Skip to main content

Fukushi 31:57 Course Record at Tamana 10 km

by Brett Larner

Fresh back from New Zealand where she was spotted at Rikuren's marathon training camp by JRN reader Jason Lawrence, 3000 m, 5000 m and half marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) ran a solo 31:57 10 km course record at the 61st Kanaguri Hai Tamana Road Race in Kumamoto on Mar. 7 to become the first woman to break 32 minutes in the 25 years that the women's 10 km has been part of the event. Running alone and unpressured with her nearest competition nearly a minute behind, Fukushi's time would have put her 4th in last week's much-heralded World's Best 10 km in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is the latest sign that she is back to her best. Last year's winner Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) finished 2nd in 32:43, while Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) was 3rd in 33:29 in a tuneup for next week's Nagoya International Women's Marathon.

The course record also fell in the high school boys' 10 km, where Kenyan students took the top five spots. 8 days after winning the junior race at the Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet, Steven Njeri (Fukuoka Daiichi H.S.) took the 10 km win in a new record time of 28:51 while last year's winner Titus Kihara Kifuru (Chinzei H.S.) was 3rd in 29:23. The top Japanese finisher, Kazuma Kubota (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) was 6th in 30:05.

In the men's half marathon, Team Asahi Kasei runners took two of the top three spots, with winner Keita Tsuchihashi holding off Teruo Taneno (Team Yasukawa Denki) by one second to finish in 1:04:08. Last year's high school 10 km runner-up Fumihiro Maruyama (Team Asahi Kasei) was 3rd in 1:04:14. Tsuchihashi and Maruyama are teammates of today's Biwako Mainichi Marathon runner-up Tomoyuki Sato.

2010 Tamana Road Race - Top Finishers
click division header for complete results
Women's 10 km
1. Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 31:57 - CR
2. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 32:43
3. Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) - 33:29

High School Boys' 10 km
1. Steven Njeri (Kenya/Fukuoka Daiichi H.S.) - 28:51 - CR
2. Titus Waruru (Kenya/Chinzei H.S.) - 29:18
3. Titus Kihara Kifuru (Kenya/Chinzei H.S.) - 29:23

Men's Half Marathon
1. Keita Tsuchihashi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 1:04:08
2. Teruo Taneno (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 1:04:09
3. Fumihiro Maruyama (Team Asahi Kasei) - 1:04:14

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31