Returning to the site where 38 years ago Jerome Drayton set the Canadian Marathon record Reid Coolsaet gave the record another scare staying well under pace through 35 kilometres before fading over the final seven kilometres. Racing at the Fukuoka Marathon in Fukuoka, Japan, Coolsaet set off with a massive lead pack on sub 2:08 pace for the first 15 kilometres. As the group approached halfway Coolsaet had pulled his pace back crossing the halfway point in 64 minutes 11 seconds, nearly a minute under Drayton's record pace. Unfortunately by this point Coolsaet was all alone as his chase pack had splintered and he was left to pick up the pieces of the lead group. Coolsaet continue to run well through 30 kilometres, running right on the record pace of 3:05 per kilometre for the stretch from 20 to 30 kilometres. His next five kilometres were quite a challenge as he missed a fuel station and also had a dropped bottle which forced him to stop in attempt to pick it up, he still managed to pass through 35 kilometres in 1 hour 47 minutes and 25 seconds, a full 30 seconds under Drayton's record pace but the fade had begun. At this point Coolsaet held out hope that he would be able to bounce back after the rough patch but was unable to get the pace back down to the needed 3:05 per kilometre pace as his next five-kilometre stretch was 16 minutes and 24 seconds. Despite the fade Coolsaet continued to pass runners and in the last two kilometres moved up into sixth place. He crossed the line in 2 hours 11 minutes and 24 seconds, 29 seconds off of his personal best and the third best time of his life.