The is an annual men's marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita

Oita, Oita

is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture located on the island of Kyushu, Japan.- Demographics and geography :Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture...

 on the island of Kyushu

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. First held in 1952 as a 35 km race, the looped marathon course begins at the bottom of Takasaki Mountain and reaches Beppu's Kankoko International Port before turning back towards the finishing point in the Ōita Municipal Athletic Stadium. The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status. The event is sponsored by Mainichi and is formally known as the Beppu-Ōita Mainichi Marathon.

The course is AIMS

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races

The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of long-distance running races. Originally founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors, its membership was extended in 1986 to include all road races...

-certified which means that performances on the course are eligible for national

National records in athletics

National records in athletics are the marks achieved by a nation's best athlete in a particular athletics event. These records are ratified by the respective national athletics governing body...

 and world records. The course has historically provided fast times: in 1963 Tōru Terasawa

Toru Terasawa

is a former Japanese long-distance runner who on February 17, 1963 set a world's best in the marathon with a time of 2:15:16 at the Beppu Marathon. Terasaw placed second in the marathon at the 1964 Japanese Olympic trials and 15th at the 1964 Summer Olympics...

's time of 2:15:15.8 was recognised as the marathon world best and fifteen years later Shigeru Sō

Shigeru So

is a retired long-distance runner from Japan, who represented his native country at two Summer Olympics: 1976 and 1984. He won the 1985 edition of the Tokyo Marathon...

 brought the course its second world best with his winning time of 2:09:05.6 in 1978. Furthermore, Koichi Morishita

Koichi Morishita

Koichi Morishita is a retired Japanese male long-distance runner. He competed for Japan at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain where he won the silver medal in the men's marathon event....

's win in 1991 was the fastest time recorded that year. The current course record holder is Gert Thys

Gert Thys

Gert Thys is a male long-distance runner from South Africa, who represented his native country in the marathon at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics...

 of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 who won the race in 1996 with a time of 2:08:30.

The marathon race attracts approximately 500 entrants each year, of whom around two-thirds finish the course. The large majority of the runners are Japanese, or Japanese-based. A small number of international athletes are invited to compete each year, although other foreign athletes also appear in the race for pace setting purposes. An additional road race

Road running

Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...

, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Half Marathon, was held in conjunction with the main race between 1976 and 2001.

Past winners

Key:

Year	Men's winner	Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )
2011		2:10:14
2010		2:10:50
2009		2:10:15
2008		2:11:59
2007		2:10:23
2006		2:09:45
2005		2:09:58
2004		2:12:02
2003		2:09:24
2002		2:11:45
2001		2:08:45
2000		2:10:44
1999		2:09:54
1998		2:09:11
1997		2:12:00
1996		2:08:30
1995		2:09:39
1994		2:11:28
1993		2:13:04
1992		2:08:36
1991		2:08:53
1990		2:11:56
1989		2:12:26
1988		2:11:58
1987		2:12:03
1986		2:10:34
1985		2:13:16
1984		2:12:05
1983		2:13:55
1982		2:15:43
1981		2:11:30
1980		2:13:29
1979		2:13:30
1978		2:09:06
1977		2:13:57
1976		2:14:23
1975		2:13:11
1974		2:13:05
1973		2:14:56
1972		2:19:11
1971		2:16:52
1970		2:17:12
1969		2:14:04
1968		2:13:24
1967		2:13:34
1966		2:14:35
1965		2:14:38
1964		2:17:49
1963		2:15:16
1962		2:23:54
1961		2:23:45
1960		2:23:30
1959		2:23:40
1958		2:25:16
1957		2:26:40
1956		2:26:24
1955		2:29:19
1954		2:34:48
1953		2:29:05
1952		2:01:50

Winners by country

Country	Wins
	44
	2
	2
	2
	1
	1
	1
	2
	1
	1
	1
	1
	1

Multiple winners

Athlete	Country	Wins	Years
Tōru Terasawa Toru Terasawa is a former Japanese long-distance runner who on February 17, 1963 set a world's best in the marathon with a time of 2:15:16 at the Beppu Marathon. Terasaw placed second in the marathon at the 1964 Japanese Olympic trials and 15th at the 1964 Summer Olympics...		4	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
Kenji Kimihara Kenji Kimihara is a former Japanese long-distance runner. He won the silver medal in the men's marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico. Four years later he finished in fifth place in the same event...		4	1967, 1970, 1971, 1973
Kurao Hiroshima Kurao Hiroshima was a Japanese long-distance runner who specialised in the marathon. Born in Kitago, Higashiusuki District, Miyazaki, he went on to represent his country twice at the Olympic Games: he finished 33rd in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics and returned for the same event four years later at the...		2	1956, 1958
Yasunori Hamada		2	1974, 1977
Shigeru Sō Shigeru So is a retired long-distance runner from Japan, who represented his native country at two Summer Olympics: 1976 and 1984. He won the 1985 edition of the Tokyo Marathon...		2	1978, 1981
Yoshihiro Nishimura		2	1983, 1987
Gert Thys Gert Thys Gert Thys is a male long-distance runner from South Africa, who represented his native country in the marathon at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics...		2	1996, 2006

External links

• Official website