Weak Yen not stopping Japanese marathoners

Despite Japan’s currency running at a seven-year low against the U. S. dollar, Honolulu Marathon officials said this year’s race is attracting more Japanese entries than last year’s.

Jiro Kitamura, chairman of the event’s Japan office, said "through (the) weekend we received almost 13,000 entries for this year’s marathon. Last year we had 12,939 runners, including 637 late entries, in Honolulu."

"I think we will have the same number of late entries this year … so total Japanese runners will be (about) 13,650," Kitamura said.

The 42nd annual event will be held Dec. 14. Late entries will be accepted through Dec. 13.

The yen, which has been trading at about 116 to the dollar, has been down as much as 16 percent from the same point last year.

Race president Jim Barahal said "those (sign-up) numbers sound very good to me. With the yen dramatically weakened right through our sign-up period, the strong demand that we’ve been able to hold and maybe even increase a little is a very good sign."

Kitamura said the number of participants for signups for the companion 10K walk are expected to run about the same as last year, "so total participants in this year’s event will be (about) 15,650."

Barahal said studies show that participants from Japan, who represent about 45 percent of the total runners, contribute about $130 million in direct spending annually.

ADK, the event’s marketing arm in Japan, said a survey of 2013 participants indicated 25.2 percent decided to participate based on word-of-mouth from family and friends and 78.6 percent liked "the atmosphere of the event," including the roadside cheering of spectators.

Kitamura, who has run the Honolulu Marathon seven times, said, "They come back and tell others about their experience, so that is the best advertising."

ADK said 66.7 percent of those who competed said they judged the Honolulu Marathon to be "a special event, different from other races."

Kitamura said the Honolulu Marathon, unlike many events in Japan, is seen as a "people’s marathon" in contrast to events that cater to elite runners. "In Japan, because municipal governments don’t want to tie up the roads, runners must complete the race in seven hours or less. In Honolulu, you don’t have that."

Barahal said the "open finish line, the unlimited time is a big thing. Our average completion time is around 6 hours, 10 minutes, so we still have thousands of people out on the course after the seven-hour mark."