Skip to main content

Kamulu Breaks Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon Course Record

Japan-based Kenyan Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) outran defending champion Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) and three of Japan's best upcoming young talents to cut 13 seconds off the course record as she won the 36th edition of the Sanyo Ladies Road Race half marathon.

Kamulu, Ohara and 2017 national cross country champion Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) set off near 1:08-flat pace, a time no Japanese woman has cleared in almost 12 years. Behind them, Rio Olympian Miyuki Uehara and the debuting Azusa Sumi (Univ. Ent.) went at a more conservative pace while keeping the leaders in sight. After 5 km Kamulu through in a surge to drop her Japanese competition, going through 10 km in 32-flat and pushing on alone to finish in 1:08:04, a new course record and a PB by well over a minute and a half.


Behind her, Ohara and Ichiyama fought to keep it on sub-1:09 pace. Ohara began to fade, and as Ichiyama pulled away Uehara and Sumi began to come up from behind. Uehara, who memorably frontran her way to the 5000 m final in Rio, surged hard to get rid of Sumi, passing Ohara and then Ichiyama on the last lap of the track to take 2nd in 1:09:13. Ichiyama was right behind in 1:09:14. Behind them, Sumi likewise caught Ohara on the track to take 4th in a solid debut of 1:09:21. Ohara was only 9 seconds off her PB in 1:09:26, but as the 4th Japanese woman her chances of being picked up for the 2018 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships team look slim.

Further back, Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) took 13th in a PB of 1:11:29, the fastest time this year by a British woman. Camille Buscomb (New Zealand) dropped out partway through the race.

The half marathon has been a major area of weakness for Japanese woman in recent years, with none under 1:09 since 2013 and a sub-1:10 time almost a surprise at this point. With four women under 1:09:30, three of them young runners making the all-time Japanese top 25 in their first serious half marathons, it was a welcome positive note on which to end a mostly disappointing year.


The 10 km division also saw good debuts by several young athletes. 19-year-old Japan-based Ethiopian Shuru Bulo (Toto) won her first road 10 km easily in 32:03. Yuka Hori (Panasonic) took 2nd in a PB of 32:27, with debuting Daiichi Seimei teammates Kanami Sagayama, 19, and Himawari Yuda, 20, both just clearing 33 minutes for 3rd and 4th.

36th Sanyo Ladies Road Race

Okayama, 12/23/17
click here for complete results

Half Marathon
1. Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) - 1:08:04 - CR, PB
2. Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:09:13 - PB
3. Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 1:09:14 - PB
4. Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 1:09:21 - debut
5. Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) - 1:09:26
6. Kaori Morita (Panasonic) - 1:10:11 - debut
7. Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 1:10:22 - PB
8. Akane Sekino (Imabari Zosen) - 1:10:28 - PB
9. Reia Iwade (Dome) - 1:10:35
10. Grace Kimanzi (Starts) - 1:10:36
-----
13. Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) - 1:11:29 - PB
DNF - Camille Buscomb (New Zealand)

10 km
1. Shuru Bulo (Toto) - 32:03 - debut
2. Yuka Hori (Panasonic) - 32:27 - PB
3. Kanami Sagayama (Daiichi Seimei) - 32:52 - debut
4. Himawari Yuda (Daiichi Seimei) - 32:56 - debut
5. Wakana Itsuki (Kyudenko) - 33:01 - PB

© 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
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

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