Asuka Tanaka (Hiramatsu Byoin) is the fastest man in the field with a 2:10:13 in Tokyo last year as an amateur runner. A stress fracture later in the year left him struggling in his few races since then, but after a tentative step back at Tokyo this year he is shooting for the 2:11:47 he needs in Nagano to make the cut. Shoya Osaki (Chudenko) ran a strong 2:10:48 in Beppu-Oita this favorite and will be trying to double back with a 2:11:12 in Nagano.
They're the only two people male or female who might realistically make it, the rest of the field for the most part positioned at the 2:11 to 2:13 level. 40-year-old Kenyan Alfred Kering leads the international contingent with a 2:10:27 in Lisbon three years ago, while 23-year-old Ethiopian Deresa Geleta is the freshest with a 2:12:33 in Beirut last year. Past Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage winner Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kanebo), now coached by former marathon national record holder Toshinari Takaoka, will be making his debut.
No women in what looks to be a low-to-mid-2:30 race are likely to make the MGC cutoff. Kenyan Valentine Kipketer leads the list with a 2:23:41 in Chicago 2016, but since then she has been just over 2:30 and in range of the rest of the field. Serial marathoner Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) is next, her PB of 2:30:09 coming at last fall's Fukuoka Marathon. Like Deresa in the men's race, 19-year-old Ethiopian Kebene Chala may be the best bet for a breakthrough victory following a 2:30:49 win in Nanjing last year.
21st Nagano Marathon Elite Field Highlights
Nagano, 4/21/19
times listed are best in last 3 years except where noted
Men
Asuka Tanaka (Japan/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:10:13 (Tokyo 2018)
Alfred Kering (Kenya) - 2:10:27 (Lisbon 2016)
Shoya Osaki (Japan/Chudenko) - 2:10:48 (Beppu-Oita 2019)
Taiga Ito (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:10:52 (Beppu-Oita 2017)
Tatsunori Hamasaki (Japan/Nanji AC) - 2:11:26 (Hofu 2017)
Ezekiel Jafary (Tanzania) - 2:11:55 (Hannover 2017)
Dejene Kelkilew (Ethiopia) - 2:12:09 (Cannes 2017)
Tadashi Suzuki (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:12:09 (Shizuoka 2017)
Deresa Geleta (Ethiopia) - 2:12:33 (Beirut 2018)
Jackson Kiprop (Uganda) - 2:12:45 (Amsterdam 2017)
Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kenya/Kanebo) - debut - 1:02:05 (Nat'l Corp Half 2017)
Women
Valentine Kipketer (Kenya) - 2:23:41 (Chicago 2016)
Hiroko Yoshitomi (Japan/Memolead) - 2:30:09 (Fukuoka 2018)
Kebene Chala (Ethiopia) - 2:30:49 (Nanjing 2018)
Pauline Wangui (Kenya) - 2:30:49 (Seville 2017)
Tizita Terecha (Ethiopia) - 2:31:45 (Ljubljana 2016)
Meskerem Hunde (Ethiopia) - 2:33:50 (Porto 2018)
Yumiko Kinoshita (Japan/unattached) - 2:34:19 (Osaka Int'l 2019)
Kaho Tanaka (Japan/Daiichi Seimei) - 2:34:45 (Hokkaido 2017)
Kasumi Yoshida (Japan/Nitori) - 2:35:31 (Osaka 2018)
Aki Otagiri (Japan/Takemura Seisakusho) - 2:41:26 (Nagano 2017)
© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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