Skip to main content

Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon Elite Field (updated)


With just over 2 weeks to go the Feb. 2 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon has finally announced its elite field. It looks pretty good at the front end at first glance, but #1-ranked Vincent Kipchumba hasn't finished a marathon since his 2:04:28 best in London 4 years ago and has only run one race, a 29:05 10 km in 2023. #2-ranked Kiyoto Hirabayashi of Koku Gakuin University, winner in Osaka last year in a collegiate and debut record 2:06:18, is very unlikely to actually start, and #3-ranked Yohanes Ghebregergis likewise hasn't run a marathon since his 2:06:28 best in 2021 and only a single half marathon, 1:02:15 last spring, since then.

So, that leaves a pretty tasty matchup between 2021 Tokyo Olympics alternate Shohei Otsuka, 2:06:57, last year's winner Derese Workneh, 2:07:58 in his Beppu-Oita victory, and Tesfahun Akalnew, 2:07:59. Another 5 people are at the 2:08 level, and then there are a truckload of 1:01 half marathoners taking a shot at the marathon distance. Runners from this year's Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University have had a big impact at Beppu-Oita over the last few years, and on the entry list are 3 members of this year's lineup, Fifth Stage CR breaker Hiroki Wakabayashi, Eighth Stage winner Shota Shiode, and Seventh Stage runner Kosei Shiraishi.

Koku Gakuin's Fifth Stage runner Goki Takayama is also in the field. Also making a debut is former 10000 m NR holder Kota Murayama, who has said he will retire after the race no matter how well he runs. His twin brother Kenta Murayama, also a sub-61 half marathoner, will be running it with him.

Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon

Elite Field Highlights
Oita, 2 Feb. 2025
times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted

Vincent Kipchumba (Kenya) - 2:04:28 (London 2021)
Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 2:06:18 (Osaka 2024)
Yohanes Ghebregergis (Eritrea) - 2:06:28 (Siena 2021) - scratch
Shohei Otsuka (Kyudenko) - 2:06:57 (Osaka 2023)
Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:07:58 (Beppu-Oita 2024)
Tesfahun Akalnew (Ethiopia) - 2:07:59 (Sevilla 2023)
Dominic Nyairo (Kenya) - 2:08:13 (Tokyo 2023)
Ryo Osaki (Komori Corp.) - 2:08:30 (Osaka 2023)
Daiji Kawai (Toenec) - 2:08:31 (Tokyo 2022)
Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda) - 2:08:37 (Hofu 2023)
Hironori Kishimoto (GMO) - 2:08:38 (Beppu-Oita 2024) - scratch
Madoka Tanihara (Osaka Police) - 2:09:39 (Osaka 2024)
Chihiro Ono (GMO) - 2:10:15 (Osaka 2023)
Yuki Muta (Logisteed) - 2:10:28 (Beppu-Oita 2024)
Masaki Tsuda (Nishitetsu) - 2:10:40 (Beppu-Oita 2023)
Takashi Soma (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:10:46 (Nobeoka 2024)
Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 2:10:52 (Osaka 2024)
Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:25 (Osaka 2024)
Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:26 (Nobeoka 2023)
Ryota Ejima (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:11:27 (Nobeoka 2023)
Yoshihiro Maeda (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:12:05 (Osaka 2024)
Ryan Gregson (Australia) - 2:13:31 (Melbourne 2024)

Debut
Kota Murayama (GMO) - 1:00:59 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Hiroki Wakabayashi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:25 (Marugame Half 2023)
Evans Kipkemei (Kenya/JFE Steel) - 1:01:33 (Berlin Half 2022)
Goki Takayama (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:42 (Marugame Half 2023)
Kyosuke Mafune (Subaru) - 1:01:53 (National Corporate Half 2024)
Shota Shiode (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:54 (Marugame Half 2024) - scratch
Kaede Shinohara (Fujisan no Meisui) - 1:02:17 (Marugame Half 2024)
Kazumoto Iwasa (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:02:30 (National Corporate Half 2024)
Takato Suzuki (GMO) - 1:02:58 (National Corporate Half 2024)
Kosei Shiraishi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:05 (National University Half 2024)

© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
2 comments
Read more

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...
81 comments
Read more