Marathon in Hokkaido moves online with record 3,000 runners to join

Jul 27, 2020 | News On Japan

Jul 27, 2020 (Kyodo) - An annual marathon in Hokkaido, called off this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, has been moved online and attracted a record 3,000 applicants in a week, its biggest draw since the race started in 2015.

The participants of online version of the Okhotsk Abashiri Marathon 2020 will run 42.195 kilometers in any place at any time between Sept. 14 and 27, using an app called "Tatta" that records their running data with GPS.

The application process opened on July 1, with a total of 3,000 slots available. By the next day, 2,000 people had applied, with the race filling up on the morning of July 8.

Despite the expensive fee of 15,000 yen ($140), applications for two courses that come with horsehair crab or local brand wagyu beef gifts, both local specialties, reached their capacities of 100 in the early morning of July 1.

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