Defending Champions Hara, Njui to Return to Hokkaido Marathon

by Brett Larner

This year's Hokkaido Marathon is set for Sunday, Aug. 28, directly opposite the Daegu World Championships. With a 12:10 start time Hokkaido is always hot and has some of the most strategic racing on the Japanese calendar. The men's race features both defending champion Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) and 2009 winner Daniel Njenga (Kenya/Team Yakult) along with sub-2:12 domestic men Seiji Kobayashi (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki), Masaya Shimizu (Team Asahi Kasei) and Masashi Hayashi (Team Yakult). Njui is in good shape to defend his title after his second-straight win at last month's Sapporo International Half Marathon. A number of competitive men are also entered in the general division, the best among these being 2:11:44 marathoner Kenichiro Setoguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) and Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), Samuel Wanjiru's main training partner during Wanjiru's pro years in Japan.

The women's race likewise features the 2010 and 2009 winners, defending champ Yumiko Hara (Team Univ. Ent.) and course record holder Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC), along with 2006 winner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC), who returns to Hokkaido off a sub-2:30 PB at last fall's Chicago Marathon. Also in the race are former national record holder Yoko Shibui and two-time World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa (both Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), Tosa seeking to make a comeback after giving birth to her first baby last year. The strongest challenge may come from 2011 Asian Marathon champion Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal), who finished 2nd at February's Tokyo Marathon.

2011 Hokkaido Marathon Elite Field Highlights

click here for complete elite field listing

Men

Daniel Njenga (Kenya/Team Yakult) - 2:06:16 (Chicago 2002)

Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 2:09:10 (Tokyo 2011)

Seiji Kobayashi (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:10:38 (Beppu-Oita 2009)

Masaya Shimizu (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:10:50 (Biwako 2009)

Masashi Hayashi (Team Yakult) - 2:11:17 (Beppu-Oita 2010)

Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 2:11:43 (Beppu-Oita 2011)

Chiharu Takada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:12:44 (Fukuoka 2010)

Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) - 2:14:44 (Tokyo 2011)

Women

Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:19:41 (Berlin 2004)

Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:22:46 (Boston 2002)

Yumiko Hara (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:23:48 (Osaka 2007)

Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) - 2:24:33 (Vienna 2006)

Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) - 2:25:10 (Hokkaido 2009)

Noriko Higuchi (Noriko Higuchi) - 2:28:49 (Tokyo 2011)

Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 2:29:45 (Chicago 2010)

Sumiko Suzuki (Team Hokuren) - 2:32:02 (Tokyo 2011)

Chinami Fukaminato (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:34:16 (Hokkaido 2009)

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

Ageo City Half Marathon Preview and Streaming

This weekend's big race is the Ageo City Half Marathon , the next stop on the collegiate men's circuit. Most of the universities bound for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden use Ageo to thin down the list of contenders for their final Hakone rosters, and with JRN's development program that sends the first two Japanese collegiate finishers in Ageo to the United Airlines NYC Half every year a lot of coaches put in some of their A-listers too. That gives Ageo legendary depth and fast front-end speed, with a 1:00:47 course record last year from Kenyan corporate leaguer Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) and the top 26 all clearing 63 minutes. Since a lot of programs just enter everybody on their rosters you never really know who on the entry list is actually going to show up, but if even a quarter of the people at the top end of this year's list run it'll be a great race, even if conditions are looking likely to be a bit warmer than ideal. Chuo Gakuin University 's Reishi Yoshi

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

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