Barmasai and Negasa Win Muenster Marathon, Kinoshita and Sakamoto Make Podium

Excellent conditions and decent fields said course records might be in the works, but while the results fell short of that level the women's race was the deepest in the Volksbank Muenster Marathon's 18-year history.

Ethiopians Chaltu Negasa and Chaltu Chawo and Kenyans Cythina Kosgei, Rebby Koech and Sheila Rono took it out at CR pace with Japan's Yoshiko Sakamoto, running with support from JRN, hanging on for the first 5 km before dropping off. By 15 km the debuting Kosgei and last year's winner Rono had fallen off, leaving Koech to tackle the Ethiopian pair.

The pair took turns trying to break away from the Kenyan, and by halfway they had a 30-second lead, 1:14:15 to 1:14:45. At 30 km they were still on CR, but despite staying together until near the end they didn't quite have the record in them, Negasa breaking away after 40 km for the win in 2:30:59. Chawo staggered in in 2:31:09, almost unable to stand an hour later at the award ceremony.

Koech paid for the early pace and was run down by Kosgei who took 3rd in 2:32:50. 2nd in Muenster in 2016 and 4th in 2017, Sakamoto was on PB pace through 32 km and moved as high as 5th. But from behind her Japan's Yumiko Kinoshita, who had started conservatively with a mostly South American 2nd pack, ran a two-minute negative split to overtake Sakamoto at 39 km, then Koech in the final kilometer to finish 4th in 2:35:45, 14 seconds up on Koech. Sakamoto ended up 6th in 2:37:42, the fastest of her three times in Muenster but lowest placing. Like Chawo, post-race Kinoshita was in a world of hurt and had trouble standing at the award ceremony. Sakamoto clearing 2:38 meant that for the first time in Muenster history the podium finishers all went under 2:40.

The men's race was never on CR pace, but from the early going it was on high-2:10 to low-2:11 pace and pretty well stayed there. Kenyan James Barmasai was at the front of the pack behind the pacers the entire way, the competition dropping away to just countrymen Edwin Kirwa and Mark Kangogo by 30 km. From there it was all Barmasai, not so much breaking away as holding on to what he had as he opened a lead of over a minute on Kirwa and almost three on Kangogo by race's end. His final time of 2:11:40 was still one of the better in event history, Kirwa next in 2:12:58 and Kangogo 3rd in 2:14:38.

18th Volksbank Muenster Marathon

Muenster Germany, 9/8/19
complete results

Women
1. Chaltu Negasa (Ethiopia) - 2:30:59
2. Chaltu Chawo (Ethiopia) - 2:31:09
3. Cynthia Kosgei (Kenya) - 2:32:50
4. Yumiko Kinoshita (Japan) - 2:36:45
5. Rebby Koech (Kenya) - 2:36:59
6. Yoshiko Sakamoto (Japan) - 2:37:42

Men
1. James Barmasai (Kenya) - 2:11:40
2. Edwin Kirwa (Kenya) - 2:12:58
3. Mark Kangogo (Kenya) - 2:14:38
4. Charles Maina (Kenya) - 2:16:02
5. Dereje Girma (Ethiopia) - 2:17:01
6. Elias Sansar (Germany) - 2:24:13

text and photos © 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved