# Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon

The Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon (香川丸亀ハーフマラソン, Kagawa Marugame Hāfu Marason) is an annual road running competition which takes place in early February in Marugame, Japan. It currently holds IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and the professional races attract over 1000 entries each year, and hosted by the Sankei Shimbun, Sankei Sports, Okayama Broadcasting, BS Fuji.
The race in Marugame was first held in 1947 as a full-length marathon, known as the Kagawa Marathon. A companion 20 km race began in 1949 in addition to the scheduled marathon. The course lengths were gradually reduced over time: the main race lasted as a full marathon until 1961 when a 35 km race was held and the shorter race became a 10 km competition. The main race was again shortened in 1971, being reduced to a 20 km race. The competitions were known as the Kagawa Road Races until 1997, when the main race was slightly extended to the half marathon distance and the competition received its current moniker.
Competitors in the professional races are largely Japanese athletes, supplemented by African athletes based in the country. In addition, a small number of foreign athletes are invited to compete each year. The level of competition is strong: Kenyan runner Mekubo Mogusu recorded a sub-60 minute time in 2007 for the men's course record (59:48), while the women's course record of 1:07:26, set by Kayoko Fukushi in 2006, is the Asian record for the half marathon. The course is AIMS-certified making performances at the course eligible for national and world records.
The course of the half marathon is largely linear, beginning at the Marugame Stadium and heading eastwards before abruptly looping back to follow the same path back towards the finish point within the stadium.

## Past winners
### Early distances

Key:  Marathon  35 km  20 km
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) |
| 1st | 1947 | Toshio Fuke (JPN) | 2:47:30 |
| 2nd | 1948 | Toshio Fuke (JPN) | 2:39:54 |
| 3rd | 1949 | Giichi Noda (JPN) | 2:40:08 |
| 4th | 1950 | Toshio Fuke (JPN) | 2:39:21 |
| 5th | 1951 | Toshio Fuke (JPN) | 2:39:41 |
| 6th | 1952 | Giichi Noda (JPN) | 2:37:27 |
| 7th | 1953 | Fumio Kuramoto (JPN) | 2:49:16 |
| 8th | 1954 | Giichi Noda (JPN) | 2:35:08 |
| — | 1955 | Not held | — |
| 9th | 1956 | Matsuichi Murakami (JPN) | 2:54:56 |
| 10th | 1957 | Hideaki Nagai (JPN) | 3:15:20 |
| 11th | 1958 | Muneyuki Maekawa (JPN) | 3:00:54 |
| 12th | 1959 | Takayoshi Yokoi (JPN) | 2:44:02 |
| 13th | 1960 | Takayoshi Yokoi (JPN) | 2:45:43 |
| 14th | 1961 | Yukio Kimura (JPN) | 2:12:18 |
| 15th | 1962 | Kazuo Tanisawa (JPN) | 2:09:13 |
| 16th | 1963 | Yukio Kimura (JPN) | 2:09:53 |
| 17th | 1964 | Ryuji Kobayashi (JPN) | 2:03:43 |
| 18th | 1965 | Sumio Kohama (JPN) | 2:01:47 |
| 19th | 1966 | Tsutomu Tsunei (JPN) | 2:02:02 |
| 20th | 1967 | Kazuo Tanisawa (JPN) | 2:01:57 |
| — | 1968 | Not held | — |
| 21st | 1969 | Iwao Hamamoto (JPN) | 1:55:15 |
| 22nd | 1970 | Iwao Hamamoto (JPN) | 1:56:55 |
| 23rd | 1971 | Noboru Miyatake (JPN) | 1:05:59 |
| 24th | 1972 | Yoshimitsu Nakamura (JPN) | 1:07:06 |
| 25th | 1973 | Masatomo Seki (JPN) | 1:08:50 |
| 26th | 1974 | Hiroshi Yamaguchi (JPN) | 1:08:03 |
| 27th | 1975 | Masatomo Seki (JPN) | 1:08:44 |
| 28th | 1976 | Masakazu Ichimura (JPN) | 1:07:42 |
| 29th | 1977 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:06:23 |
| 30th | 1978 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:04:26 |
| 31st | 1979 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:04:43 |
| 32nd | 1980 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:03:53 |
| 33rd | 1981 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:03:45 |
| 34th | 1982 | Sachi Utsunomiya (JPN) | 1:04:09 |
| 35th | 1983 | Toshihiko Sasaki (JPN) | 1:08:33 |
| 36th | 1984 | Yasumasa Takagi (JPN) | 1:04:57 |
| 37th | 1985 | Shoji Nakanishi (JPN) | 1:05:33 |
| 38th | 1986 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:05:11 |
| 39th | 1987 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:04:45 |
| 40th | 1988 | Shoji Nakanishi (JPN) | 1:08:19 |
| 41st | 1989 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:06:34 |
| 42nd | 1990 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:06:16 |
| 43rd | 1991 | Minoru Kishimoto (JPN) | 1:02:21 |
| 44th | 1992 | Masahiro Takebayashi (JPN) | 1:08:30 |
| 45th | 1993 | Hiroshi Fujisawa (JPN) | 1:04:09 |
| 46th | 1994 | Masayuki Arakawa (JPN) | 1:08:11 |
| 47th | 1995 | Masayuki Arakawa (JPN) | 1:05:36 |
| 48th | 1996 | Yoshihiro Hiramori (JPN) | 1:04:20 |

### Half marathon

Key: Course record
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:m:s) |
| 49th | 1997 | Yoshihiro Hiramori (JPN) | 1:09:01 | Not held | — |
| 50th | 1998 | Yoshihiro Hiramori (JPN) | 1:09:00 | Not held | — |
| 51st | 1999 | Daisuke Matsubara (JPN) | 1:08:02 | Not held | — |
| 52nd | 2000 | Kazuhito Yokota (JPN) | 1:02:59 | Rie Ueno (JPN) | 1:09:57 |
| 53rd | 2001 | Hidemori Noguchi (JPN) | 1:02:28 | Ikumi Nagayama (JPN) | 1:09:28 |
| 54th | 2002 | Laban Kagika (KEN) | 1:01:43 | Mari Ozaki (JPN) | 1:09:33 |
| 55th | 2003 | Zakayo Ngatho (KEN) | 1:00:21 | Yasuko Hashimoto (JPN) | 1:09:32 |
| 56th | 2004 | Pharis Kimani (KEN) | 1:01:55 | Yasuko Hashimoto (JPN) | 1:10:46 |
| 57th | 2005 | Laban Kagika (KEN) | 1:01:36 | Takako Kotorida (JPN) | 1:09:34 |
| 58th | 2006 | Takayuki Matsumiya (JPN) | 1:02:13 | Kayoko Fukushi (JPN) | 1:07:26 AR |
| 59th | 2007 | Mekubo Mogusu (KEN) | 59:48 | Kayoko Fukushi (JPN) | 1:08:00 |
| 60th | 2008 | Harun Mbugua (KEN) | 1:01:35 | Philes Ongori (KEN) | 1:07:57 |
| 61st | 2009 | Mekubo Mogusu (KEN) | 1:00:37 | Mara Yamauchi (GBR) | 1:08:29 |
| 62nd | 2010 | Daniel Gitau (KEN) | 1:01:08 | Nikki Chapple (AUS) | 1:08:37 |
| 63rd | 2011 | Samuel Ndungu (KEN) | 1:00:55 | Kayoko Fukushi (JPN) | 1:09:00 |
| 64th | 2012 | Mathew Kisorio (KEN) | 1:00:02 | Tiki Gelana (ETH) | 1:08:48 |
| 65th | 2013 | Collis Birmingham (AUS) | 1:00:56 | Tiki Gelana (ETH) | 1:08:53 |
| 66th | 2014 | Martin Mathathi (KEN) | 1:00:11 | Eri Makikawa (JPN) | 1:10:27 |
| 67th | 2015 | Paul Kuira (KEN)  Zane Robertson (NZ) | 59:47 | Eloise Wellings (AUS) | 1:10:41 |
| 68th | 2016 | Goitom Kifle (ERI) | 1:00:49 | Eunice Kirwa (BHR) | 1:08:06 |
| 69th | 2017 | Callum Hawkins (GBR) | 1:00:00 | Eunice Kirwa (BHR) | 1:08:07 |
| 70th | 2018 | Edward Waweru (KEN) | 1:00:31 | Betsy Saina (KEN) | 1:09:17 |
| 71st | 2019 | Abdi Nageeye (NED) | 1:00:24 | Betsy Saina (KEN) | 1:07:49 |
| 72nd | 2020 | Brett Robinson (AUS) | 59:57 | Helalia Johannes (NAM) | 1:08:10 |
| Editions 73rd (2021) and 74th (2022) were not held due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan ||||||
| 75th | 2023 | Alexander Mutiso (KEN) | 59:17 | Pauline Kamulu (KEN) | 1:07:22 |
| 76th | 2024 | Richard Etir (KEN) | 59:32 | Dolphine Omare (KEN) | 1:06:07 |

## Statistics

* Note: All statistics apply to international half marathon only