Skip to main content

Njoroge, Morimoto Take First Hokkaido Marathon Titles

by Brett Larner

With a noon start time and temperatures peaking at 34 degrees the 2011 Hokkaido Marathon was a brutal race of attrition.  In the men's race Ibaraki-based Kenyan Harun Njoroge (Team Komori Corp.) broke away from the large pack at 30 km with veteran Seiji Kobayashi (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) and the young Chiharu Takada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) in tow to form a trio which stuck together to maintain pace until 38 km.  Njoroge then surged again to pull away for the win in 2:14:10.  Defending champion Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) could not stay with the lead trio late in the race and finished only 7th in 2:19:14.

In the women's race 2006 winner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) frontran at PB pace against a field which included course record holder Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC), former national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and, returning from injury, 2006 Vienna Marathon winner Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya).  Splitting as fast as 3:23/km Yoshida built up a lead of over 3 minutes, but the heat took its toll and by 37 km she was running with a pronounced limp.  By 39 km her pace was down to 4:14/km as Morimoto rolled up from far behind at 3:32/km.  Morimoto took the lead at 39.6 km and continued on to the win in 2:33:45.  Shimahara and Shibui overtook Yoshida in the final km to round out the top three, Yoshida staggering across the line in 4th in 2:35:49.

2011 Hokkaido Marathon
Sapporo, Hokkaido, 8/28/11
click here for complete results

Men
1. Harun Njoroge (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 2:14:10
2. Seiji Kobayashi (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:14:22
3. Chiharu Takada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:14.39
4. Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) - 2:16:29
5. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Sagawa Express) - 2:16:49
6. Takeshi Kumamoto (Team Toyota) - 2:18:41
7. Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 2:19:14
8. Kenichiro Setoguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:19:20
9. Kenzo Kawabata (Team Aisan Kogyo) - 2:19:56
10. Yuko Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 2:20:33

Women
1. Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) - 2:33:45
2. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) - 2:34:26
3. Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:35:10
4. Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 2:35:49
5. Emi Ikeda (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:36:35
6. Asami Furuse (Team Kyocera) - 2:36:55 - debut
7. Sayuri Baba (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:40:49
8. Sumiko Suzuki (Team Hokuren) - 2:41:29
9. Chinami Fukaminato (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:43:52
10. Chihiro Tanaka (AthleC RC) - 2:45:51

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
Good run in the heat by Shibui, who looked a bit plump...compared to the usual Japanese woman runner.
August 31, 2011 at 4:03 PM
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