Skip to main content

Kamino Over Kawauchi at Takashimadaira 20 km



With last week's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai having changed from 20 km to the half marathon distance the Takashimadaira 20 km Road Race is now Japan's premier 20 km, four laps of a perfectly flat 5 km loop in Tokyo's northwestern suburbs. Working his way back from a DNF last month at the Berlin Marathon, independent Daichi Kamino (New Balance) went head-to-head this year with 2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), a regular at Takashimadaira.

After a slow 15:27 opening lap Kamino went to the front, picking up the pace to 15:18 for the second lap and cutting the lead group down from a dozen to six. 2014 Ageo City Half Marathon winner Koki Takada (Sumitomo Denko) and collegiate men Kotaro Hirata (Teikyo Univ.), Fuma Nakamura (Teikyo Univ.) and Tomoya Yoneda (Tokai Univ.) hung with Kamino and Kawauchi through a 15:15 third lap until Kamino attacked again.

Hirata and Kawauchi tried to follow, but Kamino was too much to keep up with. Running alone the rest of the final lap he crossed the finish line in 1:00:37 to win Takashimadaira for the first time. With his characteristic fast finish Kawauchi disposed of Hirata, closing to within 11 seconds of Kamino in the last kilometer for 2nd in 1:00:48. Hirata was the top university finisher at 3rd in 1:00:53. Shiori Shimomura (Comody Iida) won the women's race in 1:16:01

Kawauchi's time was equivalent to a 1:04:08 half marathon, his second-best performance of 2018 and a good step toward his planned Italian debut at next weekend's Huawei Venice Marathon. He and Kamino will next face each other three weeks after that at the Ageo City Half Marathon where they will be joined by half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda).

43rd Takashimadaira Road Race

Takashimadaira, Tokyo, 10/21/18

Men's 20 km
1. Daichi Kamino (New Balance) - 1:00:37
2. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:00:48
3. Kotaro Hirata (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:55
4. Fuma Nakamura (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:01:10
5. Koki Takada (Sumitomo Denko) - 1:01:17
6. Tomoya Yoneda (Tokai Univ.) - 1:01:23
7. Yuta Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:01
8. Yuki Harazuka (Kanagawa Univ.) - 1:02:07
9. Tomohiro Oka (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:08
10. Mizuki Otsuka (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:50

Women's 20 km
1. Shiori Shimomura (Comody Iida) - 1:16:01
2. Mitsuko Hirose (Tokyo Wings) - 1:17:24
3. Yuka Aoyama (Crest) - 1:17:34

© 2018 Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Paulo Pinto said…
Hi Brett,
The Ageo City Half Marathon looks promising!
Do you know if it will be broadcasted live?
Unknown said…
Excited to hear that Shitara will be back in action at Ageo. Any word on what he’s been up to since Tokyo?
Brett Larner said…
No broadcast of Ageo, but I'll be in the lead car and will be tweeting pics and video. Shitara had an injury post-Tokyo and hasn't done a lot but has had a few low-key track races this season in which he's been building back up. 28:11 this past weekend suggests he's in decent shape at this point.

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...

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...

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...