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

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

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31
Post a Comment
Read more