Kanbouchia Breaks Osaka Marathon Course Record

Moroccan Soud Kanbouchia took the top spot in Japan's second-biggest marathon Sunday, breaking the Osaka Marathon women's course record to win in 2:31:19.

In the early going Kanbouchia had company from minor team corporate leaguers Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) and Kasumi Yoshida (Nitori) on mid-2:27 pace, but with a surge at halfway she was on her own and stayed that way until the finish. Yoshitomi, this year's Boston Marathon 10th-place finisher who set a PB and CR of 2:30:09 two weeks ago at the Fukuoka Marathon and, incredibly, won the Ohtwara Marathon on Friday in 2:37:22, dropped off after 10 km to settle into mid-2:30s pace. Yoshida lasted longer but slowed dramatically after 25 km and was quickly retaken by Yoshitomi.

But from the main pack of amateur women behind them club runner Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) emerged to run both down, running almost even splits to take 2nd in 2:34:12, a PB by over 4 minutes. Yoshitomi hung on 3rd in 2:34:39, almost 3 minutes faster than her time 48 hours earlier. Yoshida settled for 4th in 2:35:31, well ahead of 2018 Geneva Marathon runner Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) who took 5th in 2:37:01. Defending champ Yumiko Kinoshita (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) was 7th in 2:41:58, beaten by 2016 Osaka winner Yoshiko Sakamoto (F.O.R.).

The men's race saw a five-man lead group made up of Kenyans Charles Munyeki and Julius Mahome, Moroccan Abdenasir Fathi, and Japanese amateurs Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff) and Hideyuki Ikegami (Aminosaurus) go out on an aggressive sub-2:10 pace that left the rest of the field far behind. Ikegami dropped off after 15 km before a surprise DNF. After hitting halfway in 1:05:22 Fathi surged to gap the rest of the lead group, from which Mahome became detached after 25 km.

Munyeki and Igarashi worked together the rest of the way, and when Fathi began to fade after 30 km they started to reel him in. By 37 km they overtook him, and it went down to the very last kilometer before Munyeki dropped Igarashi to take the win in 2:14:11. Igarashi was 2nd in 2:14:19, the second-fastest time of his career, telling JRN post-race that he hadn't had time to get in enough long runs due to his assistant coach duties at Hakone Ekiden-bound Josai University but that he was very happy with the result. Fathi hung on to 3rd in 2:17:37, finishing just 20 seconds ahead of Akihiro Kaneko (Comody Iida) who took 31 seconds off his best for 4th in 2:17:57.

8th Osaka Marathon

Osaka, 11/25/18

Women
1. Soud Kanbouchia (Morocco) - 2:31:19 - CR
2. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 2:34:12 - PB
3. Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) - 2:34:39
4. Kasumi Yoshida (Nitori) - 2:35:31
5. Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) - 2:37:01
6. Yoshiko Sakamoto (F.O.R.) - 2:40:10
7. Yumiko Kinoshita (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:41:58
8. Minami Nakashima (Kansai Gaikokugo Univ.) - 2:43:26
9. Tomoko Morioka (Bee Sports) - 2:48:06
10. Ai Ogo (Himeji T&F Assoc.) - 2:48:23

Men
1. Charles Munyeki (Kenya) - 2:14:11
2. Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff) - 2:14:19
3. Abdenasir Fathi (Morocco) - 2:17:37
4. Akihiro Kaneko (Comody Iida) - 2:17:57 - PB
5. Takeru Ikka (KPJT) - 2:20:34
-----
DNF - Hideyuki Ikegami (Aminosaurus)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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