Skip to main content

Kyudenko Runs Down Ritsumeikan Uji for Win at 25th Kita-Kyushu Women's Ekiden

by Brett Larner

The Kyudenko corporate women's team ran down defending champion Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. thanks to a stage-winning run from anchor Misaki Kato, coming back from a 31-second deficit to win the 25th Kita-Kyushu Invitational Women's Ekiden by 10 seconds. Despite a 18:11 course record run on the 5.9 km Second Stage by Kenyan Sally Chepyego, Kyudenko fell steadily behind Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. over the 32.8 km course's first four stages.  31 seconds behind by the time she started, Kato was obliged to run 11.7 km while the high school teams had the anchor stage split into 4.9 km and 6.8 km sections with two different runners.  Ritsumeikan Uji's Aki Manabe and Yuka Sato both ran the fastest times on those two segments, but Kato, on a steady rise since a sub-71 half marathon debut at last September's Great North Run, was simply too much for them to handle.  Near the end of the race Kato overtook Sato, opening 10 seconds in the home straight to seal Kyudenko's win in 1:46:01.  2013 National Corporate Women's Ekiden champion team Denso was a distant 3rd in 1:47:47.

Kato told JRN she next plans to race February's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, where she will be among the major contenders for a place on the Japanese team for March's Copenhagen World Half Marathon.

 25th Kita-Kyushu Invitational Women's Ekiden
Kita-Kyushu, 1/19/14
open division: 7 teams, 5 stages, 32.8 km
H.S. division: 14 teams, 6 stages, 32.8 km
click here for complete results

 Top Team Results - Open Division
1. Kyudenko - 1:46:01
2. Denso -- 1:47:47
3. Toto - 1:48:16
4. Tenmaya - 1:48:53
5. Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo - 1:49:06

Top Team Results - High School Division
1. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 1:46:11
2. Kojokan H.S. - 1:49:30
3. Saikyo H.S. - 1:50:06
4. Suma Gakuen H.S. - 1:50:23
5. Kita-Kyushu Municipal H.S. - 1:51:13

Stage Best Performances
First Stage (4.2 km) - Yui Fukuda (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 13:34
Second Stage (5.9 km) - Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 18:11 - CR tie
Third Stage (5.1 km) - Sayaka Takarada (Kojokan H.S.) - 16:28
Fourth Stage (5.9 km) - Tomoka Katada (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 19:32
Fifth Stage - open (11.7 km) - Misaki Kato (Team Kyudenko) - 36:55
Fifth Stage - H.S. (4.9 km) - Aki Manabe (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 16:18
Sixth Stage - H.S. (6.8 km) - Yuka Sako (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 21:18

 (c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

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