Hokkaido, Japan
August 25, 2024
http://www.hokkaido-marathon.com
Apr 19, 2024
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Marathon Details - Hokkaido Marathon
International Marathons > Japan > Hokkaido > Hokkaido MarathonHokkaido Marathon
| More Info: | News |
| Results: | Top 3 Finishers by Year |
Contact
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| Address: | ||
| Phone Number: | 011-251-0011 | |
| Fax Number: | 011-251-3630 | |
| Email: | Email the organizers | |
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Reviews
Course 4.8 
Organization 3.0 
Spectators 4.5
Number of comments: 4
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Michael Le Houllier from Taichung, Taiwan
(8/29/2012)
 "Course, fans great - organizers terrible" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hokkaido Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 First, the good. The course is nice. Mostly flat with a limited number of rolling hills. The fans were great. So many people of all ages yelling 'Gambatte kudasai'. It was a fun environment. Sapporo is a wonderful city to visit and is worth a couple of days in addition to marathon day to explore and shop in. The 9AM start time is a bit later than we are used to in Taiwan and while a little earlier wouldn't hurt, it was tolerable, especially for those of us used to the heat. Now, the not so good. The official race website says that runners will be aligned behind the invited runners in order of submitted times. I submitted a 3:06 time so I fully expected to be placed in the front of five groups. However, this is not what happened. After initially being put in the 'E' (last) group, for whatever reason I don't know, they moved me up to the 'C' group. They told me that 'A' and 'B' groups were reserved for 'Registered Japanese runners' and was told that 'this is how we do it in Japan.' This, of course, meant that a large number of 4-5 hour marathon runners were in front of me at the start. The first four kilometers were a dreadful chore of navigating through slow runners, putting a lot of stress on the quads while losing a lot of time at the same time. I feel like all of my training and preparation to get a Boston Qualifier time was wasted. I never had a chance. I am not a strong enough runner (yet) to overcome those obstacles to get a BQ. If you are looking for a BQ or PR and are not a registered Japanese runner, avoid this race at all costs. If you are just going for enjoyment, by all means, make the trip. Other than the race, I really enjoyed my time in Sapporo. | |
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C. Alexander from Tokyo
(10/2/2009)
 "Great Little Event" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Hokkaido Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 There were 8,000 runners, and no costumes - just the way I like it. It's a small event; there's not much of an expo, no advertising, etc. Not much English is spoken there, so you may have to learn a Japanese word or two. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The volunteers and spectators seemed to enjoy the foreign runners. I ran a PB, and had a great day. | |
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F. J. from Taiwan
(8/29/2006)
""This is how we do it in Japan"" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Hokkaido Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 They have a 12:10 p.m. start in summer. This says it all. In '06 we had the worst conditions ever for the race. Slowest winning time in 20 years, lowest # of runners under 2:40 (34) since 1991). Conditions not withstanding, the organisers COULD start it at 8 a.m. (time enough for when the trains start at 6), and spare people a lot of pain, etc. But I was told, "This is Japan. All races start at 12:10." Nonsense - Nagano starts at 8:45. These guys obviously are more interested in making money from sponsors and the media than staging a proper marathon. If you want/need a time to qualify for other Japanese marathons (e.g. Fukuoka) and you can handle the heat, this is an ok race - the course is very fast. For fun or a PR, do not waste your time. Kinki Nippon Travel, which handles applications for foreigners, is completely incompetent. Again, another sign they are not concerned about athletes. | |
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Peh Chwee Hoe from Singapore
(9/7/2004)
"Organizer has big room for improvement" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Hokkaido Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I'm from Singapore, and I ran the 29 Aug 2004 Hokkaido Marathon. The real challenge was actually dealing with the organizers. 1. They were obviously not prepared for non-Japanese speaking foreigners. You sign up and there was no confirmation of whether you've been accepted (there's a qualifying time of 4hrs) or whether your hotel reservation was successful. Email/fax them, they didn't reply. Call them and they couldn't speak English. Finally, not wanting to train in vain, I got someone in Tokyo to check on my behalf and it was all confirmed within a single call. This area could be vastly improved to allay runners' anxiety. 2. 12:10pm is hardly a good time to start a marathon, especially in summer. The weather was pretty warm on the 3 days preceeding the marathon. The weather at 7-8am was perfect for starting a marathon. It was only because of upcoming typhoon on marathon day that it became cloudy. 2. Organizer was pretty obsessed with ceremonies and procedures. As a result one finds himself having to file in and sit on a stadium field a full half hour before the run. They forgot your bladder is filling up in that half hour, but there's nowhere to let go of it once you're on the field. 3. Big crush at start point as 4,000 runners tried to squeeze through a 5 meter exit from the stadium. Much time lost (see 5 below). 4. Organizer was stingy on energy drinks. Plenty of stands for water but hardly any energy drinks in sight. Whatever little available soon ran out fast. Pity the runners behind. 5. Organizers do have one more surprise for you. Despite having a timing chip, be in for a surprise when you log in to check the results days later: everybody gets the same starting time as the runner first off the mark. As I took about 2 minutes to make it to start line, that was not taken into account. And I was wondering why there was no chip sound at the start line when I crossed it. Hope the organizers are reading this to make it a more attractive marathon to run. Otherwise the course is a good one, the spectatorship was good. |
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