In what had to have been the best weather in Gifu's 11-year history, mid-teens, a tailwind on the return trip of the hilly out-and-back course, and a light misty rain that began minutes before the start and gradually picked up over the morning, the men's race went out close to CR pace, Mutiso leading the way at 5 km in 14:15 and at least 16 others in tow. The pace stayed there over the next 10 km until only 5 were left up front, and with a 13:59 split from there to 20 km cut it down to just Mutiso, Benard Koech (Kyudenko) and Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku).
With a buzzed head the petite Omare blended into the crowd of amateur men enough that TV broadcasters seemed to have missed the fact that she was leading, instead focusing in on the chase pack led by Aussie trio Sinead Diver, Eloise Wellings and Natalie Rule within the first km. To be fair, I was on the course and missed her too when she first went by at 1.5 km. But not that Omare seemed to care, as she whipped her unofficial pacers to push her to a 1:08:13 win.
Diver broke from the chase pack just before 10 km, followed first by Wellings, then Rule and top Japanese duo Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) and Reia Iwade (Adidas). Diver, who already holds the W40 world record of 1:08:55, kept pulling away to add the W45 record to her portfolio with a 1:09:00 for 2nd, while behind her Yamaguchi, like Nakamura an unsponsored amateur in her mid-30s, overtook Wellings for 3rd.
11th Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon
Gifu, 24 April 2022
Women
1. Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (Kenya/U.S.E.) - 1:08:13
2. Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:09:00 - W45 WR
3. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 1:09:50 - PB
4. Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 1:10:42
5. Reia Iwade (Adidas) - 1:10:43
6. Natalie Rule (Australia) - 1:11:24 - debut
7. Miharu Shimokado (S.I.D. Group) - 1:12:19
8. Nanami Aoki (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:12:33
9. Anna Matsuda (Denso) - 1:12:59
10. Yuma Adachi (Kyocera) - 1:13:57
11. Aiko Fujita (Aichi Denki) - 1:15:17
12. Aika Nakashima (Kyocera) - 1:17:44
13. Rina Hirayama (Aichi Denki) - 1:18:39
14. Kotomi Shoji (Aichi Denki) - 1:18:45
15. Hodaka Shimizu (Nara-X Athletes) - 1:19:47
Men
1. Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) - 59:56 - CR
2. Benard Kibet Koech (Kenya/Kyocera) - 59:57 - debut
3. Emmanuel Maru (Kenya/Toyota Boshoku) - 59:58 - PB
4. Joseph Karanja (Kenya/Aichi Seiko) - 1:00:12
5. Charles Karanja Kamau (Kenya/NTN) - 1:00:22 - PB
6. Josphat Ledama Kisaisa (Kenya/Kanebo) - 1:00:58
7. Vincent Raimoi (Kenya/Suzuki) - 1:01:22
8. Donald Mitei (Kenya/Chudenko) - 1:01:48 - PB
9. Simon Saidimu (Kenya/Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:01:51 - debut
10. Takahiro Nakamura (Kyocera Kagoshima) - 1:02:21
11. Yuki Sato (SG Holdings) - 1:02:22
12. Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:02:22
13. Kazuya Azegami (Toyota) - 1:02:31
14. Shun Sadakata (Mazda) - 1:02:36
15. Takumi Oishi (Suzuki) - 1:02:40
16. Tomohiro Fujimura (Suzuki) - 1:02:46
17. Tomoki Kawamura (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:02:47
18. Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 1:02:50
19. Koshiro Hirata (SG Holdings) - 1:02:56
20. Torazo Kai (Suzuki) - 1:02:58
21. Manabu Yamada (Suzuki) - 1:03:00
22. Yuichi Yasui (Toyota) - 1:03:06
23. Hidekazu Hijikata (Honda) - 1:03:08
24. Hiromasa Kumahashi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 1:03:09
25. Daisuke Higuchi (Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:03:11
26. Takanori Ogata (Soka Univ.) - 1:03:13
27. Mizuki Higashi (Aisan Kogyo) - 1:03:14
28. Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 1:03:22
29. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 1:03:30
30. Ryotaro Tomita (Suzuki) - 1:03:36
Comments
Having read your article and being better informed about Yamaguchi I can only give huge props to her for both her 3000m PB and then this half marathon PB. She is clearly in the form of her career. She deserves a corporate sponsor! Her and Homani Maeda clearly have the same preference in running shoes! Good for them.
Next month's 10000m National Championships is going to be compelling viewing. As an aside, I was surprised to see Nozomi Tanaka put in a good performance at the 10000m distance yesterday too after her 1500m run.
The only premier athlete I haven't seen compete in a while is Ririka Hironaka. I recall seeing her in an Exiden a while back and putting in a very good performance but unless I've missed her in a track appearance I've not seen her since. I hope she is not injured. It would be a shame if she could not participate in the 10000m National Championships.
On that same thread - great to see Yuki Sato having a good day, too! When those two hang it up, it might be time to close up shop (which means that you might be in business for eternity).