The Japanese Olympic Committee is considering holding a large-scale half marathon in Tokyo to boost the Japanese capital's bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, it was learned Friday.
The JOC wants to jointly stage the event featuring around 30,000 competitors with the Olympians Association of Japan and is looking to pencil in the race for mid-September. The International Olympic Committee will select the host city for the 2016 Games in October at its general assembly in Copenhagen.
To help gather momentum for Tokyo's bid, the proposal involves Olympians from various sports helping with the operation of the event by distributing water and offering encouragement to general runners in the race, according to sources.