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

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

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DNF - Joel Mwaura (Kenya/Kurosaki Harima)

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...

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