Skip to main content

Nakamori Looks For Second Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Win

by Brett Larner

2007 winner Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) returns to defend his title as the favorite in the 2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon field. Hofu is part of Japan's elite men's marathon circuit. A 2nd-tier competition following shortly after the 1st-tier Fukuoka International Marathon, Hofu is a development race for young marathoners but has nevertheless attracted the likes of Ethiopian greats Turbo Tumo and Hailu Neggusie, the latter of whom set the course record of 2:08:16 in a battle against future World Championships and Olympic marathon team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) in 2002.

Nakamori, who races sockless, won last year's Hofu in 2:15:40 after overtaking and then dropping Mitsuru Irifune (Team Kanebo) in the final kilometers despite severe blistering on his feet. His strongest competition includes Batochir Serod (Mongolia), who set his PB of 2:14:15 earlier this year in Beijing, along with Japanese runners Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) and Tomohiro Minami (Team Aisan).

Nakamori's biggest challenger may turn out to be Satoru Kasuya (Team Toyota Boshoku), a two-time anchor for dominant Hakone Ekiden force Komazawa University. Kasuya is running Hofu as his marathon debut, but earlier in the year he ran 1:30:40 to take 4th in the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race, just 7 seconds behind the winner. He clearly has the potential for an excellent showing.

The 2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon will be held on Dec. 21 at 12:02 p.m. TV broadcast is limited to the Yamaguchi local area but the race website will post live 5 km splits here. A complete listing of past winners and the top 20 times run in Hofu is available here. 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi (U.K.) will appear in the women's 10 km race as a guest runner.

2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field and PB Details
click here for athlete photos and bios

Jae-Young Hyung (South Korea) - 2:10:37 (Hofu 1999)
Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:12:08 (Nobeoka 2006)
Ryo Murasato (Team Honda Kumamoto) - 2:13:15 (Beppu-Oita 2001)
Wan-Sun Chi (China) - 2:13:39 (Seoul 2004)
Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) - 2:13:44 (Hofu 2001)
Akinori Shibutani (Team Yanagawa Seiki) - 2:13:51 (Beppu-Oita 2000)
Batochir Serod (Mongolia) - 2:14:15 (Beijing 2008)
Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:15:22 (Biwako 2006)
Tomohiro Minami (Team Aisan) - 2:15:55 (Nobeoka 2007)
Yongjian Ou (China) - 2:16:47 (Beijing 2007)
Myon-Guk An (South Korea) - 2:17:15 (Seoul 2001)
Kachi-Tsu Chao (Taiwan) - 2:17:19 (Taipei 2006)
Satoru Kasuya (Team Toyota Boshoku) - debut

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more