Asia-Pacific
More than 12,000 run in 2015 Okinawa Marathon
Stars and Stripes
February 16, 2015
Runners in the 2015 Okinawa Marathon head toward Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 15, 2015. A 1 3/4-mile portion of the 26-mile race went through Kadena from Gate 2 to Gate 5. (Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force)
Runners in the 2015 Okinawa Marathon head toward Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 15, 2015. A 1 3/4-mile portion of the 26-mile race went through Kadena from Gate 2 to Gate 5. (Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force)
Amelia Earhart Intermediate School students play taiko drums and cheer on runners during the 2015 Okinawa Marathon on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 17, 2013. More than 400 servicemembers, civilians, family members, and private organizations of Kadena supported the event by volunteering to hand out water and cheer on participants. (Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force)
Runners are cheered on by volunteers during the 2015 Okinawa Marathon as they follow the route through Kadena Air Base, on Feb. 15, 2015. (Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force)
Volunteers hand out water and cheer the runners during the 2015 Okinawa Marathon on Kadena Air Base, Japan, on Feb. 15, 2015. This was the 23rd year Kadena opened its gates for marathon runners. Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force (Zackary A. Henry/U.S. Air Force)
More than 400 Kadena Air Base, Japan, volunteers turned out Sunday to support thousands of runners taking part of the 2015 Okinawa Marathon on Sunday.
Volunteers manned various stations on the 1 ¾-mile route through the U.S. military base – from from Gate 2 to Gate 5 – cheering, as well as handing out water and snacks.
More than 12,000 people started the race, including more than 300 U.S. military athletes.
It’s the only marathon that goes through a U.S. military installation in Japan, according to the base public affairs office.