Twelve men with sub 2:10 performances to their names will present as the strongest field to ever jump to the starting gun in the 44-year history of the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon.

The field offers a tantalising prospect of a new race record with the ink barely dry on Japan’s Naoki Koyama’s 2:07:40 from last year.

Kenyan Felix Kandie (38) has the fastest personal best in the men’s field with a 2:06:03 PB, and the experience of having run under 2:07 four times in international marathon competition.

He has also finished in the top five at three World Marathon Majors (in Boston and twice in Berlin).

The flat Gold Coast course and mild mid-winter temperatures will suit him perfectly, as will having a class field on his hammer the entire distance.

Fellow Kenyan Timothy Kattam ran a 2:07:53 to come second in the Milan Marathon last year to also stake his claim in this race while a group of eight Japanese runners who have all finished in sub 2:09 territory round out the top 10.

Yuta Koyama, Mizuki Higashi, Yuki Nakamura, Kiyoshi Koga, Daiji Kawai, Kenji Yamamoto, Naoki Aiba and Rintaro Takeda will all be aware of Japan’s proud history in this race and keen to have their names etched into the record books.

Japan has delivered 10 previous Gold Coast winners since Shinji Kawashima’s breakthrough victory in 1991, including the past three. This includes the current race record holder, Naoki Koyama, who won the 2023 ASICS Gold Coast Marathon in 2:07:40 in July before going on to win the Marathon Grand Championship race, Japan’s marathon trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics in October.

Another in contention sitting dangerously just outside the top 10 is fellow runner from the Land of the Rising Sun in 2022 Gold Coast Marathon second placegetter Akihiro Kaneko.

Past champion and crowd favourite Yuki Kawauchi will take off with the elites in his first race since a serious hamstring injury and may choose to run alongside his younger brother Yoshiki in his debut ASICS Gold Coast Marathon.

Australian hopes rest with 2016 Melbourne Marathon winner Thomas Do Canto and 33-year-old 2023 Melbourne Marathon winner Reece Edwards while there will be plenty of interest in debutantes, Brisbane’s 2022 Bridge to Brisbane winner Liam Boudin and South Australia’s Adrian Potter.

Fellow debutantes from across the ditch Chris Dryden and Julian Oakley, Auckland 2016 and Christchurch 2019 marathon winner Oska Inkster-Baynes and 36-year-old journeyman David Ridley will carry New Zealand hopes on the day.

ASICS Gold Coast Marathon, Half Marathon and Southern Cross University 10km Run are currently at capacity. There is still an opportunity to be a part of the action and enter the CPL Wheelchair Marathon, the CPL Wheelchair 10km, the Gold Coast Airport 5km, the Gold Coast Bulletin 2km or 4km Junior Dash or the Wheelchair 4km race.

Events Management Queensland proudly delivers the annual Gold Coast Marathon presented by ASICS, Toowoomba Marathon presented by Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and the biennial Pan Pacific Masters Games and is proudly supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.

Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to experience our events.