Githae and Yoshida Lead Hokkaido Marathon Elite Field

Just over three weeks out from the race the Hokkaido Marathon organizers have released the elite field for this year's edition. Scheduled for Aug. 25, Hokkaido was in a tough position this year, just three weeks out from the MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials and a few more from the Doha World Championships. Only three women answered the call, but despite the two higher priority races just around the corner the men's field is decent quality.

On the women's side, 38-year-old Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL), a past Hokkaido winner, is the top seed with a 2:28:24 best in Nagoya two years ago. Alongside her are relative newcomers Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) and Mirai Waku (Univ. Ent.) both with times in the low-2:30 range earlier this year.

On the men's side, Japan-based Kenyan Michael Githae (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) leads the way with a 2:09:21 for 4th at Lake Biwa last year. Top-ranked Japanese man Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) was one of the people who came closest to qualifying for the MGC Race without making it, running 2:10:19 at Beppu-Oita in February. Amateur Tatsunori Hamasaki (Nanji AC) ran 2:11:26 two years ago in Hofu but has struggled to get back to that kind of form since then. The rest of the field comes in at the 2:12 level, led by two past winners of the Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon, Shota Yamazaki (Yakult) and Ryoichi Matsuo (Asahi Kasei).

2019 Hokkaido Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Sapporo, Hokkaido, 8/25/19
complete elite field listing
times listed are best within last three years except where noted

Women
Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL) - 2:28:24 (Nagoya Women's 2017)
Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) - 2:31:32 (Osaka Women's 2019)
Mirai Waku (Univ. Ent.) - 2:33:37 (Nagoya Women's 2019)

Men
Michael Githae (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:09:21 (Lake Biwa 2018)
Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:10:19 (Bappu-Oita 2019)
Tatsunori Hamasaki (Nanji AC) - 2:11:26 (Hofu 2017)
Yukio Fujimura (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:12:13 (Lake Biwa 2019)
Shota Yamazaki (Yakult) - 2:12:15 (Nobeoka 2018)
Ryoichi Matsuo (Asahi Kasei) - 2:12:19 (Nobeoka 2018)
Shinichi Yamashita (Takigahara SDF Base) - 2:12:28 (Hofu 2018)
Ayumu Sato (MHPS) - 2:12:37 (Beppu-Oita 2018)

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43

japan running news

Search This Blog