Fukuoka Marathon


The Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan since 1947. It is usually held on the first Sunday in December.
The course record is held by Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, running 2:05:18 in 2009 to best his own record from the previous year.

History

In its early years, the race had a rotating venue format, but these races are contained within the Fukuoka history as they all shared a common organiser and sponsor. The inaugural edition was launched in 1947 as the "Kanaguri Prize Asahi Marathon" and was held in Kumamoto. The 1951 was the first of the race series to be held in Fukuoka. Foreign runners were invited for the first time in 1954 and Reinaldo Gorno of Argentina subsequently became the first non-Japanese winner. The competition was renamed as the "Asahi International Marathon" the following year and Finland's Veikko Karvonen became the first European victor. In 1956 the race reverted to a national race between Japanese men, but foreign runners were reintroduced for later editions.
The 1959 edition saw Fukuoka instated was the permanent host city for the marathon race and Japanese runner Kurao Hiroshima became the first two-time winner that year. Water stations for runners were introduced along the course for the first time in 1961. The last race to be held outside of Fukuoka came in 1963, when a special pre-Olympic edition was held in Tokyo as a way of testing the marathon course for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Recognising the Fukuoka Marathon's increasingly international nature, the event was renamed in 1966 to the "International Marathon Championship". A year later, the course saw its first world record performance as Australian Derek Clayton knocked over two minutes off the previous record to win the race in 2:09:36.4 hours. Frank Shorter had three straight wins in 1971 to 1973 and a fourth win came in 1974, the same year that the race took on its current title of the "Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship".
In 1980, Toshihiko Seko won in a time of 2:09:45 hours, just four seconds ahead of Takeshi So. This represented the first time that two men had completed the marathon distance under two hours and ten minutes at the same competition. The second world record of the competition's history came in 1981 and it was again an Australian runner, this time Robert de Castella, whose time of 2:08:18 hours became the new world standard.
The Fukuoka Marathon is the third-longest running competition of its type in Japan, being established two years after the Lake Biwa Marathon and one year after the Kochi Marathon. This makes it the tenth longest running annual marathon race in recorded history. The competition has hosted the men's marathon championship race numerous times: it first held the event in 1955 and then hosted the race on a biennial basis from 1963 to 1997. It now hosts the national championship race once every three years, on a rotational basis alongside the Lake Biwa and Tokyo Marathons.

Entry

Male runners who have achieved the following times in an official event of the International Association of Athletics Federation or a race for members of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races in a certain period, and who are aged 19 years or older on the day of the race can apply for the race.
;Group A:
  1. Marathon: under 2 hours 27 minutes
  2. 30 km road race: under 1 hour 35 minutes
  3. Half-marathon: under 1 hour 05 minutes
;Group B:
  1. Marathon: under 2 hours 35 minutes
  2. 30 km road race: under 1 hour 45 minutes
  3. Half-marathon: under 1 hour 10 minutes

    Past winners

Key:
EditionDateWinnerCountryTime Notes
73rdDecember 1, 2019El Mahjoub Dazza2:07:10
72ndDecember 2, 2018Yuma Hattori2:07:27
71stDecember 3, 2017Sondre Nordstad Moen2:05:48
70thDecember 4, 2016Yemane Tsegay2:08:48
69thDecember 6, 2015Patrick Makau2:08:18
68thDecember 7, 2014Patrick Makau2:08:22
67thDecember 1, 2013Martin Mathathi2:07:16
66thDecember 2, 2012Joseph Gitau2:06:58
65thDecember 4, 2011Josephat Ndambiri2:07:36
64thDecember 5, 2010Jaouad Gharib2:08:24
63rdDecember 6, 2009Tsegaye Kebede2:05:18
62ndDecember 7, 2008Tsegaye Kebede2:06:10
61stDecember 2, 2007Samuel Wanjiru2:06:39
60thDecember 3, 2006Haile Gebrselassie2:06:52
59thDecember 4, 2005Dmytro Baranovskyy2:08:29
58thDecember 5, 2004Tsuyoshi Ogata2:09:10
57thDecember 7, 2003Tomoaki Kunichika2:07:52
56thDecember 1, 2002Gezahegne Abera2:09:13
55thDecember 2, 2001Gezahegne Abera2:09:25
54thDecember 3, 2000Atsushi Fujita2:06:51 NR
53rdDecember 5, 1999Gezahegne Abera2:07:54
52ndDecember 6, 1998Jackson Kabiga2:08:42
51stDecember 7, 1997Josia Thugwane2:07:28
50thDecember 1, 1996Lee Bong-ju2:10:48
49thDecember 3, 1995Luíz Antônio2:09:30
48thDecember 4, 1994Boay Akonay2:09:45
47thDecember 5, 1993Dionicio Cerón2:08:51
46thDecember 6, 1992Tena Negere2:09:04
45thDecember 1, 1991Shuichi Morita2:10:58Current course layout introduced
44thDecember 2, 1990Belayneh Dinsamo2:11:35
43rdDecember 3, 1989Manuel Matias2:12:54
42ndDecember 4, 1988Toshihiro Shibutani2:11:04
41stDecember 6, 1987Takeyuki Nakayama2:08:18
40thDecember 7, 1986Juma Ikangaa2:10:06
39thDecember 1, 1985Hisatoshi Shintaku2:09:51Course layout changed
38thDecember 2, 1984Takeyuki Nakayama2:10:00
37thDecember 4, 1983Toshihiko Seko2:08:52
36thDecember 5, 1982Paul Ballinger2:10:15
35thDecember 6, 1981Robert de Castella2:08:18 WR
34thDecember 7, 1980Toshihiko Seko2:09:45
33rdDecember 2, 1979Toshihiko Seko2:10:35
32ndDecember 3, 1978Toshihiko Seko2:10:21
31stDecember 4, 1977Bill Rodgers2:10:56
30thDecember 5, 1976Jerome Drayton2:12:35
29thDecember 7, 1975Jerome Drayton2:10:09
28thDecember 8, 1974Frank Shorter2:11:32
27thDecember 2, 1973Frank Shorter2:11:45
26thDecember 3, 1972Frank Shorter2:10:30
25thDecember 5, 1971Frank Shorter2:12:51
24thDecember 6, 1970Akio Usami2:10:38
23rdDecember 7, 1969Jerome Drayton2:11:13
22ndDecember 8, 1968Bill Adcocks2:10:48
21stDecember 3, 1967Derek Clayton2:09:37 WR
20thNovember 27, 1966Mike Ryan2:14:05
19thOctober 10, 1965Hidekuni Hiroshima2:18:36
18thDecember 6, 1964Toru Terasawa2:14:49
17thOctober 15, 1963Jeff Julian2:18:01Held in Tokyo
16thDecember 2, 1962Toru Terasawa2:16:19
15thDecember 3, 1961Pavel Kantorek2:22:05
14thDecember 4, 1960Barry Magee2:19:04
13thNovember 8, 1959Kurao Hiroshima2:29:34Fukuoka becomes permanent host
12thDecember 7, 1958Nobuyoshi Sadanaga2:24:01Held in Utsunomiya
11thDecember 1, 1957Kurao Hiroshima2:21:40Held in Fukuoka City
10thDecember 9, 1956Keizo Yamada2:25:15Held in Nagoya
9thDecember 11, 1955Veikko Karvonen2:23:16Held in Fukuoka/Koga
8thDecember 5, 1954Reinaldo Gorno2:24:55Held in Kamakura/Yokohama
7thDecember 6, 1953Hideo Hamamura2:27:26Held in Nagoya
6thDecember 7, 1952Katsuo Nishida2:27:59Held in Ube
5thDecember 9, 1951Hiromi Haigo2:30:13Held in Fukuoka/Maebaru
4thDecember 10, 1950Shunji Koyanagi2:30:47Held in Hiroshima
3rdDecember 4, 1949Shinzo Koga2:40:26Held in Shizuoka
2ndDecember 5, 1948Saburo Yamada2:37:25Held in Takamatsu
1stDecember 7, 1947Toshikazu Wada2:45:45Held in Kumamoto