Skip to main content

2011 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon Elite Field

by Brett Larner

Organizers of the 49th Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon have announced the elite field for the Feb. 13 race. A developmental race for up-and-coming marathoners and first-timers, Nobeoka serves the role of a step up to the next tier of the Japanese marathoning circuit.

Last year's 3rd-placer Takanori Ide (Team Kyudenko) heads the field, and with training partner Kazuhiro Maeda going for a World Championships spot a week before at the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon Ide has been doing the workouts necessary to win. His competition will include last year's 5th-place man Kenji Higashino (Team Asahi Kasei), Takayuki Ota (Team Fujitsu), and, looking to improve on his rare overseas debut at last fall's Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Minoru Okuda (Team Honda). Among the debutants Okuda's teammate Seigo Ikegami (Team Honda) is the most likely to have a strong showing, but 1:02 half marathoners Yusuke Ichinoi (Team Nishitetsu) and Takaharu Miyazaki (Team Sumco) should also be near the forefront.

2011 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon Elite Field
click here for complete field listing with photos
Takanori Ide (Team Kyudenko) - 2:14:11 (Nobeoka 2010)
Takayuki Ota (Team Fujitsu) - 2:15:23 (Fukuoka 2009)
Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:15:42 (Hofu 2010)
Kenji Higashino (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:15:42 (Nobeoka 2010)
Katsuhiro Katagai (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:15:47 (Nobeoka 2008)
Minoru Okuda (Team Honda) - 2:18:52 (Toronto Waterfront 2010)
Takumi Owada (Team Hitachi Cable) - 2:22:02 (Tokyo 2010)
Michinori Takano (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:24:27 (Senshu 2010)
Naoki Yamashita (Team NTN) - 2:25:43 (Nobeoka 2010)
Yusuke Ichinoi (Team Nishitetsu) - debut - 1:02:44 (Ageo Half 2005)
Takaharu Miyazaki (Team Sumco) - debut - 1:02:50 (Marugame Half 2009)
Seigo Ikegami (Team Honda) - debut - 1:03:00 (Kyoto Half 2002)
Kenji Sakata (Team Kurosaki Harima) - debut - 1:03:09 (Jitsugyodan 2005)
Takahiro Inoue (Team Komori Corp.) - debut - 1:03:39 (Inuyama 2007)
Bunta Kuroki (Team Yasukawa Denki) - debut - 1:03:57 (Jitsugyodan 2009)
Mahoro Ikeda (Team Aichi Seiko) - debut - 1:04:12 (Nagoya 2010)

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

  Japan Post  was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku  over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura  and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido  briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka  returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato  and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba  ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's  Ayuko Suzuki  and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...
Post a Comment
Read more

Olympian Hagitani Takes 10 Minutes Off Yodogawa Kanpei Half Marathon CR

At the Yodogawa Kanpei Half Marathon in Hirakata, Osaka on Dec. 15, Kaede Hagitani , 24, took over 10 minutes off the women's course record to win in 1:10:37. Hagitani ran the 5000 m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Men's winner Koki Hosokawa , 31, broke his own CR with a 1:08:03 to win for the 2nd year in a row. In 5˚ temperatures the race set off along the Yodogawa river. Competing as a first step in her comeback after having left the sport post-Olympics, Hagitani had a spectacular record-breaking run that earned her a permanent invitation. "I usually train alone, so I never feel like I'm really on except in a race like this," she said. "The male runners in the race helped me have a good one." When asked why she ran a local race like the Kanpei Half when everyone else there was just a regular amateur Hagitani laughed and said, "My parents live near here." At the Tokyo Olympics Hagitani broke her 5000...
Post a Comment
Read more

2023 Champion Kamimura Gakuen Girls Ready for Sunday's National High School Ekiden

Ahead of the Dec. 22 National High School Ekiden in Kyoto, the 2023 national champion Kamimura Gakuen H.S. girls held an open practice session for the media. 2023 was Kamimura Gakuen's only 2nd national title ever. Can it make it two in a row? The Kamimura Gakuen girls won the Nov. 2 Kagoshima Prefecture High School Ekiden, its 9th-straight win and 31st victory overall in the prefectural qualifying race for Nationals. 3rd on her stage at Nationals last year as part of the winning team, Hina Ogura summed up this year's lineup. "There's no really dominant star runner this year, but each person is aware of their position on the team and working together to share in everyone playing leading roles." Sakine Noguchi ran the Second Stage at Nationals last year. "I think we've improved our stamina," she said, "so I hope that we can get the best possible results and all finish with a smile." Handling the First Stage last year, Rin Setoguchi said,...
Post a Comment
Read more