Over 11,000 join Kitakyushu Marathon held for 1st time in 3 yrs in Fukuoka Pref.

KITAKYUSHU -- The Kitakyushu Marathon 2023 was held on Feb.19, with 11,083 citizen runners competing on a course that took them around the city's famous landmarks.

The event, which began in 2014 to commemorate the city's 50th anniversary the year before, was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, runners' smiles returned to the roads of Kitakyushu for the first time in three years.

The full marathon started in front of city hall with the starting gun fired by Kenji Kimihara, a native of the city and a silver medalist at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Yuji Shibukawa, 30, won the men's race in 2 hours 21 minutes and 25 seconds, and Manaka Yamashita, 20, won the women's race in 2:48:26.

Former Olympic 10,000-meter runners Yoko Shibui and Yuko Kawakami also participated as guest runners in the full marathon and a short distance "Fun Run," respectively.

(Japanese original by Hiroki Hayashi, Kyushu News Department)