Hara Returns, Njui Wins Debut at Hokkaido Marathon

http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/sports/248520.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner
click link above for video highlights

The 2010 Hokkaido Marathon took place Aug. 29 in Sapporo, Hokkaido under exceptionally hot and humid conditions with 27 degree temperatures and 70% humidity at the start. Two-time World Championships marathoner Yumiko Hara (Team Universal Entertainment) won the women's race in 2:34:12 in her debut wearing the Universal uniform after a year of inactivity following her sudden departure from former sponsor Team Kyocera. Kenyan Cyrus Njui (Team Hitachi Cable), winner of last month's Sapporo Half Marathon, won the men's race in 2:11:22, his debut over the marathon distance and the second-fastest time ever recorded in Hokkaido.

Njui broke away from leader Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) at 38 km to seal the win in an outstanding time for the Hokkaido course. General division entrant Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) likewise overtook the fading Mogusu for 2nd, while Mogusu staggered in for 3rd to complete the Kenyan hat trick.

Former Team Kyocera ace Hara and the team's current star Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) were pitched in a one-on-one race by halfway. With a surge at 32 km Hara put herself into position for the win. Miyauchi held on for 2nd ahead of Hara's teammate Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Universal Entertainment), the 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner.

This year's edition was the 24th running of the Hokkaido Marathon, an event which lets amateurs run in the same race as top pros. 8861 people entered, 7959 began the race and 5715 finished.

2010 Hokkaido Marathon - Top Finishers
click here for complete results
Men
1. Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 2:11:22 - debut
2. Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 2:13:04 - PB
3. Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) - 2:16:38 - PB
4. Masaru Takamizawa (Saku Chosei H.S. AC) - 2:18:17
5. Tetsuo Nishimura (Team YKK) - 2:18:31

Women
1. Yumiko Hara (Team Universal Ent.) - 2:34:12
2. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 2:35:42
3. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Universal Ent.) - 2:36:07
4. Chinami Fukaminato (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:40:28
5. Ikuyo Yamashita (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:41:19

Comments

Most-Read This Week

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and

Queens Ekiden Streaming and Preview

Sunday is the first big race of championship ekiden season, the Queens Ekiden in Sendai, the season-ending national championship for corporate women. 24 teams race 42.195 km in 6 legs, with the top 8 scoring places for 2025. TBS' live nationwide broadcast starts at 11:50, with multi-camera streaming on Youtube above. Last year Sekisui Kagaku won by almost a minute and a half, and with Paris Olympian Yuma Yamamoto , 2023 World Championships marathoner Sayaka Sato on its entry list and collegiate 1500 m record holder Mizuki Michishita having come on board this season it looks like a contender for another win. But last year's runner-up Japan Post got a big boost this season with the addition of its first non-Japanese member, two-time double 1500 m and 3000 m high school champion Caroline Kariba . The Queens Ekiden limits non-Japanese athletes to a 3.8 km leg, so it'd be tough for Kariba to bridge a 1:25 gap by herself with that little ground to work with. But what she can

19-Yr-Old Munakata Breaks Miura's U20 NR to Win Ageo City Half Marathon

The Ageo City Half Marathon is always big, the main race that the coaches of Hakone Ekiden-bound university men's teams use for firming up their entry rosters for the big show. That makes what's basically an idyllic small town race into one of the world's great road races, with depth unmatched anywhere. One of the top-tier people on the start list at 1:02:07, Kodai Miyaoka (Hosei Univ.) took the race out fast, but the entire pack was keying off the fastest man in the race, Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), 1:00:31. Yoshida reeled Miyaoka in before 5 km and kept things steady in the low-1:01 range, wearing down the lead group to around 10 including his CGU teammate Taisei Ichikawa , a quartet from Izumo and National University Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University , 2 runners from local Daito Bunka University , 2:07:54 marathoner Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda), and Australian Ed Goddard . Right after 15 km Komazawa went into action, Yudai Kiyama , Hibiki Murakami and Haru Tanin

japan running news

Search This Blog