Skip to main content

Nageeye and Saina Win Marugame Half, Suzuki 1:07:55 Debut for All-Time Japanese #3



It was one of those magical Marugame days when everything, almost everything, went right, when despite an uphill second half everyone, almost everyone, ran a PB they'll probably never touch again. Defending Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon winner Betsy Saina (Kenya) taking over a minute off her best to beat the debuting Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) to the line 1:07:49 to 1:07:55, Suzuki's time landing her at all-time #3 on the Japanese charts. 41-year-old 3rd-placer Sinead Diver (Australia) running a masters' world record 1:08:55. And more down the line.

And on the men's side, Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) knocking almost two minutes off his best to outrun former Ageo City Half Marathon course record holder Simon Kariuki (Nihon Yakka Univ.) over the last 5 km for a national record 1:00:24 to Kariuki's 1:00:43 PB. 3rd-placer Jack Rayner (Australia) narrowly holding off a fast-closing pack of five Japanese collegiate and corporate men in 1:01:36 with all five behind him finishing in 1:01:45 to 1:01:46. Two other Japanese men under 62, with Rayner's compatriot Joel Tobin-White (Australia) just missing out in a major PB of 1:02:03. Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu), twin brother of national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda), having his best run in about three years with a 1:02:04 right behind Tobin-White. And more down the line.

Not everything was perfect. Domestic favorite Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei), a sub-61 man self-assessed in PB shape with a last shot at making the 2020 Olympic marathon trials a month away in Tokyo, tripped early on and was trampled, staggering to his feet a few seconds later and limping but soon dropping out. 2:08 Olympic trials qualifier Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) likewise out in the early going after a fall of his own. But overall Marugame, where the 2012 running was the deepest half marathon in history with 76 men under 1:04, delivered again on what it does best, and with nine university men breaking under 1:03 led by Aoyama Gakuin University teammates Takato Suzuki and Keita Yoshida in 1:01:45 and 1:01:46, there's bound to be still more down the line.

Aoyama Gakuin runners were also heavily represented at Yokohama's Kanagawa Marathon, but the top spot unexpectedly went to Kei Tsuboi (Hosei Univ.), who ran most of the race in a breakaway trio with AGU's Yuya Yoshida and Takayuki Iida before breaking away late in the race to win in 1:03:40. Yoshida was next in 1:03:53 with Iida rounding out the top three in 1:04:01. Farther north in Ibaraki, members of the Chuo Gakuin University team went 1-2 at the Moriya Half Marathon, with CGU's Daichi Takasago 1st in 1:05:12. Overseas, Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) won the Surf City Half Marathon in 1:03:00 with Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) 2nd in 1:03:01.

Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon

Marugame, Kagawa, 2/3/19
complete results

Women
1. Betsy Saina (Kenya) - 1:07:49 - PB
2. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan/Japan Post) - 1:07:55 - debut
3. Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:08:55 - PB
4. Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) - 1:09:46 - PB
5. Rachel Cliff (Canada) - 1:10:28
6. Mao Ichiyama (Japan/Wacoal) - 1:10:43
7. Rui Aoyama (Japan/Univ. Ent.) - 1:12:38
8. Mei Matsuyama (Japan/Noritz) - 1:12:54 - PB
9. Yuko Mizuguchi (Japan/Denso) - 1:13:07
10. Keiko Nogami (Japan/Sysmex) - 1:13:28

Men
1. Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) - 1:00:24 - NR
2. Simon Kariuki (Kenya/Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:00:43 - PB
3. Jack Rayner (Australia) - 1:01:36
4. Takato Suzuki (Japan/Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:45 - PB
5. Masao Kizu (Japan/Kanebo) - 1:01:45 - PB
6. Keita Yoshida (Japan/Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:46 - debut
7. Gen Hachisuka (Japan/Konica Minolta) - 1:01:46 - PB
8. Takuya Fujikawa (Japan/Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:01:46 - PB
9. Yuta Takahashi (Japan/Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:01:52 - PB
10. Ryu Takaku (Japan/Yakult) - 1:01:58 - PB
11. Joel Tobin-White (Australia) - 1:02:03 - PB
12. Keita Shitara (Japan/Hitachi Butsuryu) - 1:02:04
13. Akihiro Gunji (Japan/Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:07 - PB
14. Yuta Shimoda (Japan/GMO) - 1:02:08 - PB
15. Tsukasa Koyama (Japan/Subaru) - 1:02:09 - PB
16. Yuma Higashi (Kyudenko) - 1:02:11 - debut
17. Atsumi Ashiwa (Japan/Honda) - 1:02:12 - PB
18. Wataru Ueno (Japan/Honda) - 1:02:15 - PB
19. Shohei Kurata (Japan/GMO) - 1:02:15 - PB
20. Tadashi Isshiki (Japan/GMO) - 1:02:15
21. Kota Fujiki (Japan/Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:17 - PB
22. Sota Hoshi (Japan/Fujitsu) - 1:02:23
23. Taisei Nakamura (Japan/Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:24 - PB
24. Toshinori Watanabe (Japan/GMO) - 1:02:24 - PB
25. Naoki Saita (Japan/NTN) - 1:02:25 - PB
-----
DNF - Evans Cheruiyot (Kenya)
DNF - Shadrack Kiplagat (Kenya)
DNF - Kenta Murayama (Japan/Asahi Kasei)
DNF - Yuki Sato (Japan/Nissin Shokuhin)

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more