The half-marathon event was a soggy one this year during the 43rd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Thousands of American and Japanese runners laced up their trainers on a raw, wet morning at this airlift hub in western Tokyo for the 43rd annual Frostbite Road Race.
Approximately 9,000 dedicated harriers turned out Sunday for a series of races that culminated with a 13.1-mile half-marathon, all run entirely on the base.
Participants waited in ponchos and raincoats and beneath umbrellas for the starting guns in the children’s and families’ 2K races and the open 5K leading to the main event.
“It is called the Frostbite for a reason,” Matthew Brinker, president of the Yokota Striders Running Club, the race sponsors, told Stars and Stripes at the event. “But we got to stay dry and warm the best we can. And we’re gonna persist, we’re gonna press on and we’re gonna run in the rain, just like we would if we were doing any other kind of training.”
Rain didn't stop families from taking part in the 2K event during the 43rd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Temperatures on race day stayed in the mid-40s as a morning drizzle gave way to steady rainfall before noon.
Run times were inaccurate because of the rain, Brinker said, so medals were not presented to half-marathon participants.
Col. Andrew Roddan, commander of Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing, kicked off the event.
“I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to participate, especially in this weather,” he told the runners. “It takes true dedication and determination to sign up and prepare for this event, and I want to commend all of you here today.”
Brinker, a retired Air Force master sergeant and aircraft maintenance electrician, was helming his first Frostbite as club president. The race is one of the few opportunities each year for ordinary Japanese citizens to visit Yokota.
“They love coming on base and it’s great to see them having a good time,” he said. “This is such a great demonstration of how we have such a great relationship.”
Runners warm up with Zumba during the 43rd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
After the opening ceremony, the runners took part in a Zumba exercise, dancing for a pre-race warm-up.
“There’s a lot of people here and with high energy,” Capt. Casey Guardia, a UH-1N mission pilot for Yokota’s 459th Airlift Squadron, said at the event. “It’s great that we can have a relationship with the local population and have them come on base.”
