Skip to main content

Mathenge Breaks National Corporate Half Marathon Course Record


Patrick Mathenge Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) ran a PB of nearly a minute to win the 2021 National Corporate Half Marathon Championships men's race Sunday in Yamaguchi. Wambui had pressure until almost 20 km from 2016 national cross-country champion Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) before kicking away for the win, crossing the line in a world-leading 1:00:12 to take 6 seconds off the course record. Ichida was next in 1:00:19, a PB by almost two minutes, the fastest Japanese time on the corporate nationals course by 13 seconds, and the fourth-fastest ever by a Japanese man. 

Benard Kimani (Comody Iida) was the only other man under 61 minutes at 1:00:30 for 3rd, with the top 26 all breaking 62 minutes. Further back, 48-year-old Satoshi Emoto (Mitsubishi Okazaki) ran 1:06:28, bettering Martin Reesage 48 world record by 1 second.

Last year's Nagoya Women's Marathon runner-up Yuka Ando (Wacoal) dominated the women's race, running each 5 km split progressively faster to win in 1:09:54. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada) was 2nd in 1:10:10 with Ayari Harada (Daiichi Seimei) 3rd in 1:10:17. 14 women broke 71 minutes.

49th National Corporate Half Marathon Championships

Yamaguchi, 14 Feb. 2021

Men
1. Patrick Mathenge Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 1:00:12 - CR
2. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:19
3. Benard Kimani (Comody Iida) - 1:00:30
4. Kiyoshi Koga (Yasukawa Denki) - 1:01:13
5. Masashi Nonaka (Osaka Gas) - 1:01:14
6. Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:01:16
7. Yuki Muta (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 1:01:17
8. Sho Nagato (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 1:01:19
9. Shun Yuzawa (SGH Group) - 1:01:19
10. Wataru Tochigi (Hitach Butsuryu) - 1:01:21
------
25. Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:01:53
50. Yusuke Osumi (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:02:38
75. Kazuya Yamaguchi (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:03:15
100. Junpei Kanisawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:03:48
125. Ryunosuke Hayashi (SGH Group) - 1:04:41
150. Takuya Kumashiro (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 1:05:33
174. Satoshi Emoto (Mitsubishi Okazaki) - 1:06:28
175. Hideaki Ishii (Fujitsu) - 1:06:32
200. Kazuto Arishige (JR Nishi Nihon) - 1:07:40
-----
DNF - Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei)
DNF - Biyazen Yeneblo (Yachiyo Kogyo)

Women
1. Yuka Ando (Wacoal) - 1:09:54
2. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada) - 1:10:10
3. Ayari Harada (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:10:17
4. Natsumi Matsushita (Tenmaya) - 1:10:18
5. Ikumi Fukura (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:10:21
6. Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo) - 1:10:23
7. Wakana Itsuki (Kyudenko) - 1:10:23
8. Kaori Morita (Panasonic) - 1:10:28
9. Saya Nishitani (Route Inn Hotels) - 1:10:38
10. Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) - 1:10:46
-----
25. Hanae Tanaka (Shiseido) - 1:11:50
50. Risa Yokoe (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:14:16
75. Kasumi Ogawa (Starts) - 1:19:03
-----
DNF - Miku Daido (Iwatani Sangyo)

© 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...