Skip to main content

Toyo's Kawahara Takes Takashimadaira 20 km

by Brett Larner



In the wake of yesterday's stunning Hakone Ekiden qualifier 20 km road race, three seeded Hakone schools, defending champion Toyo University, 2008 winner Komazawa University and Meiji University, sent their B-squads to run the Takashimadaira 20 km Road Race as a mid-season tuneup. Toyo's now-graduated Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) won Takashimadaira the last two years in an hour flat, and Tokai University's great Hideaki Date (Team Chugoku Denryoku) set the course record for the four-loop criterion race the year before. This year the absence of a single big name coupled with unusually hot and sunny conditions, minus Takashimadaira's usual wind, meant relatively conservative times.

A large group of university runners ran together through 12 km before Toyo's Katsuya Honda broke away, pursued by teammate Kentaro Kami and Komazawa's Yoshihiro Tetsuka. Takanori Kawahara of Toyo hung back with Meiji's Junpei Tahara until after 15 km, when he made a move to take a definitive lead. Tahara formed a chase pack of four with teammate Todai Kogama, Tetsuka and Honda but the group was unable to regain contact. Kawahara took the win in 1:01:13, the slowest at Takashimadaira in years. Tahara was 2nd in 1:01:24, dropping the other three in the chase pack over the final km.

2009 Takashimadaira 20 km Road Race - Top Finishers
1. Takanori Kawahara (Toyo Univ.) - 1:01:13
2. Junpei Tahara (Meiji Univ.) - 1:01:24
3. Yoshihiro Tetsuka (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:27
4. Katsuya Honda (Toyo Univ.) - 1:01:31
5. Todai Kogama (Meiji Univ.) - 1:01:32
6. Kentaro Kami (Toyo Univ.) - 1:01:43
7. Takashi Chiba (Toyo Univ.) - 1:01:52
8. Katsunari Aoki (Meiji Univ.) - 1:02:09

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
Post a Comment
Read more