Kobayashi Breaks Hofu Yomiuri Marathon CR in 2:24:59

Yuya Yoshida winning Fukuoka in CR time was a great story, and here's another one. Kana Kobayashi didn't run track or ekidens in junior high, high school, or at Waseda University and just ran for fun, but after a 2:36:54 debut at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon and a 2:29:44 PB there this year she got an offer from the Otsuka Seiyaku corporate team. After a good championship ekiden season she ran today's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, and with a 5-minute PB she won in a CR 2:24:59.

It was an impressively even effort, 1:12:13 through halfway and breaking competition that included 2:22:29 runner Mao Uesugi and 2:23:05 runner Natsumi Matsushita. Her final margin of victory over Matsushita was almost 3 1/2 minutes, with Uesugi another 4 1/2 minutes further back. It's not quite the top level of the sport in Japan, but it for sure puts Kobayashi near the top of the list of rising talent.

The men's race went through halfway on CR pace, with last year's 3rd-placer Ryoma Takeuchi, Riki Nakanishi, Shoma Yamamoto and the debuting Shinta Miyazawa, coached by Olympian Arata Fujiwara, all together. Takeuchi was the first to drop, and just past 33 km Nakanishi pulled away to cruise on to win in 2:09:07. Yamamoto was 2nd in 2:09:59, with Miyazawa clocking 2:11:55 in his first time out and Takeuchi 4th in 2:12:34. Last year's winner Yuki Kawauchi was never a factor, 38th overall in 2:33:01, two minutes shy of his season best from April's Paris Marathon.

55th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

Hofu, Yamaguchi, 1 Dec. 2024

complete results

Women

1. Kana Kobayashi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:24:59 - CR, PB

2. Natsumi Matsushita (Tenmaya) - 2:28:16

3. Mao Uesugi (Tokyo Metro) - 2:32:48

4. Ayano Ikeuchi (Denso) - 2:37:52

5. Meari Obuchi (United) - 2:40:16

6. Ayumi Morita (Tokyo Metro) - 2:42:01

7. Mio Koyanagi (Osaka Nagai AC) - 2:48:40

8. Noriko Uchida (Oita T&F Assoc.) - 2:49:31

9. Sayaka Yasukawa (Awake) - 2:51:30

10. Miyuki Usui (unattached) - 2:52:18

Men

1. Riki Nakanishi (Toenec) - 2:09:07

2. Shoma Yamamoto (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:09:59

3. Shinta Miyazawa (Suzuki) - 2:11:55 - debut

4. Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) - 2:12:34

5. Tomoki Yasuda (Suzuki) - 2:14:07

6. Takeshi Nishida (Toyota) - 2:14:52

7. Hiromasa Kumahashi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:14:55

8. Takuma Takemura (SG Holdings) - 2:15:23

9. Kota Sugiho (Suzuki) - 2:16:35

10. Maki Yamada (Asahi Kasei) - 2:16:41 - debut

11. Reo Kuniyuki (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:18:39

12. Daisuke Momozawa (Lycaons) - 2:18:44

13. Nao Kazami (Aisan Kogyo) - 2:18:56

14. Shota Saito (JFE Steel) - 2:19:22

15. Junpei Kato (Kumamoto T&F Assoc.) - 2:19:31 - PB

16. Yuki Nakamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:19:38

-----

38. Yuki Kawauchi (ANDS) - 2:33:01

-----

DNF - Joel Mwaura (Kenya/Kurosaki Harima)

Yuya Yoshida 2:05:16 CR to Win Fukuoka International Marathon

Yuya Yoshida 's story is really the kind you love to read. A guy who never got to run the big races at Aoyama Gakuin University until his very last chance his senior year, when he dropped a course record at the 2020 Hakone Ekiden in what he was thinking of as his last race. Then a 2:08:30 marathon debut for 3rd at Beppu on his coach's advice. Then a 2:07:05 win at the Fukuoka International Marathon later the same year after deciding to keep going and joining the GMO corporate team. A few years of setbacks, then a 2:06:37 PB in Osaka this spring. And now this. A 2:05:16 CR for the win in Fukuoka, 1:02:58 at halfway and a smoking 1:02:18 mostly solo 2nd half, 2 seconds under the old record set back in pre-super shoe days in 2009 by the great Tsegaye Kebede . Really, what else is there to say? Yoshida was great. In the pack through 25 km, then throwing down at dropping 2:06:31 man Yusuke Nishiyama and everyone else except Israeli Tadesse Getahon , who lasted another 5 km befor...

Fukuoka, Hofu, Kosa 10-Miler and More - Weekend Preview

It's a massive weekend of racing in Japan, so let's get to it. Fukuoka International Marathon Right now only four Japanese men have qualified for next year's Tokyo World Championships, and with recent times between 2:05:59 and 2:06:54 the main domestic group up front, Kenya Sonota , Yusuke Nishiyama , Yuya Yoshida , Kazuya Nishiyama and Daisuke Doi , will be aiming to add to that list. It's been a while since there's been this good a Japanese field in Fukuoka. There was a near-miss on China scoring its first Fukuoka win last year, and there's a strong Chinese contingent back this time including NR holder Jie He , 2:06:57, Shaohui Yang , 2:07:09, Jianhua Peng , 2:09:59, and Bo Li , 2:11:23. Israel has a small crew of three, Tesema Moges , Tadesse Getahon and Yitayew Abuhay , and the main Kenyan group including two-time winner Michael Githae , Bidan Karoki , Bethwel Yegon , Lemeck Too and Vincent Raimoi , is pretty well-positioned to help make it a race under t...

Singh Breaks Indian NR to Win Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m, with 39 Going Sub-28

For the second time in two months Gulveer Singh was in Japan to race, and for the second time he outkicked Toyota corporate team rookie and 2023-2024 Komazawa University captain Mebuki Suzuki to win with a new Indian national record. Last time around it was September's Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup 5000 m in Niigata, where Singh ran a 13:11.82 NR, outpowering Suzuki over the last 200 m but Suzuki still coming in with an all-time Japanese #8 13:13.80. This time it was the Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m time trial meet in suburban Tokyo. Running the fastest heat targeting the 27:00.00 Tokyo World Championships standard, Singh started at the back of the pack and worked his way forward as the race progressed. The front end of the pack wore down to just Singh, Suzuki and Japan-based Kenyans Samwel Masai (Kao), Gilbert Kiprotich (Sunbelx) and Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko), splitting en route: 2:42 5:25 (2:43) 8:08 (2:43) 10:51 (2:43) 13:36 (2:45) 16:19 (2:43) 19:04 (2:45)...

japan running news

Search This Blog