Shioya Wins Inaugural Wakkanai Heiwa Marathon

Overcoming powerful headwinds most of the way along the exposed northern Hokkaido seaside course, Keita Shioya (Subaru) made a successful marathon debut as he ran down Boston Marathon champion Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) at 40 km to win the inaugural Wakkania Heiwa Marathon in 2:24:00.

A week after winning the New Caledonia International Marathon in 2:18:18, Kawauchi set off alone just under 2:19 pace while Shioya opted for a more conservative 1:11:17 first half. Almost three minutes behind at 30 km, Shioya surprisingly began to close the gap as ahead of him Kawauchi began to shut down. Making contact at 40 km, where both men clocked 2:16:40, Shioya kicked away over the last 2.195 km for the win. Kawauchi finished 2nd in 2:24:55, the slowest time of his career to date.

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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