Kawauchi and Takemoto Headline Dec. 18 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon (updated)

by Brett Larner

update: both Tewelde and Igarashi have scratched.

Fresh off one of the greatest marathons of his career to date in Fukuoka last weekend, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) once again returns to the Dec. 18 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon for his year-ending marathon double. With injuries to both legs before Fukuoka Kawauchi's condition is a question mark, but on paper he is the class of the field with an almost three-minute advantage over his nearest competition, the Toshinari Takaoka-coached Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo). Taiki Yoshimura (Team Asahi Kasei), coached by Takeshi Soh, and Katsuta Marathon course record-setter Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff) are the other main domestic contenders. Perpetual pacemaker Isaac Macharia (Kenya) is listed in the field rather than as a pacer, but it has been years since Macharia has run a good marathon. That makes Rio Olympian Tsegai Tewelde (Great Britain) the top international runner in the field with a 2:12:23 at this year's London Marathon.

Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) has won the Hofu women's race five times including a 2:35:46 course record last year, but this year she faces two current corporate league women who lead Hofu's best-ever women's field. Yuka Takemoto holds the course record at the nearby Kitakyushu Marathon with a 2:31:02 win in 2014. The same year Yuko Mizuguchi (Team Denso) ran 2:31:39 at the Nagoya Women's Marathon. Yoshimatsu will have a tough time overcoming either of them, let alone both, to score a sixth Hofu title.

47th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field Highlights
Hofu, Yamaguchi, 12/18/16
click here for complete field listing
times listed are best in last three years except where noted

Men
Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:09:01 (Gold Coast 2016)
Isaac Macharia (Kenya) - 2:11:00 (Seoul 2012)
Tomoyuki Morita (Kanebo) - 2:11:41 (Tokyo 2015)
Tsegai Tewelde (Great Britain) - 2:12:23 (London 2016) - scratch with injury
Taiki Yoshimura (Asahi Kasei) - 2:13:12 (Hofu 2015)
Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff) - 2:13:15 (Katsuta 2016) - scratch with injury
Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:13:46 (Tokyo 2016)
Ezekiel Jafary (Tanzania) - 2:14:05 (Seoul 2014)
Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:14:15 (Beppu-Oita 2016)
Ryo Hashimoto (GMO Athletes) - 2:14:38 (Tokyo 2016)
Sora Tsukada (SGH Group) - 2:15:16 (Osaka 2016)

Women
Yuka Takemoto (Canon AC Kyushu) - 2:31:02 (Kitakyushu 2014)
Yuko Mizuguchi (Denso) - 2:31:39 (Nagoya Women's 2014)
Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) - 2:35:46 (Hofu 2015)
Noriko Sato (First Dream AC) - 2:46:36 (Fukuoka 2014)
Chika Yokota (Hiroshima Univ.) - 2:47:47 (Shimonoseki 2015)
Hisayo Matsumoto (unattached) - 2:47:51 (Hofu 20159
Rika Kawashima (Canon AC Kyushu) - debut

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Hassan Runs NR/CR for Osaka Win, Dibaba Hits Women's CR, Yoshida and Shuley Earn Legends

This was maybe the most entertaining marathon in years. After rocking the 2nd leg at last year's Hakone Ekiden Hibiki Yoshida (Sunbelx) ran an incredible 1:01:01 CR for the 21.9 km New Year Ekiden 2nd leg last month, equivalent to a 58:47 half marathon. That predicted a 2:03:27 marathon if he ever ran one, and when Yoshida announced he was debuting at this year's Osaka Marathon he wasted no time in saying it'd be a shot at the 2:04:55 NR. Things went out fast enough with a 14:50 split through 5 km, 2:05:11 pace, but Yoshida just couldn't hold back and took off at 8 km. He clearly DGAF about what was probably going to happen as his projected finish kept getting faster, 2:04:41, 2:04:15, 2:03:51, 2:03:40, edging closer and closer to what his New Year time predicted, but not helped along by the fact that he missed 4 out of his first 5 drink bottles. People laughed, and then cheered him on. 30 km was the first time he slowed, his finish projection dropping to 2:03:53, an...

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...

japan running news

Search This Blog