Feature: Marathon, a growing fashion in Japan

More than 420 people took part in the 34th Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 25, and about 6,000 people ran the Osaka Half Marathon on the same day.

"Running has become a fashion in Japan." said Umematsu, a 32- year-old office lady who arrived from Tokyo to run the Women's Marathon in Osaka.

Umematsu has been running marathon for four years. At first it was for losing weight. But soon she fell in love with the sport for it makes her feel "refreshed and exuberant" every time she finished running.

Okabe, 42, took part in the race for the same reason as Umematsu. Having been running for six years, she has participated in about 20 marathon races in different parts of Japan.

"I have joined a group spontaneously set up by about 100 runners. We pooled money to hire a professional coach to give us guidance," she said.

From Sapporo in the north to Naha in the south, cities across Japan hold over 200 Marathon races a year on top of numerous other long-distance running races such as ekidens.

Most of the races are quite young. Two of the largest ones, Tokyo Marathon and Osaka Marathon, were set up in 2007 and 2011, respectively.

For some marathoners, the greatest obstacle to face is no longer the 42.195 km course itself, but getting the chance to set foot on it. For last October's Osaka Marathon, 145,000 people signed up, but only 30,000 of them were chosen to run by drawing lots.

As runners are enthusiastic about participating in the races, cities are also eager to organize such races so as to get an economic influx and boost regional fame and recognition.

Around the Yanmar Nagai Stadium in southern Osaka city, where the women's marathon started and finished last Sunday, dozens of booths were set up, with vendors hawking their wares. People waited in long lines to bathe their feet in thermal spring water that had been transported here from neighboring Hyogo prefecture in big tank trucks. It was like a carnival for them.

For big marathon races such as the Tokyo Marathon, which has over 35,000 runners, the economic benefits for the city have been estimated to reach billions of yens a year, including expenditures on meals and accommodations by runners and spectators from all over Japan and other countries.

"The running boom is just getting started." said Umematsu. Endi