Skip to main content

Nakamori Looks For Second Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Win

by Brett Larner

2007 winner Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) returns to defend his title as the favorite in the 2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon field. Hofu is part of Japan's elite men's marathon circuit. A 2nd-tier competition following shortly after the 1st-tier Fukuoka International Marathon, Hofu is a development race for young marathoners but has nevertheless attracted the likes of Ethiopian greats Turbo Tumo and Hailu Neggusie, the latter of whom set the course record of 2:08:16 in a battle against future World Championships and Olympic marathon team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) in 2002.

Nakamori, who races sockless, won last year's Hofu in 2:15:40 after overtaking and then dropping Mitsuru Irifune (Team Kanebo) in the final kilometers despite severe blistering on his feet. His strongest competition includes Batochir Serod (Mongolia), who set his PB of 2:14:15 earlier this year in Beijing, along with Japanese runners Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) and Tomohiro Minami (Team Aisan).

Nakamori's biggest challenger may turn out to be Satoru Kasuya (Team Toyota Boshoku), a two-time anchor for dominant Hakone Ekiden force Komazawa University. Kasuya is running Hofu as his marathon debut, but earlier in the year he ran 1:30:40 to take 4th in the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race, just 7 seconds behind the winner. He clearly has the potential for an excellent showing.

The 2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon will be held on Dec. 21 at 12:02 p.m. TV broadcast is limited to the Yamaguchi local area but the race website will post live 5 km splits here. A complete listing of past winners and the top 20 times run in Hofu is available here. 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi (U.K.) will appear in the women's 10 km race as a guest runner.

2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field and PB Details
click here for athlete photos and bios

Jae-Young Hyung (South Korea) - 2:10:37 (Hofu 1999)
Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:12:08 (Nobeoka 2006)
Ryo Murasato (Team Honda Kumamoto) - 2:13:15 (Beppu-Oita 2001)
Wan-Sun Chi (China) - 2:13:39 (Seoul 2004)
Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) - 2:13:44 (Hofu 2001)
Akinori Shibutani (Team Yanagawa Seiki) - 2:13:51 (Beppu-Oita 2000)
Batochir Serod (Mongolia) - 2:14:15 (Beijing 2008)
Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:15:22 (Biwako 2006)
Tomohiro Minami (Team Aisan) - 2:15:55 (Nobeoka 2007)
Yongjian Ou (China) - 2:16:47 (Beijing 2007)
Myon-Guk An (South Korea) - 2:17:15 (Seoul 2001)
Kachi-Tsu Chao (Taiwan) - 2:17:19 (Taipei 2006)
Satoru Kasuya (Team Toyota Boshoku) - debut

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Keita Sato on Training with OAC, Breaking NR in the USA, and the Road Ahead

Translator's note: Over his 2nd year at four-time national champion Komazawa University , 1500 m, 3000 m, indoor 3000 m and 5000 m U20 NR holder Keita Sato spent a total of three months training with OAC with support from JRN, one week in Boulder last spring, three weeks in St. Moritz during the summer, and the last two months back in Boulder. During that time he ran the equivalent of a 27:57 road 10 km and 59:22 half marathon in ekidens and U20 Asian area best 27:28.50 for 10000 m, all at age 19, and since turning 20 in January an indoor 5000 m NR of 13:09.45, an indoor 3000 m NR of 7:42.56, and an Asian area best 8:14.71 for 2 miles indoor. This interview by journalist Tatsuo Terada took place in late February before The TEN, where Sato ran 27:34.66. Komazawa University 2nd-year Keita Sato had a great indoor track season. On January 26 in Boston just after his 20th birthday he ran a 13:09.45 indoor 5000 m national record, the 2nd-fastest time ever by a Japanese man behind o...
1 comment
Read more

Restaurant Owner Selected as Olympic Torchbearer Dies in Fire After Becoming Despondent Over Impact of Coronavirus Crisis (updated)

On the evening of Apr. 30, the 54-year-old male owner of a restaurant in Tokyo's Nerima ward specializing in tonkatsu deep fried pork cutlets died from full-body burns in a fire at the restaurant. The man had been one of the people chosen as a torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay. With the coronavirus crisis causing both the postponement of the Olympics and a loss of business at the restaurant, the man had recently started talking pessimistically about the future to those around him. With evidence of the man's body having been doused in tonkatsu cooking oil, metropolitan police from the Hikarigaoka Police Station are carefully examining the cause of the fire. At around 10:00 p.m. on the 30th, the fire broke out in the tonkatsu restaurant on the first floor of a three-story building. A neighborhood resident who noticed smoke called the fire department. Firefighters found the floor and part of a wall burning, with the man lying on the floor in the customer seat...
Post a Comment
Read more