Skip to main content

Kumanichi 30 km Announces Elite Field

https://twitter.com/miyatoshi5/status/820025369075949568

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Jan. 13 the organizers of the Feb. 19 Kumamoto-jo Marathon announced the 19-strong elite field for the 61st running of the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race, the world's premier 30 km held alongside the marathon.  Heading the men's field are last year's 5th-placer Shun Sakuraoka (Toyo Univ.) who finished 4th on the Hakone Ekiden's Fourth Stage on Jan. 2, and New Year Ekiden Third Stage runner-up Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA).

Representing the corporate leagues alongside Ueno are his DeNA teammate Toshio Takaki who ran the competitive Fourth Stage at the New Year Ekiden, Ryu Takaku (Yakult), Shoya Okuno (Toyota Kyushu), Shuhei Yamaguchi (Asahi Kasei) and more.  Kumamoto natives include Kyushu Gakuin H.S. and Aoyama Gakuin University graduate Shun Yamamura and Keisuke Tanaka (Fujitsu).  Along with Sakuraoka, university runners include Tomofumi Uda (Takushoku Univ.) who finished one place behind Sakuraoka at Hakone,

The women's field of 5 is led by last year's runner-up Mami Onuki (Sysmex) and 4th-placer Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.).  Erika Ikeda (Higo Ginko) will represent Kumamoto prefecture.  Along with 50 amateur runners, a total of 94 people are entered.

Kumanichi 30 km Road Race Elite Field
Kumamoto, 2/19/17
all times listed are best in last three years except where noted

Men
Ryu Takaku (24, Yakult) - 1:30:32 (Kumanichi 2014)
Shota Yamaguchi (31, Fujitsu) - 1:31:28 (Kumanichi 2015)
Shun Sakuraoka (22, Toyo Univ.) - 1:32:15 (Kumanichi 2016)
Tomofumi Uda (22, Takushoku Univ.) - 1:33:22 (Kumanichi 2016)
Yuji Nakamura (27, Aichi Seiko) - 1:35:10 (Kumanichi 2015)
Shoya Okuno (23, Toyota Kyushu) - 1:02:26 (Nat'l Univ. Half 2015)
Keisuke Tanaka (28, Fujitsu) - 1:02:38 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2014)
Shinji Yoshimoto (26, Kurosaki Harima) - 1:02:51 (Marugame 2016)
Toshio Takaki (23, DeNA) - 1:02:51 (Nat'l Univ. Half 2015)
Yuichiro Ueno (31, DeNA) - 1:03:21 (Sendai Int'l Half 2015)
Shuhei Yamaguchi (22, Asahi Kasei) - 1:03:37 (Nat'l Univ. Half 2014)
Shuhei Yamamoto (25, Toyota) - 1:04:58 (Shibetsu Half 2016)
Kazuya Deguchi (28, Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:59 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2013)

Women
Mami Onuki (25, Sysmex) - 1:46:37 (Kumanichi 2016)
Sakie Arai (22, Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:47:53 (Kumanichi 2016)
Ayumi Kubo (21, Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:11:29 (Sanyo Ladies Half 2015)
Erika Ikeda (25, Higo Ginko) - 1:12:38 (Sanyo Ladies Half 2015)
Rie Uchida (21, Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:16:57 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2016)

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview

The Nagoya Women's Marathon , the world's largest women-only marathon and the last race in the selection cycle for September's Tokyo World Championships, happens Sunday. Weather conditions are looking better than what they had in Tokyo and Osaka the last two weekends, 7Ëš at the start and rising to 12Ëš with sunny skies. The wind looks a bit stronger than ideal, but it could be worse. Fuji TV has the live broadcast starting at 9:00 a.m. Sunday local time, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch the TVer streaming . One option for  a leaderboard is here , and another here . We'll have some coverage on @JRNLive . Just like last time around there are three Ethiopian and Kenyan-born athletes at the top list, this time it being sub-2:20 women Sheila Chepkirui , winner in NYC last year, and Ruti Aga , winner in Xiamen in January, and last year's Nagoya runner-up Eunice Chebichii Chumba . But last year Yuka Ando still pulled off the win, so there's a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...
1 comment
Read more