Skip to main content

Kamulu Breaks Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon Course Record

Japan-based Kenyan Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) outran defending champion Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) and three of Japan's best upcoming young talents to cut 13 seconds off the course record as she won the 36th edition of the Sanyo Ladies Road Race half marathon.

Kamulu, Ohara and 2017 national cross country champion Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) set off near 1:08-flat pace, a time no Japanese woman has cleared in almost 12 years. Behind them, Rio Olympian Miyuki Uehara and the debuting Azusa Sumi (Univ. Ent.) went at a more conservative pace while keeping the leaders in sight. After 5 km Kamulu through in a surge to drop her Japanese competition, going through 10 km in 32-flat and pushing on alone to finish in 1:08:04, a new course record and a PB by well over a minute and a half.


Behind her, Ohara and Ichiyama fought to keep it on sub-1:09 pace. Ohara began to fade, and as Ichiyama pulled away Uehara and Sumi began to come up from behind. Uehara, who memorably frontran her way to the 5000 m final in Rio, surged hard to get rid of Sumi, passing Ohara and then Ichiyama on the last lap of the track to take 2nd in 1:09:13. Ichiyama was right behind in 1:09:14. Behind them, Sumi likewise caught Ohara on the track to take 4th in a solid debut of 1:09:21. Ohara was only 9 seconds off her PB in 1:09:26, but as the 4th Japanese woman her chances of being picked up for the 2018 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships team look slim.

Further back, Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) took 13th in a PB of 1:11:29, the fastest time this year by a British woman. Camille Buscomb (New Zealand) dropped out partway through the race.

The half marathon has been a major area of weakness for Japanese woman in recent years, with none under 1:09 since 2013 and a sub-1:10 time almost a surprise at this point. With four women under 1:09:30, three of them young runners making the all-time Japanese top 25 in their first serious half marathons, it was a welcome positive note on which to end a mostly disappointing year.


The 10 km division also saw good debuts by several young athletes. 19-year-old Japan-based Ethiopian Shuru Bulo (Toto) won her first road 10 km easily in 32:03. Yuka Hori (Panasonic) took 2nd in a PB of 32:27, with debuting Daiichi Seimei teammates Kanami Sagayama, 19, and Himawari Yuda, 20, both just clearing 33 minutes for 3rd and 4th.

36th Sanyo Ladies Road Race

Okayama, 12/23/17
click here for complete results

Half Marathon
1. Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) - 1:08:04 - CR, PB
2. Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:09:13 - PB
3. Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 1:09:14 - PB
4. Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 1:09:21 - debut
5. Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) - 1:09:26
6. Kaori Morita (Panasonic) - 1:10:11 - debut
7. Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 1:10:22 - PB
8. Akane Sekino (Imabari Zosen) - 1:10:28 - PB
9. Reia Iwade (Dome) - 1:10:35
10. Grace Kimanzi (Starts) - 1:10:36
-----
13. Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) - 1:11:29 - PB
DNF - Camille Buscomb (New Zealand)

10 km
1. Shuru Bulo (Toto) - 32:03 - debut
2. Yuka Hori (Panasonic) - 32:27 - PB
3. Kanami Sagayama (Daiichi Seimei) - 32:52 - debut
4. Himawari Yuda (Daiichi Seimei) - 32:56 - debut
5. Wakana Itsuki (Kyudenko) - 33:01 - PB

© 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Nat'l University Ekiden Updates Here

Looks like I just went over my update limit on Twitter - sorry, it's the first time I've tried to use it for this. I'll look for another option next time. In the meantime I'll add updates to the comments below. Not sure if that has a max too but I guess we'll find out. Update: Part one of the Nationals commentary can be found here .
77 comments
Read more

Top 7 Break NR at Ginza Road Mile

The mile isn't really a thing in Japan, especially on the roads, but it's starting to change a little bit. At Nike's new Ginza Mile road race, even in the middle of heavy rain the top 7 in the men's race all broke the national record of 4:00.02 set in March by Ojiro Honda (Waseda Univ.). Soma Nagahara (Juntendo Univ.) was first across the line to become the official new NR holder in 3:57.0, just beating Shunsuke Kuwata (Komazawa Univ.) by 0.3 in Kuwata's best race since the NYC Half in March. Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) and Yuto Miyake (Chuo Univ.) were right behind in 3:57.9 and 3:58.1, and while there doesn't seem to be an official Taiwanese road mile NR it's pretty much a given that the 3:58.9 by Chien Tzu-Chieh (Chuo Univ.) for 5th was Taiwan's best-ever. Women's NR holder Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) easily won in 4:33.8, almost 2 seconds off her NR from 2023, with Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) 2nd in 4:36.87 and Ran Urabe ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nagoya Asian Games Team Announced

Following this past weekend's National Championships, the JAAF has announced the complete lineup of 41 women and 45 men for September's Nagoya Asian Games national team. Times listed are athletes' 2025-26 best. Women 100 m Midori Mikase (Sumitomo Denko) - 11.33 Abigail Fuka Ido (Toho Ginko) - 11.35 200 m Abigail Fuka Ido (Toho Ginko) - 22.79 Aiko Iki (Osaka Gas) - 23.41 400 m Nanako Matsumoto (Toho Ginko) - 52.14 800 m Rin Kubo (Sekisui Kagaku) - 1:59.52 Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:01.01 1500 m Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:04.16 Mizuki Michishita (Sekisui Kagaku) - 4:10.48 5000 m Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 14:34.10 Yuma Yamamoto (Sekisui Kagaku) - 14;59.89 10000 m Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 30:54.40 Ririka Hironaka (Uniqlo) - 30:56.32 100 mH Hitomi Nakajima (Hasegawa) - 12.71 Mako Fukube (NKK) - 12.72 400 mH Honoka Aoki (Zenrin) - 55.92 Satsuki Umehara (Sumitomo Denko) - 56.22 3000 mSC Miu Saito (Panasonic) - 9:24.72 Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui...
Post a Comment
Read more