Skip to main content

World Championships Marathoners Kawauchi and Ito 4th and 7th at Shibetsu Half Marathon

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201107/CN2011072401000293.html
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/07/25/kiji/K20110725001275810.html
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110724/spg1107241552001-n1.htm
http://gazoo.com/g-blog/tmcdistancerunning/351461/Article.aspx
http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/kmanabu/article/474

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The Shibetsu Half Marathon took place July 24 in Shibetsu, Hokkaido.  With starting temperatures of 25 degrees and dry, sunny conditions Norihiro Nomiya (Team Toyota) won the men's race in 1:05:09 and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) the women's race in 1:13:06.  Daegu World Championships marathon team members Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) and Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) also ran as part of their tune-up for the World Championships, Kawauchi placing 4th in the men's race in 1:06:24 and Ito 7th in the women's race in 1:16:15.

The women's race included the last three champions.  Winner Miyauchi broke away from all competition to score the victory, with 2008 winner Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) 3rd just a week after taking gold at the Asian Marathon Championships in Thailand.  2009 winner Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera), the winner's identical twin, was 4th, while defending champion and national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) was only 10th in 1:17:19, her slowest-ever half marathon mark.

In her final preparation race for her first World Championships, Ito placed 7th, running in sight of the leaders in the first half of the race before slipping away.  "It was hot," she said afterward with an upset expression, "and I couldn't move as smoothly as I expected."

In the men's race Nomiya ran as part of a lead pack of four before breaking away at 18 km for the win.  Kawauchi finished kicking at top speed and looked content with his performance afterwards as he sipped water on a chair in the medical tent.  Last month Kawauchi had a disastrous run at the Okinoshima 50 km ultramarathon, collapsing with heat stroke.  In his next race, this month's Sapporo International Half Marathon, he finished only 63rd.  Evaluating his race in Shibetsu which he had described as a "practice run for Daegu," Kawauchi said, "I didn't feel much lingering effect at all.  I think that was pretty good.  I'd give it about 80 out of 100."

Kawauchi had other issues beforehand.  With a large number of runners heading to Shibetsu for the race, all hotels in the area were fully booked and Kawauchi had to stay an hour away by train in Asahikawa.  Kawauchi planned to take the train in make the 9:30 start, but the train was late.  "I was pretty stressed," he said.  He finally took a taxi to Shibetsu, a trip that cost him around 10,000 yen (~$125 USD).  Kawauchi pays all his costs himself so the unexpected expense stung a bit, but looking at his result he laughed, "I guess that was worth 10,000 yen."

In the 10 km, marathoner Ryoko Kisaki (Team Daihatsu) won the women's race for the second straight year, while triathlete Ryosuke Yamamoto won the men's race over Yusei Nakao, who recently quit Team Toyota Boshoku to go independent.

2011 Shibetsu Half Marathon
Shibetsu, Hokkaido, 7/24/11
Women
1. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:13:06
2. Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) - 1:13:22
3. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 1:13:27
4. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:13:48
5. Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) - 1:14:45
6. Miho Ihara (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 1:15:59
7. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:16:15
8. Asami Furuse (Team Kyocera) - 1:16:21
9. Hitomi Nakamura (Team Panasonic) - 1:16:50
10. Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 1:17:19

Men
1. Norihiro Nomiya (Team Toyota) - 1:05:09
2. Johnson Kiumbani (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 1:05:29
3. Taichi Takase (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:05:39
4. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 1:06:24
5. Saeki Makino (Kawaguchi T&F Assoc.) - 1:07:04
6. Kazuya Miyamoto (Team YKK) - 1:07:39
7. Teppei Suegami (Team YKK) - 1:07:46
8. Norimasa Nishina (Team Fujitsu) - 1:07:50
9. Ryo Taniguchi (Team YKK) - 1:08:02
10. Koki Inada (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:08:15

Women's 10 km
1. Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) - 34:13
2. Ayumi Sakaida - 34:18
3. Seika Nishikawa (Team Sysmex) - 34:20
4. Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) - 34:21
5. Misato Tanaka - 34:24

Men's 10 km
1. Ryosuke Yamamoto - 31:40
2. Yusei Nakao - 31:41

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

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...

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...