When it comes to fast races, the Ageo City Half Marathon in Japan might be the fastest half-marathon in the world. On Sunday, at the 2024 edition of the race, 308 male runners broke the 70-minute mark for the half-marathon, with 116 of them running under 65 minutes.
The Ageo City Half Marathon has become a magnet for speedy half-marathon runners due to its role as an ekiden qualifier for many Japanese universities, who use the race to determine their Hakone Ekiden relay teams. (If you’re unfamiliar with the Hakone Ekiden relay, it’s a 10-leg, 217 km race, where university teams from all over Japan compete. The event annually attracts a massive viewership; more than 10 million people reportedly tune in each year.)
The winning time at Ageo on Sunday was run by Kazura Munakata of Tokyo’s Daito Bunka University, clocking a new Japanese U20 national record of 61:38. Munakata’s time surpassed the previous U20 record, held by two-time Japanese Olympian Ryuji Miura, by just three seconds.
Although the race predominantly features young Japanese university-aged distance runners, it also tends to draw in international athletes looking to chase personal bests. Australia’s Ed Goddard, who represented his country at the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Latvia, finished fourth at Ageo with a new personal best of 62:01. According to Japan Running News, 16 of the top 20 finishers set new bests.
To put the depth of Japanese distance running in perspective, only 44 Canadian men in history have run under 65 minutes for the half-marathon. On Sunday, the time of 64 minutes and 59 minutes would have placed 116th.
Besides the depth of the field, the course is also fast and designed with minimal elevation changes, making it conducive to running at a steady and high pace throughout. Flat courses generally result in fewer energy fluctuations for runners, allowing them to maintain consistent splits. The fast times also benefits from the area’s cool, dry weather at this time of year, which is ideal for distance running.
