A runner waves while holding an Olympic torch during a rehearsal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay in Tokyo on Feb 15, 2020. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

TOKYO - Tokyo Marathon will not allow general public participation because of the coronavirus outbreak, local media said here on Monday.

Tokyo news agency said that Tokyo Marathon, which is scheduled on March 1 with 38,000 registered, will only be allowing elite athletes, including wheelchair racers, to take part in the upcoming pre-Olympic event.

Tokyo Marathon, which is scheduled on March 1 with 38,000 registered, will only be allowing elite athletes, including wheelchair racers, to take part in the upcoming pre-Olympic event

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The report said that those in the "general participants" category will not be permitted to run.

A total of 11 marathons were held across Japan on Sunday. Only 28 Chinese runners out of 386 ran the Kyoto Marathon.

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The Tokyo Marathon doubles as a qualifier for the 2020 Games, and runners will be chasing the final spot on the men's Olympic marathon team. Japan men's marathon record holder Suguru Osako and past national record holder Yuta Shitara are among invitees to the race's elite category.