The inaugural Marathon Grand Championship gets underway with tickets to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on the line.
The Olympic trial concept in Japan will kick off on Sunday for both men and women, starting at 8:50 a.m. and 9:10 a.m., respectively.
The top two finishers in each race will book spots to next year's Summer Games. The Japan Association of Athletics Federations will host three other qualification competitions for men and women in the MGC Final Challenge series at later dates. The fastest runners in those races who exceed the marks set by the national governing body (2 hours, 5 minutes, 49 seconds for the men and 2:22:22 for the women) will earn Japan's third and final spots for the Olympics. If no one meets those standards, the bronze medalists in Sunday's MGC will head to the 2020 Games.