by Brett Larner
2010 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Flomena Cheyech Daniel (Kenya) negative split her way to the win in the second edition of the Saitama International Marathon. The four invited Africans and two pacemakers in the race went out on track to go under 2:22:30, but without even a single top-level Japanese woman in the race the leading Japanese contenders were out of it within the first km. A familiar face in Japan, Amane Gobena (Ethiopia) ground down compatriot Atsede Habtamu and Monica Jepkoech (Kenya) over the first 20 km before Daniel in turn said goodbye after the 24.6 km turnaround. From there on in it was a race against the clock, Daniel on track to go close to her 2:22:46 PB at 35 km but unable to keep it up alone. Her time of 2:23:18 was a sizable new course record and one of the better times in her career. Gobena, Jepkoech and Habtamu trundled in over the next 6 1/2 minutes, the top four the only ones to clear 2:30.
Saitama counts as a selection ra…
2010 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Flomena Cheyech Daniel (Kenya) negative split her way to the win in the second edition of the Saitama International Marathon. The four invited Africans and two pacemakers in the race went out on track to go under 2:22:30, but without even a single top-level Japanese woman in the race the leading Japanese contenders were out of it within the first km. A familiar face in Japan, Amane Gobena (Ethiopia) ground down compatriot Atsede Habtamu and Monica Jepkoech (Kenya) over the first 20 km before Daniel in turn said goodbye after the 24.6 km turnaround. From there on in it was a race against the clock, Daniel on track to go close to her 2:22:46 PB at 35 km but unable to keep it up alone. Her time of 2:23:18 was a sizable new course record and one of the better times in her career. Gobena, Jepkoech and Habtamu trundled in over the next 6 1/2 minutes, the top four the only ones to clear 2:30.
Saitama counts as a selection ra…