Skip to main content

Maina and Okada Win Sendai Half

by Brett Larner

2012 Sendai International Half Marathon winner Johana Maina (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) returned to the top at this year's race, outrunning last year's winner Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) and all Japanese competition for a second Sendai title.  Mogusu took the race out hard, leading Maina through 5 km before losing touch.  From there it was a one-man show as Maina soloed his way to the win in 1:01:43.  2013 Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon winner Hiroaki Sano (Team Honda), the lone Japanese man to go in pursuit of the two Kenyans, ran down Mogusu for 2nd in 1:02:40, a PB by nearly 45 seconds.

Mogusu barely held on to 3rd in 1:03:19, with Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) in close pursuit on the final lap of the track.  Kawauchi, running just a week after his 2:09:36 season best at the Hamburg Marathon, did his best to catch Mogusu but came up just short in 1:03:23 for 4th, the fastest of his eight half marathons so far this year. Newly Japan-based Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN), Kawauchi's main foreign competition for gold at this fall's Asian Games marathon, was nine seconds behind Kawauchi in 1:03:32, an apparent new Mongolian national record.

2013's fastest Japanese marathoner Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) ran a lukewarm 1:04:19 for 8th, with his 2012 equivalent Arata Fujiwara (Miki House) far back in the pack in 1:05:42 in his first race experimenting with high-mileage training. Mogusu, Kawauchi, Bat-Ochir and Fujiwara will all line up again next weekend at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon where they will face top trio Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea), Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC).

In the women's race, the young Yui Okada (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) made a successful debut at the half-marathon, taking the win in 1:11:27.  Okada ran a solidly even race, head-to-head with Sachi Tanaka (Sports Yamagata 21 AC) on low-1:11 pace at 10 km before getting away for the win.  Tanaka held on for 2nd in a PB of 1:11:50 far ahead of 3rd-placer Misato Horie (Team Noritz). Having just turned 20, Okada looks to have plenty of room to improve in coming seasons.

24th Sendai International Half Marathon
Sendai, Miyagi, 5/11/14
click here for complete results

Men
1. Johana Maina (Kenya/Team Fujitsu)  1:01:43
2. Hiroaki Sano (Team Honda) - 1:02:40 - PB
3. Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 1:03:19
4. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:03:23
5. Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN) - 1:03:32 - NR
6. Shigeki Tsuji (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:03:34
7. Shota Inoue (Team Toyota) - 1:03:52
8. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 1:04:19
9. Yudai Yamakawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:04:26
10. Takuya Noguchi (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:04:32

Women
1. Yui Okada (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:27 - debut
2. Sachi Tanaka (Sports Yamagata 21 AC) - 1:11:50 - PB
3. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) - 1:13:21
4. Miya Nishio (Team Hokuren) - 1:14:58
5. Aiko Sakata (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 1:15:17
6. Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido) - 1:16:16
7. Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 1:16:51
8. Kana Unno (Team Noritz) - 1:17:57
9. Ema Harada (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 1:18:11
10. Eri Suzuki (Noshiro Yamamoto T&F Assoc.) - 1:18:20

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
The Open Division women's race was won by Amanda Rice, a dentist at the Atsugi US Air Force base and a member of the Namban Rengo running club. Her time was about 1:17, quite good considering that she started in the B block and it was a hot day (23C/73F before the start at 10:00).
May 11, 2014 at 11:30 PM
TokyoRacer said…
BTW, the number of women in the race was 2,211.
Number of men was 8,673.
May 12, 2014 at 6:55 AM
Post a Comment

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...
3 comments
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more