Skip to main content

MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Akinobu Murasawa

Akinobu Murasawa

age: 28
sponsor: Nissin Shokuhin
graduated from: Saku Chosei H.S., Tokai University

best time inside MGC window:
2:09:47, 14th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

PB: 2:09:47, 14th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 13:34.85 (2011) 10000 m: 27:50.59 (2012) 20 km: 59:08 (2009)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
18th, 2018 Frankfurt Marathon, 2:15:41
14th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon, 2:09:47 – PB
1st, 2017 Hokkaido Marathon, 2:14:48

other major results:
25th, 2019 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, 1:04:32
34th, 2019 New Year Ekiden Third Stage (13.6 km), 40:25
28th, 2017 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:17:51
5th, 2017 Karatsu 10-Miler, 46:46
8th, 2016 National Championships 10000 m, 28:29.10
5th, 2015 National Championships 10000 m, 28:39.39
9th, 2014 Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler, 46:40 – PB
3rd, 2012 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.2 km), 1:08:14
1st, 2011 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.2 km), 1:06:52
2nd, 2010 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.2 km), 1:08:08
1st, 2009 Hakone Ekiden Qualifier 20 km, 59:08 – PB

Alongside future marathon national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) Murasawa was part of Saku Chosei High School’s 2008 National High School Ekiden-winning team, at that point the fastest-ever all-Japanese high school team in history. Going on to Tokai University Murasawa had a big impact, winning the Hakone Ekiden Qualifier 20 km in 59:08 his first year and a month later having one of the best head-to-head ekiden duels ever vs. Komazawa University’s Tsuyoshi Ugachi at the National University Ekiden.

But for all his early success Murasawa faded from the frontlines as a corporate leaguer, held back by injuries after trying to change his form to be more Kenyan. After years of relative obscurity in 2017 he took a shot at the marathon, running 2:17:51 at the Lake Biwa Marathon. A few months later he won the late summer Hokkaido Marathon in 2:14:48 to become the first man to qualify for the MGC Race. He followed up with a 2:09:47 at last year’s Tokyo Marathon and looked like his transition was on track.

Since then, though, he’s lacked the same spark, running only 2:15:41 in Frankfurt and finishing 34th on his stage at the New Year Ekiden. Nissin Shokuhin’s announcement shortly afterward that it was disbanding its team and would only continue support Murasawa and teammate Yuki Sato couldn’t have helped. In April he ran 1:04:32 at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon and hasn’t been seen since. Murasawa still has a huge fan base, but for all the memories of the fire he showed a decade ago it’ll take something special for him to live up to that at the MGC Race.

next profile: Tadashi Isshiki (GMO).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...
2 comments
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...
Post a Comment
Read more

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...
53 comments
Read more