Providing Support for the 56th Ehime Marathon

2018.02.22

Taiyo Oil has sponsored the “56th Ehime Marathon,” Shikoku’s representative citizen marathon, which starts and ends at Shiroyama Park in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. In this race, among the 10,367 runners from across Japan (a record high number), about 900 wore a bib showing the Taiyo Oil brand’s “SOLATO” mark, and they ran through the area in weather that was colder than usual due to a big chill nationwide.

Yoko Shibui, who holds the second-place Japanese women’s marathon record, and Neko Hiroshi, who represented Cambodia at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, supported the race as guest runners, and Reiko Tosa, who is from Matsuyama City, supported the race as a special supporter.

At a plaza near the finish line, Taiyo Oil provided the runners and visitors with original cookies as well as SOLATO-kun sun visors and balloons. Furthermore, as a “SOLATO Award,” the company gave original Quo cards worth 10,000 yen to runners whose race completion certificate showed certain rankings (men’s group: 33rd place, 333rd place, and 3,333rd place; women’s group: 33rd place and 333rd place *No award for the 3,333rd-place woman).

Furthermore, at “Hojo Self-Service Gas Station” (operated by Taiyo Sekiyu Sales Co., Ltd.), which is near the water supply point at about 10 km, Taiyo Oil provided roadside support, including supplying the runners and spectators with warm drinks and SOLATO stick balloons for cheering.

In the race, Yasuyuki Ishida of Waseda University, who ran in Section 4 of the New Year’s Hakone Ekiden race, gave an outstanding performance and captured first place for the first time.

Taiyo Oil will continue to be active in providing support for sporting activities such as this event, as part of efforts to increase interest in athletics and to boost the economy of the local area.

Overview

Name of event

56th Ehime Marathon

Date & time

Sunday, February 4, 2018 Starting at 10:00 a.m.

Number of participants

10,367 (record high number)

Type of event

Marathon (Distance: 42.195 km)

 Overview of company event activities

Hospitality area (Special support booth set up within the main grounds near the finish line)
Activity information

・Distribution of original cookies, and SOLATO-kun sun visors and balloons.
・A Taiyo-Oil-original QUO Card presented to the men and women who came 33rd, 333rd, and 3,333rd (a total of five, there having been no 3,333rd female runner).
・"SOLATO-kun" cartoon character balloons given out for public relations.

Self Hojo SS (Service Station, run by Taiyo Oil Sales Co., Ltd. located along the course)
Activity information

・Provided drinks to runners and roadside spectators.
・Provided stick balloons for cheering featuring a SOLATO marking to roadside spectators to cheer runners on with.

 About the Ehime Marathon

Ehime Marathon is a city marathon that since the 48th marathon has undergone a major course change and has extended its maximum running time for completing the race. From the time it was redesigned as a city marathon, citizens who have participated in the marathon have given the event a rating of 90 points or more each year on RUNNET (https://runnet.jp/), which is a portal site for runners. Today, this is a marathon that receives a flood of applications from across the country. Its limit on the number of runners was gradually expanded to 10,000, but due to an increase in the number of participants from overseas, this year’s race received more than twice the number of applications as usual, and in the end the number of participants was a record high 10,367.