The is an annual road running

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...

 competition over the half marathon

Half marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...

 distance 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 mi) which takes place in July in Sapporo, Japan.

First held in 1958, the race began as a full 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...

 competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. This lasted until 1973, as it was replaced with a shorter race of 30 km in 1974 and became known as the Times 30K. A women's programme was introduced in 1981, at which point the men's 30 km race was complemented with a women's 20 km. The women's race was slightly extend to the half marathon distance in 1986 and the men's race followed suit the following year. The road racing competition has been known under its current title since 1990.

The race has a strictly looped course in the city of Sapporo which doubles back on itself and starts and ends at the Maruyama Stadium

Maruyama Stadium

Maruyama Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Sapporo, Japan. It is currently used mostly for baseball and football matches. The stadium holds 25,000 people. The stadium was built in 1935.-External links:*...

. The competition is broadcast live on national television each year. The course is certified by 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...

 and the Japanese Association of Athletics Federations.Race Summary . Sapporo Television Broadcasting. Retrieved on 2010-07-23. The competition doubled up to act as the national selection race for the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships

The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake....

.

The Japanese Olympic marathon champion Mizuki Noguchi

Mizuki Noguchi

is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance and set two world records in 2005....

 set a women's course record of 1:08:14 in 2006. Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

's Mekubo Mogusu

Mekubo Mogusu

Mekubo Job Mogusu is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running, particularly the half marathon. An emigrant to Japan, he has won the Sapporo Half Marathon on three occasions and the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon twice – he is the course record holder for both of the races...

 is the only runner to finish the course in under an hour, with his men's course record set in 2007 standing at 59 minutes and 54 seconds. Four athletes have won the race on three separate occasions: Mogusu, Stephen Mayaka and Juma Ikangaa

Juma Ikangaa

Juma Ikangaa marathon runner from Tanzania, a sentimental favorite in Boston after finishing second three years in a row atthe Boston Marathon from 1988-1990...

 on the men's side, and Catherine Ndereba

Catherine Ndereba

Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...

 on the women's side.

Past winners

Key:


Distances:

Edition	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.... )	Women'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.... )
54th	2011		1:01:47		1:10:29
53rd	2010		1:01:20		1:11:46
52nd	2009		1:00:39		1:09:20
51st	2008		1:00:52		1:08:57
50th	2007				1:08:22
49th	2006		1:01:16		1:08:14
48th	2005		1:01:28		1:09:24
47th	2004		1:01:28		1:08:45
46th	2003		1:02:08		1:08:23
45th	2002		1:01:11		1:08:57
44th	2001		1:01:52		1:09:46
43rd	2000		1:02:16		1:09:10
42nd	1999		1:01:32		1:08:51
41st	1998		1:02:56		1:11:45
40th	1997		1:03:57		1:11:03
39th	1996		1:02:02		1:09:40
38th	1995		1:01:43		1:10:32
37th	1994		1:04:29		1:13:53
36th	1993		1:02:02		1:10:38
35th	1992		1:02:59		1:12:20
34th	1991		1:04:39		1:13:50
33rd	1990		1:03:56		1:12:54
32nd	1989		1:02:56		1:12:25
31st	1988		1:03:22		1:13:30
30th	1987		1:05:40		1:14:50
29th	1986		1:33:08		1:15:31
28th	1985		1:31:32		1:10:30
27th	1984		1:35:28		1:15:22
26th	1983		1:32:57		1:11:50
25th	1982		1:37:10		1:14:48
24th	1981		1:33:35		1:11:40
23rd	1980		1:34:15	Not held
22nd	1979		1:34:22
21st	1978		1:32:48
20th	1977		1:35:23
19th	1976		1:34:54
18th	1975		1:36:52
17th	1974		1:40:55,6
16th	1973		2:23:16,8
15th	1972		2:23:42,0
14th	1971		2:20:46,4
13th	1970		2:22:49,2
12th	1969		2:23:04,0
11th	1968		2:24:27,0
10th	1967		2:20:16,4
9th	1966		2:30:06,2
8th	1965		2:48:52,2
7th	1964		2:17:12
6th	1963		2:33:41
5th	1962		2:31:38
4th	1961		2:47:56
3rd	1960		2:34:40
2nd	1959		2:38:49
1st	1958		2:47:31

External links

• Race website at Sapporo Television Broadcasting