Skip to main content

Ogi Wins Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach, Japan-Trained Africans Take Great Scottish Run

by Brett Larner

In the absence of any serious competition, Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) won the women's race at the Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon Sept. 5. Ogi's time of 1:14:17 was unremarkable but good enough to win by a margin of nearly a minute and a half over a field which included Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Constantina Dita (Romania) and world trail running champion Fiona Docherty (New Zealand). Along with Seattle winner Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz), Ogi is the second Japanese woman to win a Rock 'n' Roll-brand half marathon this year. Japanese men also fared decently in Virginia Beach, taking five of the top ten spots led by 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) in 1:03:57 for 4th behind Kenyan Yusuf Songoka's 1:02:46 winning performance. Click here to read the official press release on Songoka and Ogi's wins.

Across the ocean, formerly Japan-based Africans took both of the top spots at the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon where 2009 World Half Marathon 4th placer Caroline Kilel Cheptanui (Kenya) won the women's race in a quick 1:09:11 and Hailu Mekonnen (Ethiopia) the men's race in 1:01:53. Yoshio Koide-trained Julia Mumbi (Kenya) was 4th in the women's race, just ahead of Japanese runners Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) and Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex). Shingo Mishima was the only Japanese man to crack the top ten, 7th in 1:05:21.

2010 Rock 'n' Roll Virgina Beach Half Marathon
click here for complete results
Women
1. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 1:14:17
2. Fiona Docherty (New Zealand) - 1:15:39
3. Lyubov Denisova (Russia) - 1:16:45
4. Constantina Dita (Romania) - 1:17:20
5. Jane Kibii (Kenya) - 1:17:54

Men
1. Yusuf Songoka (Kenya) - 1:02:46
2. Patrick Ivuti (Kenya) - 1:02:51
3. Tesfaye Sendeku (Ethiopia) - 1:03:09
4. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:03:57
5. Kirui Kiprotich (Kenya) - 1:04:31
6. Shota Yamaguchi (Japan) - 1:05:02
7. Keita Akiba (Team Komori Corp.) - 1:05:16
8. Hisanori Kitajima (Japan) - 1:05:52
9. John Crews (U.S.A.) - 1:06:23
10. Hiroaki Onishi (Japan) - 1:07:26

2010 Great Scottish Run Half Marathon
click here for complete results
Women
1. Caroline Kilel Cheptanui (Kenya) - 1:09:11
2. Eyerusalem Kuma (Ethiopia) - 1:11:15
3. Etalemahu Kidane (Ethiopia) - 1:11:25
4. Julia Mumbi (Kenya/Team Universal Ent.) - 1:12:42
5. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 1:13:07
6. Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) - 1:13:29
7. Johanna Van Schalkwyk (South Africa) - 1:14:45

Men
1. Hailu Mekonnen (Ethiopia) - 1:01:53
2. Jason Mbote (Kenya) - 1:01:58
3. Modike Mohale (South Africa) - 1:03:20
4. Samuel Gichochi (Kenya) - 1:03:21
5. Tsegezeab Woldemichael (Eritrea) - 1:03:47
6. Tsegai Tewelde (Eritrea) - 1:05:20
7. Shingo Mishima (Japan) - 1:05:21

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Keita Satoh Running New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile

1500 m U20 NR holder Keita Satoh (Nike Swoosh TC) is running this weekend's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile , the first time that a Japanese man has been invited in the race's 45-year history. In university Sato had to change focus away from middle distance to the half marathon-scale lengths of the Hakone Ekiden stages, but since graduating in March and relocating to Flagstaff he has refocused on the 1500 m, going from 3:43.19 in April in his first 1500 m in almost 4 years to 3:38.30 over the course of 5 races. Fifth Avenue will be his last race before heading back to Japan for one more track 1500 m and some down time. Men's entries with best 1500 m times in last 3 years: Stefan Nillessen (NED) - 3:29.23 (2025) Flavien Szot (FRA) - 3:30.74 (2025) Oliver Hoare (AUS) - 3:31.07 (2024) Jake Heyward (GBR) - 3:31.18 (2026) Titouan Le Grix (FRA) - 3:31.46 (2026) Romain Mornet (FRA) - 3:31.62 (2025) Adam Spencer (AUS) - 3:31.83 (2026) Pieter Sisk (BEL) - 3:31.85 (2025) Gary Martin (...

Multiple National Records This Weekend

Olympic and World champion Haruka Kitaguchi got the biggest headlines among Japanese athletes this weekend, overcoming a rough last year and a half that included injury and a coaching change to break her own javelin throw NR by over a meter and a half to win the inaugural WA Ultimate Championship in Budapest. U20 WR and Asian AR holder Ziyi Yan opened with a big 68.05, 0.67 m further than Kitaguchi's best-ever from back in 2023. That could have been the end, but Kitaguchi came back from a 61.15 m first attempt to throw a massive 68.92 m NR on her next one, ultimately enough for the win. She still has a long way to go to match the 18-year-old Yan's 71.74 m from May, but it was a clear statement that Kitaguchi is back. Back home at the National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Kyoto, women's pole vault NR holder Misaki Morota continued a solid comeback season of her own, bettering her NR from May by 1 cm with a 4.51 m on her first attempt. Morota took another 3...