180,000 people take on the 42km race this summer as the Hokkaido Marathon is held in Sapporo |

The Hokkaido Marathon was held on the 25th in downtown Sapporo. According to the secretariat, this is the only full-scale marathon event held this summer in Japan, and around 18,000 people aimed for the finish line in temperatures close to 30 degrees. Three tons of snow were prepared near the halfway point to keep the body cool.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the temperature was 23.9 degrees at 8:30 am when the race started. The temperature rose to 28.9 degrees just after noon.

Shogo Nakamura (31) from Fujitsu won the men’s race, while Paulinkabeke Kamuru (29) from Route Inn Hotels won the women’s race.

Last year, the temperature exceeded 30 degrees, and some people were taken to the hospital with symptoms such as heat stroke, so the office took measures such as increasing the number of water stations.