Skip to main content

Takaku, Hattori and Fujimoto Headline Fukuoka International Marathon

 
With strict limitations on immigration still a reality in Japan, the Dec. 6 Fukuoka International Marathon has announced an almost entirely domestic field of less than 100 that includes only five Japan-based foreign-born athletes plus an all-Japan-based Kenyan pacing crew led by Bedan Karoki (Toyota).

Not that the field is hurting for quality. Ryu Takaku (Yakult), 2:06:45 in Tokyo this year, 2018 Fukuoka winner and Tokyo Olympics marathon team member Yuma Hattori (Toyota), and Taku Fujimoto (Toyota), a bump up to the 2019 Fukuoka winner's position pending after the subsequent suspension of the Moroccan who crossed the line first for biological passport violations, make up the front end of a field that includes eleven current sub-2:10 men and seven of last year's top ten. Hattori has said publicly that he'll be going for Suguru Osako's 2:05:29 national record, and with pacing support from teammates Karoki and Fujimoto, his former Toyo University teammate Takaku there with him, and no dirty athletes to effortlessly tear him in half at the end, if the weather is good his chances will be too.

Shizuoka-based Kenyan Michael Githae (Suzuki) is the top international in the field with a best of 2:09:21 from Lake Biwa in 2018, but sub-60 half marathoner Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) still has potential to improve on his 2:11:58 best, and likewise for former Takushoku University ekiden team captain Derese Workneh (Hiramatsu Byoin). Workneh's teammate Cyrus Kingori (Hiramatsu Byoin) looks promising in his debut with a 1:01:31 for 4th at last year's Gifu Seiryu Half. 

One promising name for a breakthrough in the Japanese field is Taiki Suzuki (Raffine), 9th last year in 2:12:09 in his marathon debut. It'll be interesting as well to see if Yuya Yoshida (GMO) can build on his inspiring at-the-time-career-ending 2:08:30 debut at Beppu-Oita this year, and it still feels like Olympic team alternate Shohei Otsuka (Kyudenko) has more waiting in him than his 2:10:12 best from Beppu-Oita two years ago. Toyo fans will be hoping the same for Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu), twin brother of former NR holder Yuta Shitara.

Check back closer to race date for more info on TV broadcast and live streaming options.

Fukuoka International Marathon Field Highlights

Fukuoka, 6 Dec. 2020
times listed are best within last three years except where noted

Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 2:06:45 (8th, Tokyo 2020)
Yuma Hattori (Toyota) - 2:07:27 (1st, Fukuoka Int'l 2018)
Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 2:07:57 (8th, Chicago 2018)
Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:08:30 (3rd, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:08:37 (20th, Tokyo 2020)
Tsukasa Koyama (Subaru) - 2:08:53 (4th, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Naoya Sakuda (JF Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:59 (4th, Lake Biwa 2020)
Yuki Kawauchi (Kawauchi) - 2:09:21 (8th, Lake Biwa 2019)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:09:21 (4th, Lake Biwa 2018)
Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:09:34 (2nd, Beppu-Oita 2018)
Jo Fukuda (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.) - 2:09:52 (3rd, Gold Coast 2018)
Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:10:01 (11th, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Yoshiki Takenouchi (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:10:01 (7th, Fukuoka Int'l 2017)
Shohei Otsuka (Kyudenko) - 2:10:12 (3rd, Beppu-Oita 2018)
Koki Yoshioka (Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:10:13 (10th, Lake Biwa 2020)
Asuka Tanaka (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:10:13 (16th, Tokyo 2018)
Daichi Kamino (Cell Source) - 2:10:18 (18th, Tokyo 2018)
Yuichi Yasui (Toyota) - 2:10:19 (12th, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Junichi Tsubouchi (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:10:19 (13th, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) - 2:10:25 (14th, Beppu-Oita 2020)
Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) - 2:10:32 (11th, Lake Biwa 2020)
Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:10:52 (3rd, Fukuoka Int'l 2019)
Natsuki Terada (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:10:55 (4th, Fukuoka Int'l 2019)
Taiga Ito (Suzuki) - 2:10:59 (6th, Fukuoka Int'l 2019)
Tatsunori Hamasaki (Nanji AC) - 2:11:26 (2nd, Hofu 2017)
Hiroki Sugawa (Toyama T&F Assoc.) - 2:11:46 (1st, Nobeoka 2019)
Paul Kuira (Kenya/JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:11:58 (2nd, Hokkaido 2018)
Kenta Iinuma (SGH Group) - 2:12:06 (36th, Tokyo 2020)
Taiki Suzuki (Raffine) - 2:12:09 (9th, Fukuoka Int'l 2019)
Hiromasa Kumahashi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:12:10 (38th, Tokyo 2020)
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/NTN) - 2:12:12 (2nd, Hofu 2018)
Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 2:12:13 (40th, Tokyo 2020)
Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki) - 2:12:22 (3rd, Hofu 2019)
Shusei Ohashi (Kodaira T&F Assoc.) - 2:12:58 (47th, Tokyo 2020)

Debut
Cyrus Kingori (Kenya/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:01:31 (4th, Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon 2019)

© 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Stefan said…
I've marked this event on my calendar as a must watch. Hattori must be itching to break the national record time of Osako but I think it will be a very tall order. I hope he does it. We will find out soon!
October 27, 2020 at 3:37 AM
Andrew Armiger said…
Plenty of interesting angles, I'm not sure the race loses much with the current restrictions in place. Will definitely be watching with interest!
October 27, 2020 at 7:47 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ngetich and Mutiso Take Down Tokyo Legacy Half CR

In its 5th edition the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon scored 2 new course records via Kenyans from the Ikaika agency, with 10 km WR holder Agnes Ngetich blasting 3 minutes off the old record to win by over 4 in 1:04:23, and Alexander Mutiso skimming just 1 second under the CR for the win by 5 seconds in 59:51. The 2 races played out completely differently, even if the paydays were the same for the winners. Surrounded by an envelope of male runners all the way to the final 100 m, Ngetich was out hard on the downhill in the first 5 km, hitting it on sub-64 pace in 15:08 before leveling out on the flat middle 10 km. Her next 2 splits projected to 1:04:09 and 1:04:17, and even with the uphill back to the stadium in the last 5 km she didn't fall far off from that, winning in 1:04:23. Runner-up Tabitha Njeri Kamau was nearly a mile back in 1:08:28, with Kamau's Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo teammate Kazuna Kanetomo dropping a 1:10:17 PB for 3rd. Now an independent, track Olympian Kaede Ha...
2 comments
Read more

Waseda Leads Top 7 Teams Under Izumo Ekiden CR, Ivy League Best-Ever 3rd (updated)

3rd last year, Waseda University scored its first Izumo Ekiden win since 2010, taking almost 2 minutes off the CR and leading the top 7 teams under the old record of 2:07:51 for the complete 6-stage, 45.1 km course. Waseda was 16 seconds back in 7th after the First Stage, but its 2nd runner Ojiro Honda made that up easily and put them 6 seconds out front. A massive 22:56 CR for the 8.5 km Third Stage by Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) dropped Waseda back to 2nd even though its runner Ryuki Suzuki broke the old CR too, but back-to-back CR on the next 2 stages by 1st-year Haruki Niizuma and Shunpei Yamaguchi put anchor Shinsaku Kudo out of reach of the rest of the field. Kudo duly won the 10.2 km anchor stage in 29:00, bypassing a 2:06 time entirely for a new 2:05:56 CR, just under 2:48/km average pace for the complete course. Defending champ Koku Gakuin University struggled a bit in the first half of the race but came on strong in the longer second half with 4th and 5th runners...
8 comments
Read more

Route Inn Hotels Win National Corporate Women's Ekiden Qualifier for First Time

After Saturday's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race in Tokyo, 2nd-tier corporate women's teams were in Fukuoka for their own national championships qualifying race, the Princess Ekiden . With Queens Ekiden 19-placer Otsuka Seiyaku a DNS, 30 teams lined up for the 6-stage, 42.195 km race where the top 16 would go on to join the top 8 from last year's Queens Ekiden at next month's national race. Coming right in the middle of the international fall marathon season several teams had people still tired from Berlin and Chicago, with Daihatsu fielding Rika Kaseda and Natsuki Omori from Berlin, Tokyo Metro sending out its own Berlin duo of Mao Uesugi and Ayumi Morita , and Kraftia not playing its top member Yuka Akasaki after her solid run in Chicago last week. After a fast start from eventual 9th-placer Denso 's Rio Matsutani , Daihatsu took over on the Second Stage and held it until the Fifth, where a tired Omori dropped to 3rd. Mayuka Fujita from Route Inn H...
2 comments
Read more