Just about the only mass-participation race not to have canceled as Japan's COVID numbers hit record-breaking levels every day, the Osaka Half Marathon happened Sunday alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon. 3,572 people finished the half, making it the biggest in Japan so far this year.
2:06 marathoner Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) ran a PB to win the men's race in a 1:01:14 course record as part of his buildup for a shot at the 2:04:56 marathon national record at March's Tokyo Marathon, if it happens. Chugoku Denryoku corporate teammates Joseph Waweru Nganga, Takumi Kiyotani and Naoki Okamoto did most of the work leading the race, with Inoue not taking over until around 15 km, which he split in 43:22. When he made his break for it Kiyohito Akiyama (Aichi Seiko) was the only one to go with him, but Akiyama soon let go and settled back into a small chase group with Nganga, Okamoto and Akira Tomiyasu (Raffine).
Inoue was unchallenged over the final 5 km, winning in 1:01:14. In a three-way sprint finish Akiyama hung on to 2nd in 1:01:23 with Tomiyasu, whose sponsor team Raffine shuts down for good on Monday, clocking the same time for 3rd. 37-year-old Okamoto was 4th in 1:01:25, making it PBs all around in the top 4. Nganga was 5th in 1:01:44 in his debut, just holding off sub-61 half marathon and bib #1 wearer Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei). Sota Ueda (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) took 1st in the Kansai Region University Half Marathon Championships, running a regional collegiate record 1:01:56.
Depth in the men's race was close to that of some of Japan's more traditional monster races:
sub-62: 13
sub-63: 31
sub-64: 59
sub-65: 84
sub-66: 114
sub-67: 133
sub-68: 149
sub-69: 180
sub-70: 206
In the women's race Yuma Adachi (Kyocera) led almost start to finish, accompanied most of the way by Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) but shaking her off in the last few km for 1st in a PB of 1:10:21. Ikeda was 2nd in 1:10:37, with Hina Yanagitani (Kansai Univ.) 3rd overall to win the Kansai Region University Half Marathon Championships division in 1:11:26. Rinka Hida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) had a solid debut in 1:11:38 for 6th, with Daito Bunka University star Natsuki Sekiya coming back from a tough season with a 1:11:45 debut of her own for 7th.
But the biggest news in the Osaka Half was further back, as former national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) finished the final race of her career 30th overall in 1:16:04. As she came in, a crowd of amateur men who had passed her in the last km stood and waited, applauding as they welcomed her home. "To all my fans, you're the best," she said post-race. "I'm really lucky to have had you. Thank you all."
Osaka Half Marathon
Osaka, 30 Jan. 2022
Men
1. Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) - 1:01:14 - PB, CR
2. Kiyohito Akiyama (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:23 - PB
3. Akira Tomiyasu (Raffine) - 1:01:23 - PB
4. Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:01:25 - PB
5. Joseph Waweru Nganga (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:01:44 - debut
6. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 1:01:45
7. Tatsuya Sumide (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:46 - PB
8. Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) - 1:01:46 - PB
9. Ryo Kuchimachi (Subaru) - 1:01:46 - PB
10. Aritaka Kajiwara (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:01:48 - PB
Women
1. Yuma Adachi (Kyocera) - 1:10:21 - PB
2. Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) - 1:10:37 - PB
3. Hina Yanagitani (Kansai Univ.) - 1:11:26 - PB
4. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:11:36
5. Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:11:36 - PB
6. Rinka Hida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 1:11:38 - debut
7. Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:11:45 - debut
8. Akina Fujimura (Noritz) - 1:12:11 - PB
9. Natsune Kohara (Osaka Geijutsu Univ.) - 1:12:24 - debut
10. Hikaru Kitagawa (Osaka Geijutsu Univ.) - 1:12:38 - debut
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30. Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) - 1:16:04
Comments
Also noticeable are 3 Soka university first years ending up with two of them running sub 63 and the third one 1:03:05.
Seems like Soka is building a solid foundation after coming up strong the last few years.