Skip to main content

Denso Sets Course Record for Second-Straight National Corporate Women's Ekiden Title (updated)

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20141214-1409007.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

26 teams ran the 34th edition of the 6-stage, 42.195 km National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships in cold and windy conditions Dec. 14 in Sendai, Miyagi.  The Denso team dominated, breaking its own course record in 2:16:12 to score its second-straight win, the first time that a team has defending its national title since Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo completed a hat trick in 2005.

Denso started off slow, 29 seconds down from the lead in 12th after the First Stage.  Second Stage runner Naoko Koizumi celebrated her 22nd birthday by running the second-best time on the stage to move Denso up to 3rd.  Up against each team's best Japanese athlete on the Third Stage, Yuka Takashima, 26, ran down leaders Toyota Jidoshokki and Yamada Denki in stage record time to put Denso into the lead.  Takashima ran 34:40 for the 10.9 km stage to beat multiple national record holder Kayoko Fukushi's stage record by 24 seconds, with Daihatsu rookie Sairi Maeda and Uniqlo's Ayumi Hagiwara also breaking Fukushi's record.  Shaking off the challenge from the Daihatsu team, Denso maintained the lead the rest of the way to the win and the record.

Daihatsu was 2nd, its best-ever placing at Nationals, in 2:16:48.  Yamada Denki was 3rd in 2:17:29, anchor Sakiho Tsutsui running the fastest time on the final stage to overtake 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi of Toyota Jidoshokki.  2014 Copenhagen World Half Marathon bronze medalist Sally Chepyego of 6th-placers Kyudenko delivered the day's other stage record, running 11:13 for the 3.6 km Fourth Stage.

In a rare occurrence, the Sysmex team was disqualified after its Fifth Stage runner Mami Onuki stepped across the handoff line to take the tasuki after incoming Fourth Stage runner Misato Okubo fell just before the exchange.

For the first time, the top eight teams received seeded places at next year's National Championships.  As of next year the current East Japan, Central Japan and West Japan regional qualifier ekidens will be discontinued, with other teams qualifying in a new joint qualification race.

34th National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships
Sendai, Miyagi, 12/14/14
26 teams, 6 stages, 42.195 km
click here for complete results

Top Team Results - top 8 qualify for 2015
1. Denso - 2:16:12 - CR
2. Daihatsu - 2:16:48
3. Yamada Denki - 2:17:29
4. Toyota Jidoshokki - 2:17:50
5. Daiichi Seimei - 2:17:54
6. Kyudenko - 2:18:02
7. Uniqlo - 2:18:13
8. Shimamura - 2:18:21
9. Hokuren - 2:18:33
10. Otsuka Seiyaku - 2:18:44
DQ - Sysmex

Top Individual Stage Performances
First Stage (7.0 km)
1. Yuika Mori (Team Yamada Denki) - 22:14
2. Ayumi Sakaida (Team Daihatsu) - 22:25
3. Miyuki Uehara (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 22:29

Second Stage (3.9 km)
1. Yui Fukuda (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 12:13
2. Naoko Koizumi (Team Denso) - 12:19
3. Ai Inoue (Team Noritz) - 12:26

Third Stage (10.9 km)
1. Yuka Takashima (Team Denso) - 34:40 - CR
2. Sairi Maeda (Team Daihatsu) - 34:45 (CR)
3. Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) - 34:59 (CR)

Fourth Stage (3.6 km)
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 11:13 - CR
2. Rosemary Monica Wanjiru (Kenya/Team Starts) - 11:31
3. Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Univ. Ent.) - 11:35

Fifth Stage (10.0 km)
1. Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) - 32:47
2. Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 32:49
3. Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) - 32:58

Sixth Stage (6.795 km)
1. Sakiho Tsutsui (Team Yamada Denki) - 21:08
2. Mai Ishibashi (Team Denso) - 21:19
3. Ayaka Inoue (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 21:25

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

My Training for 1:00:44

Hi, I'm Ayumu Kobayashi . Today I'm going to write about this year's National Corporate Half Marathon and the training I did for it. I hope other runners will find it even a little bit helpful. At the Corporate Half on Feb. 13 I was 10th in 1:00:44. My goal had been to run 61 minutes, so I hit that target. My Training Menu In January I ran a total of 681 km. Key workouts: Jan. 11: 1000 m x 5 at 2:50/km Jan. 12: 22.5 km Jan. 15: 9 km variable pace Jan. 17: 25 km Jan. 24: 1000 m x 8 at 2:52/km Jan. 27: 1 km + 4 km + 2 km Jan. 30: 16 km at 3:18/km avg. In January I was tired from the New Year Ekiden and had some knee pain after it, so I just jogged for 10 days until I started doing workouts again on the 11th. That's why I only ran 681 km for the month. But even on the jog days I was aware that I had the Corporate Half coming up, so I was doing around 30 km. It's pretty meat and potatoes, but I think it was really important. February (training for the 10 days before...
2 comments
Read more