People participate in a 2-kilometer family run during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Approximately 10,000 people took part Sunday in the 42nd annual Frostbite Road Race, the first time in three years that runners actually hit the road for the popular event at this airlift hub in western Tokyo.
Japanese and American runners of all ages and abilities turned out to compete in the first actual running of the event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Temperatures at race-time were in the 40s, not quite but close enough to frosty.
People participate in a 2-kilometer family run during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Runners, including some in costumer, participate in a half-marathon during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The Frostbite Road Race, organized by the Yokota Striders Running Club, is an opportunity to promote physical fitness in a unique location while strengthening ties between the base and local Japanese communities, according to a statement from the 374th Airlift Wing.
“It is one of the only events that we have on base where our off-base counterparts can actually come on base and run,” the Yokota Striders’ president, Master Sgt. Tobi Wagner of the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, told Stars and Stripes on Sunday.
Wagner, 34, of Selinsgrove, Pa., said this is his first year as president of the club.
“I love to run,” he said. “That's the one thing that destresses me. And I wanted it to be more involved, and this is the best way to do it.”
Runners, including one dressed as Michael Jackson, participate in a half-marathon during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Runners participate in a half-marathon during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The 2020 Frostbite Road Race was the last actually run at Yokota. More than 11,000 runners took part. In the two intervening years, the runs were held digitally, meaning individual runners completed the required miles and submitted their times online.
Col. Andrew Roddan, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, kicked off the event Sunday by thanking the race participants.
“It takes true dedication and determination to sign up and prepare for certain events and I want to commend you all for being here today,” he said.
After the opening ceremony, the runners warmed up Zuma-style. Hundreds of runners danced to music to get their legs and arms moving before the run.
Creative costuming highlighted the event. Some runners dressed as celebrities, and others as superheroes, including Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Waldo and Spiderman.
The main event, the 13.1-mile half-marathon, is the last of a series of the Frostbite, starting with a children’s 2K, a family 2K and a 5K. All the races are run entirely on Yokota.
Children participate in a 2-kilometer run during the 42nd annual Yokota Striders Frostbite Road Race at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Approximately 150 volunteers helped register the runners, hand out T-shirts, food and merchandise and set up and manage roadblocks to keep motorists off the racecourses.
“It is such an amazing experience,” said Diana Carson, 46, of Kansas City, Mo., manager-volunteer at the Airman’s Attic. “It is nice to see all the young children of all ages as well as the older generations of Japanese runners.”
