Skip to main content

Karemi Repeats at Record-Setting Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler

by Brett Larner
photos by @t_tsuki

Less than 24 hours after world record-setting 10000 m depth in Hachioji, another record fell at the 40th anniversary Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler.  Expectations were high that the talented Kenta Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) would follow up on his twin brother Kota's 10000 m national record in Hachioji by breaking the 45:40 Japanese 10 mile national record set back in 1984, almost a decade before the Murayamas were born.

Murayama came out swinging, running side-by-side with defending champion Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Team Toyota Kyushu) through a 2:47 opening km, 44:47 pace.  Karemi pushed on but Murayama soon let go and dropped back behind another Kenyan, Charles Ndungu (Team Komori Corp.), picking up company from teammate Kenjiro Mogi.

Running alone Karemi couldn't sustain his course record pace but had no trouble taking a second-straight win.  His time of 45:19 was 32 seconds better than last year and the seventh-best winning time in Kosa history behind only Martin Mathathi (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), Samuel Wanjiru (Team Toyota Kyushu) and Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin).  Not bad company to be in.

Pursuing Ndungu, Murayama and Mogi fell off Japanese NR pace, and with 1 km to go they found themselves mirroring yesterday's 10000 m, where Kota Murayama and his Asahi Kasei teammate Tetsuya Yoroizaka were side-by-side all the way to a photo finish separated by only 0.05 seconds.  This time it was Mogi's turn, though, as he got Kenta Murayama on the line for 3rd, both men clocking 46:08 to come in at #9 on the all-time Japanese list.

Next across the line was this year's top Japanese marathoner Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) in 46:36, just 1 second off his PB in his first race back since meningitis knocked him out of the summer's Beijing World Championships marathon where he had been a solid medal contender.  Toyota Kyushu runners took the next three places behind Imai, putting the Koichi Morishita-coached team into good position for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships.  Although not quite as good as Asahi Kasei's position with three men sub-28 yesterday and the top two Japanese men today.

The fast times continued far down the field, with a total of 107 men breaking the 50 minute mark to eclipse the previous record set in Kosa in 1998.  Like at yesterday's historic Hachioji Long Distance meet, the majority of them were using Kosa as a tuneup for the New Year Ekiden, which will be celebrating its 60th anniversary running.  With stellar quality and depth at both races look for something special indeed to happen come January 1.


40th Kumamoto Kosa Road Race
Kosa, Kumamoto, 11/29/15
click here for complete results

Men's 10 Miles
1. Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Kenya/Toyota Kyushu) - 45:19
2. Charles Ndungu (Kenya/Komori Corp.) - 46:07
3. Kenjiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 46:08
4. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 46:08
5. Masato Imai (Toyota Kyushu) - 46:36
6. Yuki Oshikawa (Toyota Kyushu) - 46:37
7. Ryuji Watanabe (Toyota Kyushu) - 46:38
8. Kaoru Hirosue (Toyota Kyushu) - 46:39
9. Kohei Matsumura (Mitsubishi HPS Nagasaki) - 46:41
10. Daiki Kubota (Yasukawa Denki) - 46:46
-----
25. Ryoya Nishikawa (Toenec) - 47:13
50. Tsukasa Koyama (Subaru) - 47:53
75. Tatsunari Hirayama (Yasukawa Denki) - 48:19
100. Fumito Imazaki (Osaka Police Dep't) - 49:29
107. Masaki Hori (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 49:52

High School Boys' 10 km
1. Naoki Soh (Tosu Kogyo H.S.) - 30:15
2. Yuma Yoshitake (Tosu Kogyo H.S.) - 30:20
3. Koichi Ide (Tosu Kogyo H.S.) - 30:23

Junior High School Boys' 5 km
1. Tatsunori Okumura (Shiranui J.H.S.) - 15:42
2. Ryuta Ikawa (Sashiki J.H.S.) - 16:01
3. Eito Sato (Minami Oguni J.H.S.) - 16:02

Women's 5 km
1. Miyu Otani (Wacoal) - 16:15
2. Yuka Hakoyama (Wacoal) - 16:16
3. Kumi Ogura (Toenec) - 16:17
4. Mao Ichiyama (Izumi Chuo H.S.) - 16:18
5. Erika Ikeda (Higo Ginko) - 16:20

text (c) 2015 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
photos (c) 2015 t_tsuki, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk
Post a Comment
Read more

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a
1 comment
Read more

Wanjiru Breaks Own MR, Fuwa and Ishida Return - Kanto Regionals Day 1 Highlights

Japan's best college meet kicked off Thursday at Tokyo's National Stadium at the 103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . Looking like she was doing a controlled tempo run, 2nd-yr Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) lapped the entire field to win the women's 10000 m in a meet record 32:02.87, almost 15 seconds under the record she last year in her debut. 3rd-yr Aoi Takahashi (Josai Univ.) was 2nd in 33:29.22 and 2nd-yr Nana Nagashima (Josai Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in a PB 33:30.28, but the other main news alongside Wanjiru's new record was the return of collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) in her first 10000 m in 19 months. Fuwa hung at the back of the chase pack for the first half, made a move to lead it in the second half, and ultimately faded to 9th in 33:40.20. Every comeback has to start somewhere. The D1 men's 10000 m had a tight group up front with the top 6 all finishing within 6 seconds and under 28:10. 3rd-yr Jam
1 comment
Read more