Skip to main content

Miwa and Higuchi Win Okukuma Half Marathon

by Brett Larner
videos by you?_yu


In cold conditions corporate runners Shintaro Miwa (Team NTN) and Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) turned in winning runs at the 4th edition of the Okukuma Road Race half marathon in Kumamoto.  In the men's race Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) did most of the leading, pushing the first 10 km through in 30:06 and gradually shaving down the lead pack from 20 to 7.  In the final kilometers he and Miwa broke away, but with a course record win at last weekend's Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon still in his legs Kawauchi couldn't match the fresher Miwa.  Miwa broke the tape in 1:03:58 with Kawauchi two seconds back.  Yuya Ito (Team Toyota) was 3rd in 1:04:06.


Reflecting Kumamoto's conservative reputation, in its first three runnings the Okukuma Road Race limited women to 5 km with high school boys running 10 km and the half marathon only open to men.  This year it got with the times, allowing women into the half.  2011 Tokyo Marathon winner Higuchi rose to the challenge, outrunning her Wacoal teammates Yuki Kodama and Ai Migita and rival Misato Horie (Team Noritz) for the win in 1:13:22.  Ryota Takemoto (Omuta H.S.) tied the 10 km course record in 30:09, with Mashiro Mori (Ariake H.S.) topping the women's 5 km in 16:43.

4th Okukuma Road Race
Kumagun, Kumamoto, 1/17/16
click here for complete results

Men's Half Marathon
1. Shintaro Miwa (NTN) - 1:03:58
2. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:04:00
3. Yuya Ito (Toyota) - 1:04:06
4. Junichi Tsubouchi (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:04:08
5. Daisuke Watanabe (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:04:11

Women's Half Marathon
1. Noriko Higuchi (Wacoal) - 1:13:22
2. Yuki Kodama (Wacoal) - 1:13:25
3. Misato Horie (Noritz) - 1:13:30
4. Ai Migita (Wacoal) - 1:13:35
5. Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) - 1:14:16

High School Boys' 10 km
1. Ryota Takemoto (Omuta H.S.) - 30:09 - CR tie
2. Ren Yonemitsu (Omuta H.S.) - 30:24
3. Daisuke Ando (Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S.) - 30:27

Women's 5 km
1. Mashiro Mori (Ariake H.S.) - 16:43
2. Reina Takano (Ariake H.S.) - 16:48
3. Sena Komori (Isahaya H.S.) - 16:49

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more