Skip to main content

Wanjiku Breaks 10000 m Collegiate Record, Sub-15 Women, and High Schoolers Under 28:15 and 13:40 at Nittai Time Trials


Half marathon collegiate record holder Mekubo Mogusu's 10000 m collegiate record lasted for over than 13 years until Joseph Razini Lemeteki (Takushoku Univ.) bettered it by 2 seconds with a 27:25.65 at the Sept. 27 Nittai University Time Trials meet. Lemeteki's record lasted less than 7 weeks, as Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) won the latest Nittai iteration's A-heat in 27:18.89. With the always-fast Hachioji Long Distance meet just around the corner it was a surprisingly deep race, Wanjiku leading the top four under 27:30 and the top 13 all sub-28, four of them Japanese.

In the slowest heat, 57-year old Tatsuo Koizumi ran 32:38.88, short of Australian Keith Bateman's M55 world record of 31:51.86 but a M55 Japanese national record by almost two minutes and over 30 seconds under the known age 57 world record.


The B-heat was hot too, with three Sendai Ikuei H.S. runners going sub-29, Boniface Mutech and Shunsuke Yoshii running 28:11.48 and 28:11.96 and teammate Sosuke Hori going 28:40.90. Yoshii, the younger brother of U20 5000 m national record holder Yamato Yoshii, landed at #7 on the all-time Asian U20 and #6 on the Japanese U20 lists, two places on each behind his brother. 

Six high schoolers also went sub-14 in the 5000 m at Nittai. Oita Tomei H.S. 3rd-year Daniel Ndiritu led the way with a 13:18.75 for 3rd, the second-fastest time ever by a student at a Japanese high school. Tomonori Yamaguchi (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) ran 13:35.16 in the same heat, the third-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. 


With the East Japan Women's Ekiden happening Sunday women's races were thin, but one fast result came in the 5000 m A-heat. Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) ran a PB 14:55.43 to win by nearly a minute, the fastest women's time so far in the Nittai series' 292-meet history.. Complete results here.

© 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Kobe Marathon Elite Field

Sunday's Kobe Marathon has announced its elite fields, finally. Japanese athletes have a shot at qualifying for next fall's MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, if they go sub-2:27 for the first Japanese woman across the line or sub-2:09 for the first 3 Japanese men to do it. There aren't a lot of contenders to pull it off. On the women's side, Kaede Hagitani , Ayaka Shimoyamada and Kotomi Tsubokura all ran 2:31-32 PBs in the spring and will need to step it up a couple of notches to get there. 2:23 Kenyan Antonina Kwambai is perfectly positioned to help. On the men's side, Keijiro Mogi is closest with a 2:09:06 at last year's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Hiroto Kanamori his closest domestic competition with a 2:10:01 PB in Osaka in February. The international trio of last year's winner Barnaba Kipkoech , Elisha Rotich and Goitom Kifle all have recent 2:06-7 times and should help set it up for someone to get there, wh...
1 comment
Read more

Kenyan Graduate Student Athlete Posts Job Hunt for Ekiden Team on Twitter

A Kenyan runner who had tried to help lead his team to the Hakone Ekiden has taken an unusual approach to finding a post-graduation sponsor. Last week Patrick Kamau posted his job hunt on his Twitter account , saying, "I am looking for a club team or a corporate team where I can run in ekidens. I would be happy to run for any team that gave me a chance. I would be grateful for any opportunity and take it on with a positive attitude!" Kamau was 5th at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race half marathon in 1:01:10 last year during his 4th year at Jobu University . But despite his efforts, Jobu never qualified for Hakone during his 4 years there. He is currently working on a graduate degree while looking for "a team that will let me continue my competitive career." Fans responded to Kamau's job search posting, saying, "I hope it works out for you!" "Good luck comes to those who work hard" and "Kamau is going to graduate school? Given...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field (updated)

Another big race on the MGC qualifying calendar has posted its elite fields, the Dec. 6 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . It looks like a good race for the single MGC spot up for women under 2:27, and the 6 spots for men sub-2:09. Yuka Ando is the favorite in the women's race with a 2:21:18 in Nagoya 2 years ago, with her only real competition coming from Ayumi Morita , who broke 2:27 in Hofu last year but missed qualifying by not being the first Japanese woman across the line. CR holder Workneh Derese is back after his 2:06:58 win last year, leading Kenyan veteran Bedan Karoki and 4 Japanese men with a solid chance at sub-2:09, Tatsuya Maruyama , Ryoma Takeuchi , Shuho Dairokuno and Kento Nishi . Takeuchi set his 2:08:20 PB at Gold Coast in July, and Dairokuno is fresh off a great run at the final Kyushu Corporate Ekiden. Masatoshi Sakata , Yota Ifuku , Madoka Tanihara and Daiji Kawai have both come close to sub-2:09 in recent races and could factor in. 57th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite...
1 comment
Read more