. Toshihiko Seko won back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979, something unthinkable today coming just a month before the Hakone Ekiden. His 1983 win with a last kick to beat Tanzania's Juma Ikangaa lives on as a classic. At the 1987 Fukuoka International Takeyuki Nakayama went through halfway way under WR pace. Although heavy rain and strong wind prevented him from getting the WR in the end, it was a run that showed Nakayama's true world-class strength. At the 2000 race Atsushi Fujita, now head coach at Komazawa University, set a 2:06:51 national record, the last time the NR has been broken in Fukuoka.
In 2021 it was announced that Fukuoka International would be discontinued after its 75th running that year, but new sponsors and organizers stepped in to revive it the next year with no change to its traditional course and date. But with the all-important New Year Ekiden coming less than a month later, the number of top-tier Japanese athletes opting to give Fukuoka International a miss has steadily increased.
On top of that, next year's MGC Race, Japan's official 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials, will take place Oct. 3 in Nagoya. The MGC Final Challenge gives athletes the chance to steal a place on the L.A. team after that by running a super-fast time at races like the Osaka Marathon at the end of February or the Tokyo Marathon at the beginning of March. Coming just 2 months after the MGC Race, Fukuoka International's traditional date at the beginning of December makes it all but impossible for people who ran the MGC Race to pick it as an option for the MGC Final Challenge.
As a result, organizers are looking at moving the race to a mid-February date to help attract more top-tier athletes and build excitement around it. As a result, it is very likely that the next edition after this year's running on Dec. 6 won't happen until February, 2028. Corporate teams have already been informed of the plans and asked for their cooperation in sending their best athletes to run.
Translator's note: The Fukuoka International has faced pressure to remain internationally relevant given the rise of the Valencia Marathon the same day. Following the announcement that Fukuoka International would be discontinued in 2021 the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon promptly changed its mid-December date to take Fukuoka International's spot on the first Sunday of December. When Fukuoka International returned Hofu declined to change back, resulting in 2 races of similar caliber on the same day in nearby cities.
Given the already crowded February-March marathon calendar, it looks like the 3rd Sunday of February is the only realistic option for Fukuoka International. The Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon is on the 1st Sunday, the Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon on the 2nd Sunday, the Osaka Marathon on the 4th Sunday, and the Tokyo Marathon on the 1st Sunday of March. Combined with the Osaka International Women's Marathon on the last Sunday of January and the Nagoya Women's Marathon on the 2nd Sunday of March, with the exception of Hofu Japan's entire winter elite marathon circuit of 7 races will now take place over 7 consecutive weekends.
Combined with the New Year Ekiden's introduction of a seeded bracket that frees up athletes on top-tier teams from having to run a regional qualifying ekiden in November, Fukuoka International's move is likely to lead to more good Japanese athletes racing fall World Marathon Majors and other high-level international races. But with 5 races in a row to choose from now it can only dilute the domestic pool at each of them even further.
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