# Lake Biwa Marathon

The Osaka-Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon (びわ湖毎日マラソン, Biwako Mainichi Marason) was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status. It was first held in 1946 and, having taken place every year since then, it was Japan's oldest annual marathon race. The early editions of the race were held in Osaka until a switch to Tokyo occurred for the 1963–64 marathons, and all subsequent races thereafter were held in Shiga Prefecture, starting in Ōtsu fronting Lake Biwa, where the race received its name. It was sponsored by Mainichi and was known simply as the Mainichi Marathon for a period. The final race was held in 2021.
The race began and ended at the Ojiyama Stadium. The Lake Biwa Marathon was selected as the Japanese national marathon championships on dozens of occasions, starting in 1960. The course record for the competition was 2:04:56 hours, set by Kengo Suzuki at the final 2021 edition. The 2021 race was also noteworthy for having 29 runners finish in under 2:09:00 and 42 runners finish under 2:10:00.
The race was merged into the Osaka Marathon by the JAAF. The elite men's race at the Osaka Marathon for 2022 was designated by officials as the 77th Annual Lake Biwa Marathon, while the other races were billed as the Osaka Marathon.

## Winners

Key:  Course record  Japanese championship race  Asian Marathon Championship race
| Edition | Date | Winner | Time |
| 77th | 27 February 2022 | Gaku Hoshi (JPN) | 2:07:31 |
| 76th | 28 February 2021 | Kengo Suzuki (JPN) | 2:04:56 |
| 75th | 8 March 2020 | Evans Chebet (KEN) | 2:07:29 |
| 74th | 10 March 2019 | Salah-Eddine Bounasr (MAR) | 2:07:52 |
| 73rd | 4 March 2018 | Joseph Ndirangu (KEN) | 2:07:53 |
| 72nd | 5 March 2017 | Ezekiel Chebii (KEN) | 2:09:06 |
| 71st | 6 March 2016 | Lucas Rotich (KEN) | 2:09:11 |
| 70th | 1 March 2015 | Samuel Ndungu (KEN) | 2:09:08 |
| 69th | 2 March 2014 | Bazu Worku (ETH) | 2:09:10 |
| 68th | 3 March 2013 | Vincent Kipruto (KEN) | 2:08:34 |
| 67th | 4 March 2012 | Samuel Ndungu (KEN) | 2:07:04 |
| 66th | 6 March 2011 | Wilson Kipsang (KEN) | 2:06:13 |
| 65th | 7 March 2010 | Yemane Tsegay (ETH) | 2:09:34 |
| 64th | 1 March 2009 | Paul Tergat (KEN) | 2:10:22 |
| 63rd | 2 March 2008 | Mubarak Hassan Shami (QAT) | 2:08:23 |
| 62nd | 4 March 2007 | Samson Ramadhani (TAN) | 2:10:43 |
| 61st | 5 March 2006 | José Ríos (ESP) | 2:09:15 |
| 60th | 6 March 2005 | Joseph Riri (KEN) | 2:09:00 |
| 59th | 7 March 2004 | José Ríos (ESP) | 2:07:42 |
| 58th | 2 March 2003 | Japhet Kosgei (KEN) | 2:07:39 |
| 57th | 3 March 2002 | Ryūji Takei (JPN) | 2:08:35 |
| 56th | 4 March 2001 | Antoni Peña (ESP) | 2:07:34 |
| 55th | 5 March 2000 | Martín Fiz (ESP) | 2:08:14 |
| 54th | 7 March 1999 | Martín Fiz (ESP) | 2:08:50 |
| 53rd | 1 March 1998 | Muneyuki Ojima (JPN) | 2:08:43 |
| 52nd | 2 March 1997 | Martín Fiz (ESP) | 2:08:05 |
| 51st | 3 March 1996 | Joaquim Pinheiro (POR) | 2:09:32 |
| 50th | 19 March 1995 | Yūji Nakamura (JPN) | 2:10:49 |
| 49th | 6 March 1994 | Kenichi Suzuki (JPN) | 2:11:05 |
| 48th | 14 March 1993 | Mike O'Reilly (IRL) | 2:11:01 |
| 47th | 15 March 1992 | Mike O'Reilly (IRL) | 2:13:15 |
| 46th | 10 March 1991 | Simon Mrashani (TAN) | 2:11:34 |
| 45th | 11 March 1990 | Eddy Hellebuyck (BEL) | 2:13:03 |
| 44th | 12 March 1989 | Tōru Kozasu (JPN) | 2:14:31 |
| 43rd | 13 March 1988 | Toshihiko Seko (JPN) | 2:12:41 |
| 42nd | 8 March 1987 | Fumiaki Abe (JPN) | 2:11:08 |
| 41st | 9 March 1986 | Toshihiro Shibutani (JPN) | 2:14:55 |
| 40th | 10 March 1985 | Fumiaki Abe (JPN) | 2:11:04 |
| 39th | 11 March 1984 | Tetsuji Iwase (JPN) | 2:14:24 |
| 38th | 13 March 1983 | Kōshirō Kawaguchi (JPN) | 2:13:22 |
| 37th | 14 March 1982 | Michio Mizukubo (JPN) | 2:15:23 |
| 36th | 15 March 1981 | Masao Matsuo (JPN) | 2:14:38 |
| 35th | 23 March 1980 | Hiroshi Yuge (JPN) | 2:14:33 |
| 34th | 15 April 1979 | Shigeru So (JPN) | 2:13:26 |
| 33rd | 23 April 1978 | Takeshi So (JPN) | 2:15:15 |
| 32nd | 17 April 1977 | Karel Lismont (BEL) | 2:14:08 |
| 31st | 18 April 1976 | Akio Usami (JPN) | 2:15:22 |
| 30th | 20 April 1975 | Akio Usami (JPN) | 2:12:40 |
| 29th | 21 April 1974 | Akio Usami (JPN) | 2:13:24 |
| 28th | 18 March 1973 | Frank Shorter (USA) | 2:12:03 |
| 27th | 19 March 1972 | Akio Usami (JPN) | 2:20:24 |
| 26th | 21 March 1971 | Yoshiaki Unetani (JPN) | 2:16:45.4 |
| 25th | 12 April 1970 | Bill Adcocks (GBR) | 2:13:46 |
| 24th | 11 May 1969 | Kazuo Matsubara (JPN) | 2:22:44 |
| 23rd | 14 April 1968 | Akio Usami (JPN) | 2:13:49 |
| 22nd | 14 May 1967 | Yoshiro Mifune (JPN) | 2:25:53 |
| 21st | 5 June 1966 | Yoshiro Mifune (JPN) | 2:26:01.6 |
| 20th | 9 May 1965 | Abebe Bikila (ETH) | 2:22:55.8 |
| 19th | 12 April 1964 | Kenji Kimihara (JPN) | 2:17:11.4 |
| 18th | 12 May 1963 | Kenji Kimihara (JPN) | 2:20:24.8 |
| 17th | 13 May 1962 | Masayuki Nagata (JPN) | 2:27:37 |
| 16th | 25 June 1961 | Abebe Bikila (ETH) | 2:29:27 |
| 15th | 15 May 1960 | Nobuyoshi Sadanaga (JPN) | 2:34:57 |
| 14th | 10 May 1959 | Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) | 2:30:06 |
| 13th | 11 May 1958 | Takayuki Nakao (JPN) | 2:25:51 |
| 12th | 3 May 1957 | Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) | 2:31:20 |
| 11th | 6 May 1956 | Yoshiaki Kawashima (JPN) | 2:27:45 |
| 10th | 8 May 1955 | Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) | 2:26:32 |
| 9th | 16 May 1954 | Hideo Hamamura (JPN) | 2:27:56 |
| 8th | 10 May 1953 | Hiroshi Uwa (JPN) | 2:41:28 |
| 7th | 4 May 1952 | Yoshitaka Uchikawa (JPN) | 2:29:54.4 |
| 6th | 6 May 1951 | Tadashi Asai (JPN) | 2:32:41 |
| 5th | 7 May 1950 | Giichi Noda (JPN) | 2:37:25 |
| 4th | 4 May 1949 | Saburō Yamada (JPN) | 2:40:32 |
| 3rd | 9 May 1948 | Shinzō Koga (JPN) | 2:40:05 |
| 2nd | 18 May 1947 | Shinzō Koga (JPN) | 2:43:17 |
| 1st | 10 February 1946 | Shinzō Koga (JPN) | 2:44:57 |

## Qualifications

The runners needed to meet both of the following requirements, or have a special recommendation from the JAAF, to enter the competition. 1, The runner must be at least 19 years old on the day of competition. 2, The runner should have achieved one of the following time within two years from the date of the competition.
* (1)Marathon: 2 hours 30 minutes or less
* (2)Half Marathon: 1 hour 10 minutes or less
* (3)30km: 1 hour 40 minutes or less
* (4)20km: 1 hour 5 minutes or less
* (5)10000m: 31 minutes or less