{"id":435536,"date":"2025-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=435536"},"modified":"2025-05-05T02:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T02:20:25","slug":"half-marathon-hawaiian-festival-held-on-sagami-general-depot-attracts-nearly-10000-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=435536","title":{"rendered":"Half marathon, Hawaiian Festival held on Sagami General Depot attracts nearly 10,000 visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Runners in costume take off at the start of the 29th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan, while Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Meeker, top right, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, waves at them.
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SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan \u2013 The 29th East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon and the annual Hawaiian Festival, held Sunday on Sagami General Depot, drew nearly 10,000 visitors this year.<\/p>\n

On the windy but warm and sunny day, event staff, friends and family, and even traditional taiko drummers cheered on the runners along the route.<\/p>\n

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\n Local dancers perform a hula dance at the Hawaiian Festival April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan.
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U.S. Army Garrison Japan Command Sgt. Maj. Rick Meeker provided opening remarks and fired the starter pistol to begin the half marathon. It was his first time to attend the event since joining USAG Japan last year. He had heard it was a large event but said he was still surprised to see the large number of visitors to the installation when he arrived at the venue.<\/p>\n

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\n The Zama Middle High School Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps color guard presents the U.S. and Japan flags for both countries\u2019 national anthems before the start of the 29th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon held April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan.
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In his remarks, Meeker thanked the USAG Japan team and Camp Zama\u2019s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, the running association staff, and the runners for their efforts in making the event a success.<\/p>\n

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\n Runners take off at the start of the 29th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan, while Command Sgt. Maj. Rick Meeker, top right, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, fires the starter pistol.
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\u201cI think this event is a great opportunity to build camaraderie,\u201d Meeker said. \u201cCombined events like this provide an opportunity to run \u2026 enjoy the festivities afterward together and help build camaraderie between Camp Zama community members and the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very important for our Soldiers in the community to bond and make lasting relationships that will go on forever,\u201d he added. \u201cI look at this event as a very good way to build those community relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Event attendees pose for a photo at the Hawaiian Festival April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan.
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Shoko Tajima, the winner in the women\u2019s general category, was a first-time participant in the run and said she decided to join because she was interested in the rare opportunity to run inside a U.S. military base.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great opportunity for me to enjoy both the marathon and the festival at once,\u201d Tajima said. \u201cI would like to invite my friends next time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Runners compete in the 29th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event attracted nearly 10,000 visitors.
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The Hawaiian Festival was held next to the marathon site following the completion of the running events. Visitors could enjoy a picnic-style setting while watching hula dance performances by various local groups and live music performances. Food trucks offered a variety of refreshment and beverage options, and children\u2019s activities were available throughout the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Runners in costume take off at the start of the 29th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon April 27 on Sagami General Depot, Japan, while Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Meeker, top right, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, waves at them. (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo) VIEW ORIGINAL SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435538,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=435536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":435545,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435536\/revisions\/435545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/435538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=435536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=435536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=435536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}