Race Information

Host Organizations

JOC (Japanese Olympic Committee) / JAAF (Japan Association of Athletics Federations) / Nagano Prefecture / Nagano City / The Shinano Mainichi Shinbun Inc.

Co-Host

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Special Associates

Nagano Association for the Promotion of the Olympic Movement / Hellenic Amateur Athletic Federation (SEGAS) / SBC

Superintendent

Nagano Amateur Athletic Association

Patrons

Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology / Nagano Prefecture Board of Education / Nagano Prefecture Amateur Sports Association / Kyodo News Agency / Nagano City Board of Education and others

Cooperating Organizations

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport / Nagano Prefectural Police Department / Nagano Highway Public Corporation / Nagano Prefecture Medical Association / Nagano Prefecture Traffic Safety Confederation and others

Race Date and Starting Time

8:35 a.m., Sunday, April 11, 2004

Event

Marathon (42.195km)

Course

"Nagano Olympic Memorial Course" (renewed for 2004 race)
Starting Point: Nagano City Athletic Park
Finishing Point: Nagano Olympic Stadium
*Accredited by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, and AIMS.

Competition Rules

Pursuant to the rules of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations for the year 2004 and those outlined by the event organizers.

Time Limit for Finish

5 hours

Gate Regulations

I. Gateways are set up every 5km with closing times scheduled as stated below. Athletes who arrive at a gateway after the closing time will not be allowed to participate in the race thereafter. Furthermore, those who are still running between the gateways in question after the closing time have to abandon the race.

＜Gate Closing Times＞
5.0km:09:15
10.4km:10:00
14.8km:10:30
20.8km:11:10
25.0km:11:35
30.6km:12:15
35.9km:12:55
39.8km:13:23
*Gateway points and the closing times are subject to change.
*Those athletes who could not make the closing time and/or those who were told to discontinue the race by officers' instructions.
*Those running without number cards are not considered to be registered runners.

Eligibility

1) General Category: Men and Women 18 years old or over as of April 11,2004. *Except for High School Students.
2) Invited Athletes: Both Japanese and Non-Japanese athletes with the recommendation of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and hosts.
*There is no wheel-chair category.

Entry Quota

5,500 people (in the order of arrival)

Entry Fee

5,000 Japanese Yen (Including insurance, a souvenir kit and finisher's record-certificate)

Entry Term

October 20 (MON.), 2003 to February 16 (MON.), 2004
*When the full quota is reached, we will close the entry list, and when the number of applicants exceeds the quota, we refund the total amount.
*Your entry will become invalid when money is received after the above entry period.

Participants Receive

Original T-shirt and others

Awards

1) General: 
Men and Women who finish from the 1st to 8th place will be awarded respectively.
2) Category by Age:
Men and Women except for Invited Athletes and above finishers. Categories are :
(1)18 to 29 (2) 30 to 39 (3) 40 to 49 (4) 50 to 59 (5) Over 60
The 1st to 6th place of each category will be awarded. However, a commendation ceremony will not be held. Certificate of commendation and others will be mailed later.

Participation Rules

• Participants are required to have a medical check-up by a doctor and monitor their physical condition up to the race.
• Participants are not permitted to accept help of any kind from others during the race. It a race official feels that a runner is unable to keep running or is interfering with other runners (running backward or in an irregular way), he/she may order the runner to stop running.
• Organizers will bear no responsibility for any accident during the race, except providing first aid to the participants. All participants will be covered by sport accident insurance automatically upon their being accepted. Please be aware that this insurance does not cover cases that require hospitalization due to internal disease or other medical conditions not related to marathon participation.
• Participants are requested to agree in advance to have their pictures, taken during the race for use in printed matter such as an event program or website. No claims can be made to the organizer for being photographed during the race.
• All participants should be able to run a full marathon in 5 hours. After the entry is made, start training for the race.
• Participants are not allowed to wear or post anything that advertises a particular brand, company name or design in the event area (marathon course included).
  

Others

• The race will be timed with an RC chip (Runners Champion Chip). Make sure that you attach the RC chip to your shoe before the race (the RC chip will be provided with your race number).
• Awards for the overall category will be based on time from starter’s pistol. Awards for age categories, however, will be based on chip time (from the time when a runner crosses the start line until when crossing the finish line).
• Visually handicapped runners are required to run with accompanying runners. Accompanying runners are obliged to indicate themselves.