japan running news

Due to be held the same day as voting in the upcoming election for the House of Representatives, runners at the Kanazawa Marathon can expect to be stopped at over 20 intersections on the course in order to allow voters on their way to the polls to pass without interference.  Scheduled to be held Oct. 31 after last year's race was canceled, the Kanazawa Marathon will take place while voting polls for the House of Representatives election are open. On race day, road closures for the marathon will be in place for up to 6 hours, but the locations of 14 polling stations on the course mean that voters will need to be able to cross through intersections. 50,000 voters are expected to use these locations, and while city officials are calling for people to utilize early voting or polling stations not affected by road closures then have made the decision to place security personnel at 21 intersections to stop runners when necessary. The Kanazawa Marathon already has this policy in place at...

Given the difficulty of estimating an end to the coronavirus crisis, the organizing committee of the Oct. 25 Kanazawa Marathon has decided to cancel this year's race as at this stage the safety and security of participants, medical and rescue staff, volunteers, and local supporters cannot be guaranteed. We ask for the understanding of everyone involved, from the runners who had been looking forward to and training for this year's race, to everyone in the local community, to our sponsors and partner companies. We hope that the current situation comes to an end soon and look forward to welcoming runners from Japan and abroad to next year's 7th edition with a smile. Thank you. Yukiyoshi Yamano Kanazawa Marathon Organizing Committee Director Translator's note: Kanazawa was one of the races which had earlier suspended opening registration. Another major fall race, the Dec. 6 Shonan International Marathon with almost 17,000 finishers last year, has also just announce...