Mara Yamauchi and Takashi Ota Win Ome 30 km Road Race

by Brett Larner

Mara Yamauchi (GBR) continued her return from the injuries that kept her out of last summer's World Championships and the fall marathon season win a 1:43:24 win at the classic 2010 Ome 30 km Road Race in the mountains west of Tokyo on Feb. 21. Yamauchi pulled away from veteran Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) just before 15 km and steadily lengthened her lead over the hills in the middle section of the course. Up by 48 seconds at 25 km, Yamauchi ran 17:30 for the final 5 km to Ominami's 17:07, finally winning by a margin of just 25 seconds. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind A.C.) ran most of the race in 4th place behind little-known Saori Makishima (Canon A.C. Kyushu) but had a strong last 5 km to take 3rd. Makishima went on to DNF. Yamauchi's win adds to her three titles in Ome's 10 km over the last four years.

The men's 30 km was a blowout as 2006 Ome winner Takashi Ota (Team Konica Minolta) frontran his way to a repeat victory in 1:31:54. With at least three of the other invited athletes sitting the race out, nobody even attempted to go with Ota. Four runners ran together in a chase pack behind Ota, among them American Patrick Rizzo. The pack stayed together through 25 km but when the pace accelerated on the flat final 5 km Yusuke Kitaoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) emerged to take 2nd in 1:34:36. Rizzo was just 9 seconds back in 1:34:45. Down by one minute at 25 km, Kenji Onaka (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) had a strong finish as he overtook Ryotaro Nitta (Team Konica Minolta) for 5th.

In the women's 10 km, Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) took her first win after two runner-up placings, outrunning a pack of four to finish in 33:40. Eisuke Shioda (Kugayama H.S.) won the men's 10 km in 30:50.

2010 Ome 30 km - Top Finishers
click here for complete results
Women
1. Mara Yamauchi (GBR) - 1:43:24
2. Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) - 1:43:49
3. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind A.C.) - 1:49:14
4. Mizuho Kishi (Team Yamada Denki) - 1:52:15
5. Chie Asami (Hachioji H.S.) - 2:01:34

Men
1. Takashi Ota (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:31:54
2. Yusuke Kataoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:34:36
3. Patrick Rizzo (U.S.A.) - 1:34:45
4. Koji Sato (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 1:35:07
5. Kenji Onaka (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 1:35:38

10 km - Top Finishers
Women
1. Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 33:40
2. Megumi Kanetomo (Team Yamada Denki) - 33:52
3. Misato Yamaguchi (Team Yamada Denki) - 33:55

Men
1. Eisuke Shioda (Kugayama H.S.) - 30:50
2. Akira Kasahara (Takuichi H.S.) - 31:00
3. Toshiya Suzuki (Takuichi H.S.) - 31:04

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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