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Showing posts with the label Nicole Chapple

Akaba and Kawauchi Win Gold Coast Airport Marathon

by Brett Larner

Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) lived up to pre-race talk as they won the women's and men's divisions at the 35th running of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon.  In a moderate headwind over the opening 15.5 km that grew in strength as the morning progressed, Akaba ran a characteristically controlled and steady race, ignoring the fast early pace set by Kenyans Alice Ngerechi and Helen Mugo and going out at a steady 2:27 course record pace before picking it up over the second half of the race aided by the growing tailwind.  By 25 km she had overtaken Mugo, Ngerechi's turn coming just minutes later.

Rounding the second turnaround at 36.5 km Akaba suffered in the now-stronger headwind and her pace dropped, but she was never in danger of missing the antique 2:29:29 course record set 20 years ago by Eriko Asai.  Akaba took more than two minutes off that record, setting a new mark of 2:27:17.   "I didn't worry about th…
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Akaba and Kawauchi Aiming for Course Records at Gold Coast Airport Marathon

by Brett Larner

In its 35th edition the Gold Coast Airport Marathon makes its debut as an IAAF bronze label event, the first Australian race to earn an IAAF label.  Both the women's and men's races feature fields worthy of an even higher level, and on both sides course records look likely.

The clear favorite in the women's race is this year's London Marathon 3rd-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren).  Having been left off the Japanese World Championships team in favor of two empty seats, Akaba told JRN that she came to Gold Coast to go for the 20 year-old 2:29:29 course record in a moderate mid-summer effort ahead of an ambitious fall. Speaking later at the press conference she commented, "The field is a lot better than I expected and so getting the win will be a challenge, but I'll be going for the course record either way and hopefully that will put me up front."  Asked whether the $20,000 bonus for clearing Naoko Takahashi's 2:23:14 Australian all-co…
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Abeylegesse Out Of Marugame Int'l Half Marathon

The Sankei newspaper reports that 2010 world leader Elvan Abeylegesse (Turkey) will not run tomorrow's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon. No explanation of her withdrawal is given. Abeylegesse was to face Japanese national record holder and course record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) and defending champion Nikki Chapple (Australia).

In the article Fukushi says, "I'm not thinking about a time goal. I just want to run a steady effort without trying too hard, just starting and finishing. I want to be feeling good over the second half."
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Watch the Marugame Half Marathon Online - Preview

by Brett Larner

Sunday's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon is always one of the biggest and fastest Japanese half marathons of the year, the site of the women's national record and a sub-60 men's course record. Last year's race saw a quick 1:08:37 from unexpected women's winner Nikki Chapple (Australia) and the only sub-70 half of the year by a Japanese woman along with two university men breaking 62 minutes.

Start lists have not yet been published but Chapple is scheduled to defend her win again this year. It won't be easy, as the top woman of 2010, Elvan Abeleygesse (Turkey), and national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) are also on the entry list. Should all three start it would be very surprising if someone else factored into the win. Likely contenders for the second pack include Silviia Skvortsova (Russia), Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) and Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex).

In the men's race, the withdrawal of 27:38 10000 m runner Yuki Sa…
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Abeylegesse vs. Fukushi vs. Chapple, Yuki Sato to Debut at Marugame Half

by Brett Larner

Today the 2011 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon announced the elite field for this year's 65th running on Feb. 6. Organizers have set up an excellent women's race, with defending champion Nikki Chapple (Australia) facing the top half marathoner of 2010, Olympic track medalist Elvan Abeylegesse (Turkey) and national half marathon record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). Abeylegesse is the obvious favorite, but it will be very interesting to see what Fukushi, who set the national record of 1:07:26 in her half marathon debut at Marugame in 2005 and made a quiet return to the distance after over three years with a win at July's Shibetsu Half Marathon, has planned. Chapple's winning time of 1:08:37 from last year puts her in reach of either woman.

The men's race is headed by course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) and features the likes of 2:06 marathoner Rachid Kisri (Morocco) and 2010 Asian Games marathon gold medalist Youngju…
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Can Nikki Chapple and Daniel Gitau Win the Marugame Half Marathon? Watch Online! (updated)

Can Australian Nikki Chapple and Kenyan student runner Daniel Gitau of Nihon University run large PBs of 1:08:37 and 1:01:08 to take surprise wins at last Sunday's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon? Watch Fuji TV's broadcast to find out! Conveniently timed for the hometown crowd, Fuji will air a 55-minute highlight show from 2:38 to 3:33 a.m. on Wed., Feb. 11. International viewers should be to watch online for free using the often-reliable Keyhole TV. JRNLive will unfortunately not be able to provide live English commentary on the broadcast as we will be too busy sleeping and will instead record the race.

Update: Having watched the race this morning and looked through the overall results, a couple of things came to my attention. One, this was a big day for the 18-22 year old Japanese men. Waseda Univ. first-year Shota Hiraga, the 2009 Ageo City Half Marathon winner and a graduate of Saku Chosei H.S., tied the 19 year old half marathon record of 1:02:08. Yamanashi …
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Coach Ken Green Talks About Jeff Hunt's Race-Making Beppu-Oita Debut

by Brett Larner

If Australian Jeff Hunt hadn't been in Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon the results would not have been especially surprising or noteworthy. Kenyan Jonathan Kipkorir, the only man in the field to break 2:08 in 2009, outkicked Kenyan veteran Daniel Njenga, the only one with a 2:06 PB, for the win in 2:10:50, with relatively unknown Japanese first-timer Atsushi Ikawa running a gutsy race up front to finish close behind in 2:11:04. On the surface Hunt's 2:11:00 3rd place mark may not appear to add much to the equation, but what made him the defining element of this year's Beppu-Oita was the way he ran the race. Until 30 km Hunt sat far back in the second pack over a minute behind the leaders. By 40 km he was head to head with Kipkorir and Njenga for the win. It was a dramatic, gripping performance which showed that even in the 2:04-2:05 era a slower race can still be exciting.

A day after Beppu-Oita Hunt's coach Ken Green talked to JRN via email abo…
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Kenyan Gitau, Australian Chapple Take First Marugame Half Marathon Wins

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201002/CN2010020701000181.html
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010020700109

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Hakone Ekiden Second Stage winner Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) took his first win at the 2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Feb. 7, running a PB of 1:01:08. Defending champion and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) was 2nd in 1:01:43. Yuichiro Ogawa (Team Kanebo) was the top Japanese man, 4th overall in 1:01:53.

In the women's race, Australian Nicole Chapple ran a sizeable PB of 1:08:37 to beat defending champion Mara Yamauchi (U.K.). Identical twins Yoko and Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) were 2-3 in 1:09:51 and 1:10:01. Yamauchi finished 6th.

Translator's note: A big day for Australia! The Marugame Half will be broadcast from 2:38 to 3:33 a.m. on Wed., Feb. 11 on Fuji TV. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online for free using Keyhole TV.

2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon - T…
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More Than Just the Marathon - February and March on the Roads in Japan

by Brett Larner

Last weekend's Osaka International Women's Marathon and this weekend's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon and Meigi Ekiden mark the transition from ekiden season to Japan's short but dense late-winter marathon season. Six elite marathons are crammed into a seven-week span, but there is more. In February and March Japan hosts an array of competitive 10 milers, half marathons and 30 km road races both as marathon tune-ups and target races for those focusing on the intermediate distances. While the pointy ends of these races may often be somewhat blunted relative to smaller but wealthier races in Europe and the Arabian peninsula, many of the Japanese races top the worldwide lists in overall quality and depth. The conclusion of the Kyoto City Half Marathon last year as Kyoto prepares to host a large-scale full marathon means other races stand to benefit, as was clear at last weekend's Osaka Half Marathon where six men broke the course record.

Feb. 7 sees two co…
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