Skip to main content

1st-Yr. Maina Runs 58:23 to Lead Takushoku to Hakone Ekiden Qualifier Win

by Brett Larner
photos by Daniel Seite



Takushoku University frosh John Maina, one of two Kenyans joining the team this season, led Takushoku to a surprise team win at the 87th Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 20 km qualifier Oct. 16 in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park. Despite hotter than usual temperatures and a course change which added challenging hills and several sharp corners in the final two km, Maina won overall in 58:23 to become only the third man to ever break 58:30 at the Yosenkai.
John Maina and Benjamin Gando at 6 km.

After a slow first km in 3:03, Maina effortlessly pressed the pace as Nihon University's Benjamin Gando struggled to maintain contact. Gando attacked just past 10 km but faded in the final quarter to a 58:43 runner-up spot. In Maina Takushoku may have found a deep talent. With him, fellow Kenyan recruit Duncan Mozay and new head coach Toru Okada, who previously coached Asia Univ. to the 2006 Hakone Ekiden win, Takushoku could be one of the surprises of January's Hakone.
John Maina in the lead at 16 km.

The biggest surprise at the Yosenkai itself was Koku Gakuin University's 2nd-place finish. With 15th-place Yosenkai finishes the last two years, Koku Gakuin's strong showing to make its first Hakone Ekiden in four years came in under the radar, with no truly notable showings earlier in the year to indicate the team was of such caliber. Actually beating Koku Gakuin on pure time, the ten runners who will make up the Kanto Regional Select Team, an assembly of the top runners from teams which did not qualify for Hakone, could be a threat for one of the seeded spots in January. While they would not actually earn the seeded position, the Select Team would knock another team down to next year's Yosenkai if they finish in the top ten. Teikyo University took 3rd and would have finished higher with a better run from its 10th man as its top nine finished high up in the field. With Hakone irregulars picking up the top three team positions at the Select Team in the mix, January's Hakone Ekiden could be wild and chaotic.
The chase pack at 16 km.

Looking at the underperformers, Jobu University saw a drop for the first time since it first qualified for Hakone two years ago, finishing only 5th after two 3rd-place results in a row. Missing star Akinobu Murasawa, who won last year's Yosenkai in 59:08 as a frosh but suffered a sprained ankle in last month's National University T&F Championships, Tokai University managed a passable 6th thanks in large part to a 3rd-place finish from second-year Tsubasa Hayakawa in 1:00:03. Whether a fit Murasawa will be enough to push Tokai up to the seeded bracket remains to be seen.
Tsubasa Hayakawa at 16 km.

Kokushikan University was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the day, with Kanto Region 5000 m champion Taku Fujimoto out with injury and backup ace Masaki Ito dropping from a 14:49 first 5 km to a 16:50 last 5 km and finishing 95th but still being Kokushikan's top man. Needless to say, the team did not qualify. Also missing the cut were 2007 Hakone Ekiden champions Juntendo University, 2006 Hakone winners Asia University, perennial near-misses Hosei University, and, dropping out of Hakone range for the first time in several years, Daito Bunka University.
Injured Tokai ace Akinobu Murasawa signs autographs.

2010 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 20 km Qualifying Road Race
Top Individual Results
click here for complete individual results
1. John Maina (1st yr., Takushoku Univ./Kenya) - 58:23
2. Benjamin Gando (2nd yr., Nihon Univ./Kenya) - 58:43
3. Tsubasa Hayakawa (2nd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 1:00:03
4. Yusuke Hasegawa (4th yr., Jobu Univ.) - 1:00:12
5. Kohei Ogino (3rd yr., Koku Gakuin Univ.) -1:00:12
6. Koji Kobayashi (4th yr., Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:16
7. Tomohiro Tanigawa (4th yr., Takushoku Univ.) - 1:00:17
8. Norimasa Nishina (4th yr., Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:26
9. Ryota Nakamura (4th yr., Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:26
10. Naohiro Domoto (3rd yr., Nihon Univ.) - 1:00:34

Top Team Results
click here for complete team results
top nine schools qualify for 2011 Hakone Ekiden
1. Takushoku Univ. - 10:11:39
(Kanto Regional University Select Team - 10:15:02)
2. Koku Gakuin Univ. - 10:15:46
3. Teikyo Univ. - 10:16:22
4. Chuo Gakuin Univ. - 10:16:40
5. Jobu Univ. - 10:17:49
6. Tokai Univ. - 10:20:10
----- 7th-9th include points from May's Kanto Regionals
7. Nihon Univ. - 10:23:01 (-3:35)
8. Kanagawa Univ. - 10:21:57 (-0:30)
9. Senshu Univ. - 10:23:31 (-0:45)
-----did not qualify
10. Hosei Univ. - 10:27:35 (-3:00)
11. Daito Bunka Univ. - 10:27:59 (-2:15)
12. Asia Univ. - 10:27:32 (-0:40)

2011 Hakone Ekiden Field
1. Toyo Univ.
2. Komazawa Univ.
3. Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.
4. Chuo Univ.
5. Tokyo Nogyo Univ.
6. Josai Univ.
7. Waseda Univ.
8. Aoyama Gakuin Univ.
9. Nittai Univ.
10. Meiji Univ.
-----
11. Takushoku Univ.
12. Kanto Regional University Select Team
13. Koku Gakuin Univ.
14. Teikyo Univ.
15. Chuo Gakuin Univ.
16. Jobu Univ.
17. Tokai Univ.
-----
18. Nihon Univ.
19. Kanagawa Univ.
20. Senshu Univ.

2011 Hakone Ekiden Kanto Regional Univ. Select Team
Noriaki Fukushima (4th yr., Soka Univ.)
Aritaka Kajiwara (3rd yr., Shoin Univ.)
Masaaki Higuchi (3rd yr., Soka Univ.)
Takumi Kiyotani (4th yr., Hosei Univ.)
Yohei Kondo (3rd yr., Hosei Univ.)
Tatsunori Hamasaki (4th yr., Asia Univ.)
Shintaro Funai (2nd yr., Reitaku Univ.)
Tomonori Ikebuchi (4th yr., Asia Univ.)
Koki Inada (2nd yr., Daito Bunka Univ.)
Hiroyuki Okabe (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.)
Takahiro Yoda (3rd yr., Tokyo Univ. Grad School)
Yoshihiro Shinohara (2nd yr., Hosei Univ.)

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
all photos (c) Daniel Seite
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...
2 comments
Read more

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...
Post a Comment
Read more