Lorot and Suzuki Win Sendai, Kiyama and Kipyegon in Sagamihara

Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) was back from the dead yet again to win today's Sendai International Half Marathon women's race. Starting out with company from Selly Kaptich (Kyudenko) and Yuri Mitsune (Hitachi), Suzuki was always a step ahead. Putting away Mitsune early in the 2nd half, it took until the last km for her to break Kaptich, winning in 1:11:00 with Kaptich 8 seconds back in 2nd. Mitsune faded over a minute, just hanging on to 3rd in 1:12:02 over Mayuka Fujita (Route Inn Hotels).

Ibuki Kaneko (Komazawa Univ.) frontran the early going in the men's race, 7 seconds up on the main group at 5 km in 14:51 but out of the top 20 by 10 km. Andrew Lorot (YKK) took clear control in the 2nd half, 12 seconds ahead by 15 km and pulling away all the way home to the win in 1:01:41. After facing criticism for making the Tokyo World Championships marathon team off the JAAF's JMC series rankings in spite of not having broken 2:10 in his last two marathons, Naoki Koyama (Honda) demonstrated fitness with a 1:01:58 for 2nd, putting over 10 seconds on Benuel Mogeni Magoma (Yasukawa Denki) over the last km.

In Kanagawa the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships held its half marathon, split into two different men's races. The D2 men went out first, but a marshaling error meant they only ran 3 laps of the track at the start instead of the correct 4, meaning the race ended up being only 20.7 km. After breaking 61 at Marugame in February Yudai Kiyama (Komazawa Univ.) won in 1:01:43, equivalent to about a 1:02:55 for the full half marathon distance. Teammates Yuma Nozawa and Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) went 2-3 in 1:01:49 and 1:01:51, with Kiyama's teammate Takuma Yamakawa running down Goki Takayama (Koku Gakuin Univ.) on the track for 4th by 1 second in 1:01:56.

Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) won the D1 men's race for the 3rd year in a row, setting a new MR of 1:01:15 over the correct distance in the process. That put him over a kilometer ahead of 2nd-placer Shinsaku Kudo (Waseda Univ.), another sub-61 half marathoner from Marugame but who ran only 1:04:16 here. Kido Morimoto (Juntendo Univ.) was 3rd in 1:04:47.

Sendai International Half Marathon

Sendai, Miyagi, 11 May 2025

complete results

Women

1. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 1:11:00

2. Selly Kaptich (Kenya/Kyudenko) - 1:11:08

3. Yuri Mitsune (Hitachi) - 1:12:02

4. Mayuka Fujita (Route Inn Hotels) - 1:12:15

5. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:13:27

6. Madoka Nakano (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:14:13

7. Io Akashi (18 Ginko) - 1:14:29

8. Kurumi Yoda (Panasonic) - 1:14:42

9. Kaena Takeyama (Senko) - 1:15:06

10. Koto Hiramura (Daiso) - 1:16:59

Men

1. Andrew Lorot (Kenya/YKK) - 1:01:41

2. Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 1:01:58

3. Benuel Mogeni Magoma (Kenya/Yasukawa Denki) - 1:02:09

4. Shin Kimura (Honda) - 1:02:12

5. Sunao Kitamura (Chudenko) - 1:02:23

6. Benard Kimeli (Kenya/Fujitsu) - 1:02:32

7. Yuki Muta (Logisteed) - 1:02:39

8. Yugo Kashiwa (Konica Minolta) - 1:02:46

9. Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) - 1:02:49

10. Bonifiace Mulwa (Kenya/ND Software) - 1:02:54

11. Masato Arao (ND Software) - 1:02:55

12. Yuta Shitara (Nishitetsu) - 1:03:03

13. Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) - 1:03:07

14. Akito Terui (Subaru) - 1:03:10

15. Takumi Komatsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 1:03:19

104th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships

Sagamihara Gion Stadium, Kanagawa, 11 May 2025

complete results

D1 Men's Half Marathon

1. Brian Kipyegon (3rd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:14 - MR

2. Shinsaku Kudo (3rd yr., Waseda Univ.) - 1:04:16

3. Kido Morimoto (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 1:04:47

4. Ruki Kubota (3rd yr., Toyo Univ.) - 1:04:53

5. Shun Miyake (2nd yr., Josai Univ.) - 1:04:55

6. Haruka Yamamoto (2nd yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 1:04:59

7. Shinnosuke Nagami (2nd yr., Nittai Univ.) - 1:05:05

8. Saneyuki Iwata (4th yr., Josai Univ.) -- 1:05:13

9. Kotaro Tahara (2nd yr., Chuo Univ.) - 1:05:22

10. Keiho Kushima (4th yr., Kokushikan Univ.) - 1:05:33

D2 Men's Half Marathon (20.7 km)

1. Yudai Kiyama (4th yr., Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:43

2. Yuma Nozawa (4th yr., Soka Univ.) - 1:01:49

3. Shoki Yamaguchi (2nd yr., Soka Univ.) - 1:01:51

4. Takuma Yamakawa (4th yr., Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:56

5. Goki Takayama (4th yr., Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:57

6. Shota Shiode (4th yr., Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:05

7. Yuta Asakawa (3rd yr., Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:13

8. Sota Taniguchi (3rd yr., Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:46

9. Yuki Someya (4th yr., Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:02:57

10. Jinya Ozaki (4th yr., Teikyo Univ.) - 1:03:03

Hirayama Breaks Osaka Half CR, Martinez Set Puerto Rican NR

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...

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