Taiyo Oil Supports the 58th Ehime Marathon

2020.02.28

Taiyo Oil sponsored the “58th Ehime Marathon,” Shikoku’s representative citizen marathon, which starts and ends at Shiroyama Park in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. This year’s race saw participants from all prefectures in Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. There were also runners from seven overseas locations which include the US, Thailand, and Hong Kong, for a total of 10,408 runners.
　There were also guest runners like Sydney Olympic gold medalist Naoko Takahashi, professional runner Miharu Shimokado, athlete impersonator and entertainer M-Takashi, and Hinaho Takeda from Ehime Prefecture’s very own girl band “Takeyama 3.5”, who participated as a challenge runner.
　At a plaza near the finish line, Taiyo Oil provided the runners and visitors with company-original chocolate marshmallows and balloons. Furthermore, the first 1,000 runners to complete the course were gifted with the first-ever “Commemorative Race Completion Can Badge” as acknowledgement, which received a warm applause.
　Located by the 10 km water supply point is Self Hojo SS (operated by Taiyo Oil Sales Co., Ltd.) to give hot chocolate and original design stick balloons to the spectators, as well as cheer excitedly with them to support the runners.
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.

Event outline

Name of event

58th Ehime Marathon

Date and time

February 9, 2020 (Sunday) Starting at 10:00 a.m.

Number of participants

10,408

Type of event

Marathon (Distance: 42.195 km)

Overview of Taiyo Oil activities

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

Activities

・Distribution of company-original chocolate marshmallows and balloons
・Runners were given a race completion commemorative can badge as a reward for completing the course (the first 1,000 runners)
・The “SOLATO-kun” company mascot for PR

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

　Activities

・Original design stick balloons for cheering were distributed among the spectators