by Brett Larner
A developmental race in its 61st running, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon lucked out with almost windless conditions conducive to fast times. The large lead pack ran consistently at just sub-2:09 pace through much of the race, whittling down to a final pack of eight at its ultimate stage. First-timers Yakob Jarso (Ethiopia), the former Ethiopian 3000 mSC national record holder, and Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei), famous for DNF'ing on the anchor stage of the Hakone Ekiden a few years ago with 2 km to go after breaking his foot in a rail crossing more than 10 km earlier, made the first serious move just past 30 km, very early for the inexperienced. 2011 Hokkaido Marathon winner Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) was quick to respond but took his time catching up, drawing the rest of the pack with him. Two-time Hofu Yomiuri Marathon champion Serod Batochir (Mongolia) and top-ranked Japanese man Yuki Moriwaki (Team JFE Steel) were close behind him, Bato…
A developmental race in its 61st running, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon lucked out with almost windless conditions conducive to fast times. The large lead pack ran consistently at just sub-2:09 pace through much of the race, whittling down to a final pack of eight at its ultimate stage. First-timers Yakob Jarso (Ethiopia), the former Ethiopian 3000 mSC national record holder, and Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei), famous for DNF'ing on the anchor stage of the Hakone Ekiden a few years ago with 2 km to go after breaking his foot in a rail crossing more than 10 km earlier, made the first serious move just past 30 km, very early for the inexperienced. 2011 Hokkaido Marathon winner Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) was quick to respond but took his time catching up, drawing the rest of the pack with him. Two-time Hofu Yomiuri Marathon champion Serod Batochir (Mongolia) and top-ranked Japanese man Yuki Moriwaki (Team JFE Steel) were close behind him, Bato…