'18 World Half Bronze Medalist Kamulu and Tokyo Olympic Marathon Trials Winner Nakamura Take Humid Hokkaido Marathon

2018 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Pauline Kamulu Kaveke and Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura survived tough conditions, 22˚C at the start with 82% humidity, sunny skies and almost no wind, to take the 2024 Hokkaido Marathon Sunday in Sapporo.

Both running their debuts, Kamulu and Shiho Tachizako ran steadily around 2:28-flat pace surrounded by a group of amateur men, staying together until just before 30 km when Tachizako started to fade. Kamulu struggled with the hot conditions late in the race and could only watch the clock as sub-2:30 slipped away, looking very tired as she crossed the finish line in 2:31:04. Tachizako faded to 2:33:47 for 2nd, but even that was good enough to easily beat the rest of the field, with last year's 2nd-placer Ayano Ikeuchi 3rd in 2:35:26 in her third marathon so far this year.

Nakamura had said pre-race that he didn't care about time and was only focused on getting in the win, and that was exactly how he ran, ignoring the early action and staying near the front of the main pack until he made his initial move at 30 km. That got rid of the pretenders, with only 2:08~2:10 men Takeshi Soma, Atsumi Ashiwa and Masaru Aoki, and 2:18 amateur Ryuichi Yoshioka getting back on board. Soma countered with an attack after 34 km, but Nakamura quickly reeled him back in and made his real move with 5 km to go.

Yoshioka was the only one to try to follow, but it was all Nakamura the rest of the way, scoring his first win since his Olympic trials victory in 2019 with a 2:15:36 for 1st. Yoshioka was elated in the home stretch with a 2:16:28 for 2nd, a 2-minute PB and the only runner male or female in the top 10 to PB. Nakamura's toughest competition still standing when he dropped his big move, Ashiwa out kicked Soma and Aoki for 3rd in 2:16:40.

Osaka Marathon winner Kiyoto Hirabayashi ran Hokkaido as a training run, jogging in to a 70th-place finish in 2:41:19. The next-fastest man on paper after Hirabayashi with a 2:07:58 win in Beppu-Oita in February, Japan-based Ethiopian Derese Workneh was a DNF near 30 km.

Hokkaido Marathon

Sapporo, Hokkaido, 25 Aug. 2024

Women

1. Pauline Kamulu Kaveke (Kenya/Route Inn Hotels) - 2:31:04 - debut

2. Shiho Tachizako (Tenmaya) - 2:33:47 - debut

3. Ayano Ikeuchi (Denso) - 2:35:26

4. Yuko Kikuchi (Shimamura) - 2:36:50

5. Yuri Mitsune (18 Ginko) - 2:37:08

6. Asuka Yamamoto (Universal Entertainment) - 2:39:14

7. Nanami Aoki (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:40:07

8. Tomomi Sawahata (Sawahatters) - 2:40:15

9. Ayami Hirano (Noritz) - 2:41:40 - debut

10. Kana Masuda (stylish) - 2:48:14

Men

1. Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 2:15:36

2. Ryuichi Yoshioka (Honda Tochigi) - 2:16:28 - PB

3. Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda) - 2:16:40

4. Takeshi Soma (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:16:43

5. Masaru Aoki (Kao) - 2:16:46

6. Takumi Komatsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:18:09

7. Toshiya Sato (Toyota) - 2:18:42 - debut

8. Hiromasa Kurahashi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:19:03

9. Benjamin Ngandu (Kenya/Yonezawa B of E) - 2:19:36

10. Takuya Kumashiro (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:19:46

11. Kazuto Kawabata (SGH) - 2:20:17

12. Yuma Morii (Kyoto T&F Assoc.) - 2:21:18

13. Naoya Sato (Miraspo) - 2:21:37

14. Takayuki Matsuura (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.) - 2:22:09

15. Kensuke Yamaguchi (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:23:16

16. Yueqing Zhen (China) - 2:23:16

17. Chaoqing Zhen (China) - 2:23:16

18. Hyuma Abe (Team Nitro) - 2:23:54

19. Yuki Suzuki (Kao) - 2:24:17

20. Daichi Atsuura (ND Software) - 2:25:50

-----

26. Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) - 2:28:11

34. Ren Umezaki (Toyo Univ.) - 2:32:21

40. Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:34:03

56. Yuki Nakamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:38:32

70. Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 2:41:19

196. Daichi Kamino (MABP) - 2:53:55

-----

DNF - Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin)

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...

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...

japan running news

Search This Blog