Last year to a friend of Marcia dal Mondo who asked us the reasons why we seemed so devoted to Kobe (JPN) and its 20km of Japanese race walk championships.

We had no hesitation.

First of all we confirmed our feeling that we declared to correspond to truth.

The regions were very simple and basically three:

- the continuity

- the course

- the organization.

The continuity

Kobe is one of those cities that can boast an ultra-ten-year continuity in the 20km Japanese Race Championships that will reach the 101th edition this year.

It has become an unmissable event in the third week of February each year, when all Japanese walkers find themselves on Rokko Island to compete.

One of those events that few cities can permit itself to do with an impressive continuity and punctuality as a Swiss watch (sorry, Japanese if you prefer !).

Let us remember the most important ones, the ones that have marked the history of race walk around the world for years: Podebrady, Dudince, La Coruna, Rio Maior, Taicang, Monterrey, Adelaide and the two Japanese Wajima and Kobe.

How difficult it is to survive over time: these cities are succeeding.

For this reason, dear organizers of Podebrady, Dudince, La Coruna, Rio Maior, Taicang, Monterrey, Adelaide, Wajima and Kobe we love you !

The course

According to the writer, Kobe's course is one of the most streamlined courses in the world.

For those who do not know it, it looks very much like that of Taicang and La Coruna with two very large go & back avenues of 1.000m and with very wide turning points.

A course that invites the walkers to express themselves at the best levels, the proof is that normally the times obtained in Kobe are always times of high ranking worldwide.

The organization

The meticulousness of the JAAF organization is something impressive.

An impressive number of volunteers, sponging and refreshments organized as manual, changing rooms and anything else incredibly large and obviously very clean; a series of chemical toilets along the course about every 250m on each side of the roadway.

In short, an organization that puts athletes at ease, but also coaches and the public with a bueautiful race brochure.

Anyone who passes the Sunday morning of the race in Kobe is sure to spend it in the best conditions and to be able to say “this was a nice event”.

And it can not be that way, if already today the lists of entry of the 101th edition of the 20km Japanese Championships have been published.

On Sunday February 18th over 350 athletes will compete along the Rokko Island avenues.

Staggering figures divided into the following four events:

- 5km U20 women: 65 entry

- 10km U20 men: 135 entry

- 20km women: 48 entry

- 20km men: 113 entry