The 2013

Tokyo Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the seven World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro. History The fi ...

() was the seventh edition of the annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

race in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first

World Marathon Majors The World Marathon Majors (WMM) sponsored by Abbott Laboratories is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on seven major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile o ...

event to be held that year and represented the first occasion that the Tokyo race was part of the elite-level marathon series. The 2013 Tokyo Marathon featured marathon races for runners and

wheelchair racer Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and field, track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are c ...

s. A 10-kilometre race was also held for the disabled and runners under eighteen years.

Dennis Kimetto Dennis Kipruto Kimetto (born 22 January 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. He was the world record holder in the men's marathon with a time of 2 hours 2 minutes 57 seconds, a record which he held until Eli ...

won the men's race in a course record time of 2:06:50 hours. The women's winner,

Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Shewaye (born 12 September 1989) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman. She gained bronze at the 2009 IA ...

, had a time of 2:25:34 hours, which was six seconds off the women's course best.Nakamura, Ken (24 February 2013)
Kimetto clocks course record 2:06:50 at Tokyo Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved 2013-03-09. The mass races set a new participation record with a total of 28,721 runners entering the race over 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), and 36,676 people taking part in the day's races as a whole.

Pre-race build up

A day prior to the race, the International Friendship Run was held with a distance of roughly 4 km. The non-competitive race between athletes, organisers and registered marathon entrants began with warm-up radio exercises and took place in Shiokaze Park and Odaiba Seaside Park. The 2013 Tokyo Marathon

EXPO An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, construc ...

was also hosted that day.Expo 2013
. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved 2013-03-09. Organisational changes improved the charity

fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors prov ...

ning aspect of the race: 3000 entries were reserved for charity runners,

tax relief Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

was given to charitable donations, and role of sponsors and corporations in raising funds was expanded. An estimated 1.7 million people were spectators to the city race.2013 LOC Press Conference
Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved 2013-03-09. Building on the race's inclusion with the World Marathon Majors circuit, race director Tadaaki Hayano invited numerous elite international marathon runners with fast personal bests. In the men's race Dennis Kimetto,

James Kwambai James Kipsang Kwambai (born February 28, 1983) is a runner from Kenya, who specialises in marathons. He is a former Kenyan record holder in the event, with his personal best of 2:04:27 hours in 2009. At the time this made him the second fastest r ...

Dino Sefir Dino Sefir Kemal (born 28 May 1988) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was one of three members of the Ethiopian team who competed in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.Jonathan Maiyo Jonathan Kiplimo Maiyo (born 5 May 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon events. His personal bests of 59:02 minutes and 2:04:56 hours, respectively, ranks him in the top twenty all-time in both event ...

all entered the race with personal bests below two hours and five minutes – a first for a Japanese race.Nakamura, Ken (24 January 2013)
Best field ever assembled for Tokyo Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved 2013-03-09. Irina Mikitenko was the fastest entrant among the elite women, following by Bezunesh Bekele,

and

Caroline Kilel Caroline Cheptanui Kilel (born 21 March 1981) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. She was the winner at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the Frankfurt Marathon in 2010 and 2013. Kilel took the silver medal ...

. The men's race was also of domestic interest because it doubled as the trials for the Japanese men's marathon team at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013; ) was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10 to 18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russia ...

Arata Fujiwara is a Japanese marathon runner. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin, Germany, Fujiwara finished 61st in the men's marathon in a time of two hours, thirty-one minutes and ten seconds. He represented Japan at the 2012 S ...

Kazuhiro Maeda Kazuhiro Maeda (; born 19 April 1981) is a Japanese long-distance runner. Born in Shiroishi, Saga, Maeda made his international debut at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he ran in the heats of the 5000 metres. He won the K ...

Yoshinori Oda Yoshinori is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Yoshinori can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義徳, "justice, virtue" *義憲, "justice, constitution" *義法, "justice, ...

and

Takayuki Matsumiya Takayuki Matsumiya (; born 21 February 1980 in Akita) is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in marathon races. He holds the Asian record and Japanese record over 25 km and 30 km. He has a twin brother, Yuko, who is also ...

were the foremost Japanese men, all having bests below two hours and ten minutes. Yoshimi Ozaki and Azusa Nojiri were the most prominent female domestic entrants.

Results

Men

Women

References

;Race results
Results 2013 Tokyo Marathon Man
. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
Results 2013 Tokyo Marathon Woman
. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved 2013-03-09.

External links

Official websiteParticipation data
{{World Marathon Majors 2013

2013 in Tokyo Tokyo Marathon February 2013 sports events in Japan