Kawauchi Joins Elite Club of 11+ Sub-2:10 Marathoners

by Brett Larner

With his 2:09:54 at Sunday's Ehime Marathon Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) became the fifteenth runner in history to run sub-2:10 eleven times or more in his career. The achievement puts him in distinguished company, including two marathon world record setters, seven Olympic marathon medalists, seven World Championships marathon medalists, three World Marathon Majors champions and eight winners of the six races now making up the World Marathon Majors.

Kawauchi is one of only three non-African athletes to make the list, one of four on the list without either an Olympic or World Championships medal or a win at one of the Big Six, one of four to have not broken 2:07, and, with a PB of 2:08:14, the only one who has not run sub-2:08. A sub-2:08 PB and a World Championships medal remain the major goals of his career.

Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) - 16 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:04:38
2013 World Marathon Majors champion
1st, 2013 London Marathon
1st, 2012 Chicago Marathon
1st, 2010 London Marathon
bronze, 2009 Berlin World Championships
bronze, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) - 14 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:03:14
2011 World Marathon Majors champion
1st, 2011 London Marathon
silver, 2009 Berlin World Championships

Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) - 14 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:05:27
silver, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
gold, 2005 Helsinki World Championships
gold, 2003 Paris World Championships

Yemane Tsegay (Ethiopia) - 13 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:04:48
silver, 2015 Beijing World Championships

Feyisa Lelisa (Ethiopia) - 13 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:04:52
silver, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
1st, 2016 Tokyo Marathon
bronze, 2011 Daegu World Championships

Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Morocco) - 13 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:06:46
1st, 2001 London Marathon
1st, 2000 New York City Marathon
1st, 1999 London Marathon

Stefano Baldini (Italy) - 13 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:07:22
gold, 2006 Goteborg European Championships
gold, 2004 Athens Olympic Games
bronze, 2003 Paris World Championships
bronze, 2001 Edmonton World Championships
gold, 1998 Budapest European Championships

Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) - 12 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:03:13
world record setter
2014 World Marathon Majors champion
1st, 2014 New York City Marathon
1st, 2014 London Marathon
1st, 2013 Berlin Marathon
bronze, 2012 London Olympic Games
1st, 2012 London Marathon

Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) - 12 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:03:59
2-time world record setter
1st, 2009 Berlin Marathon
1st, 2008 Berlin Marathon
1st, 2007 Berlin Marathon
1st, 2006 Berlin Marathon

Sammy Korir (Kenya) - 12 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:04:56

Bernard Kiprop (Kenya) - 12 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:06:19

Abel Kirui (Kenya) - 11 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:05:04
1st, 2016 Chicago Marathon
silver, 2012 London Olympic Games
gold, 2011 Daegu World Championships
gold, 2009 Berlin World Championships

Benson Barus (Kenya) - 11 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:07:07

Bong-ju Lee (South Korea) - 11 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:07:20
gold, 2002 Busan Asian Games
1st, 2001 Boston Marathon
gold, 1998 Bangkok Asian Games
silver, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

Yuki Kawauchi (Japan) - 11 times sub-2:10

PB: 2:08:14
bronze, 2014 Incheon Asian Games

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance? Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance. This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere. It was put into place in 1986. In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made. Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km. When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

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