# Hokkaido Marathon

The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year.
The staging area as well as both the start and finish lines are in Odori Park starting between Nishi 3-chome and Nishi 4-chome and the finishing at Nishi 8-chome. The course is sanctioned by both the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) and AIMS, meaning it is eligible for world record performances.

## History

The Hokkaido Marathon was first held in 1987 with 439 entrants and 380 starters.
In 2009, the time limit was increased to 5 hours.
For the 2012 edition of the race, the start was moved from Nakajima Park to Odori Park.
In 2013, the number of finishers of the full marathon exceeded 10,000 for the first time.
The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled because the marathon usually took place in August, while the marathon event of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics was scheduled to take place in Sapporo that August as well. Logistical issues, such as a likely shortage of staff to organize the marathon due to the Paralympics taking place around the same time, and the short timeframe in which the areas used by the Olympic marathon would have to be reset for the Hokkaido Marathon, led to the decision to cancel the marathon.

## Winners

Key:  Course record
| Edition | Year | Men's Winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's Winner | Time (h:m:s) |
| 1st | 6 September 1987 | Fedor Ryzhov (URS) | 2:24:28 | Lutsia Belyayeva (URS) | 2:42:17 |
| 2nd | 4 September 1988 | Masayuki Nishi (JPN) | 2:17:11 | Jane Welzel (USA) | 2:40:53 |
| 3rd | 27 August 1989 | Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) | 2:13:16 | Lorraine Moller (NZL) | 2:36:39 |
| 4th | 26 August 1990 | Futoshi Shinohara (JPN) | 2:15:32 | Lisa Rainsberger (USA) | 2:31:29 |
| 5th | 4 August 1991 | Koichi Fujita (JPN) | 2:17:05 | Lorraine Moller (NZL) | 2:33:20 |
| 6th | 30 August 1992 | Michael Scout (RSA) | 2:16:38 | Olga Appell (MEX) | 2:30:22 |
| 7th | 29 August 1993 | Tadesse Gebre (ETH) | 2:15:34 | Nobuko Fujimura (JPN) | 2:33:10 |
| 8th | 28 August 1994 | Erick Wainaina (KEN) | 2:15:03 | Olga Appell (USA) | 2:36:31 |
| 9th | 27 August 1995 | Tadesse Gebre (ETH) | 2:15:07 | Yuko Arimori (JPN) | 2:29:17 |
| 10th | 25 August 1996 | Biruk Bekele (ETH) | 2:14:26 | Tomoe Abe (JPN) | 2:31:21 |
| 11th | 31 August 1997 | Erick Wainaina (KEN) | 2:13:45 | Chihiro Ogura (JPN) | 2:33:30 |
| 12th | 30 August 1998 | Ambesse Tolosa (ETH) | 2:10:13 | Eri Yamaguchi (JPN) | 2:27:36 |
| 13th | 29 August 1999 | Masahiro Matsumoto (JPN) | 2:12:08 | Kazumi Matsuo (JPN) | 2:32:14 |
| 14th | 27 August 2000 | Dionicio Cerón (MEX) | 2:17:14 | Mayumi Ichikawa (JPN) | 2:32:30 |
| 15th | 26 August 2001 | Tsutomu Sassa (JPN) | 2:13:45 | Masako Chiba (JPN) | 2:30:39 |
| 16th | 25 August 2002 | Samson Kandie (KEN) | 2:15:12 | Chika Horie (JPN) | 2:26:11 |
| 17th | 31 August 2003 | Erick Wainaina (KEN) | 2:13:13 | Chihiro Tanaka (JPN) | 2:34:11 |
| 18th | 29 August 2004 | Laban Kagika (KEN) | 2:12:20 | Masako Chiba (JPN) | 2:26:50 |
| 19th | 28 August 2005 | Tomonori Watanabe (JPN) | 2:14:49 | Masako Chiba (JPN) | 2:25:46 |
| 20th | 27 August 2006 | Tomonori Watanabe (JPN) | 2:17:51 | Kaori Yoshida (JPN) | 2:32:53 |
| 21st | 9 September 2007 | Julius Gitahi (KEN) | 2:17:26 | Yuri Kanō (JPN) | 2:30:43 |
| 22nd | 31 August 2008 | Masaru Takamizawa (JPN) | 2:12:10 | Yukari Sahaku (JPN) | 2:31:50 |
| 23rd | 30 August 2009 | Daniel Njenga (KEN) | 2:12:03 | Kiyoko Shimahara (JPN) | 2:25:10 |
| 24th | 29 August 2010 | Cyrus Njui (KEN) | 2:11:22 | Yumiko Hara (JPN) | 2:34:12 |
| 25th | 28 August 2011 | Harun Mbugua (KEN) | 2:14:10 | Tomo Morimoto (JPN) | 2:33:45 |
| 26th | 26 August 2012 | Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) | 2:18:38 | Yuri Yoshizumi (JPN) | 2:39:07 |
| 27th | 25 August 2013 | Koji Gokaya (JPN) | 2:14:26 | Yuko Watanabe (JPN) | 2:29:13 |
| 28th | 31 August 2014 | Shigeki Tsuji (JPN) | 2:15:24 | Azusa Nojiri (JPN) | 2:30:26 |
| 29th | 30 August 2015 | Arata Fujiwara (JPN) | 2:16:49 | Yui Okada (JPN) | 2:32:10 |
| 30th | 28 August 2016 | Ryo Kiname (JPN) | 2:13:16 | Kaori Yoshida (JPN) | 2:32:33 |
| 31st | 27 August 2017 | Akinobu Murasawa (JPN) | 2:14:48 | Honami Maeda (JPN) | 2:28:48 |
| 32nd | 26 August 2018 | Okamoto Naomi (JPN) | 2:11:29 | Ayuko Suzuki (JPN) | 2:28:32 |
| 33rd | 25 August 2019 | Ryo Matsumoto (JPN) | 2:12:57 | Mirai Waku (JPN) | 2:33:44 |
| | 2020 | cancelled due to conflict with Olympic and Paralympic Games | cancelled due to conflict with Olympic and Paralympic Games | cancelled due to conflict with Olympic and Paralympic Games | cancelled due to conflict with Olympic and Paralympic Games |
| | 2021 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 34th | 28 August 2022 | Luka Musembi (KEN) | 2:10:49 | Haruka Yamaguchi (JPN) | 2:29:52 |
| 35 | 27 August 2023 | Patrick Mazenge Wambui (KEN) | 2:20:54 | Tomomi Sawabata (JPN) | 2:38:18 |
| 36 | 25 August 2024 | Shogo Nakamura (JPN) | 2:15:36 | Pauline Kamulu (KEN) | 2:31:04 |