Kipkemoi and Nyaga Win Inaugural Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon

Tokyo's newest elite-level road race happened Sunday on the course used for Japan's 2020 Olympic marathon trials and the 2020 Paralympic Games marathon, with the first edition of the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon bringing 15,000 to the streets.

Kenyan Vincent Kipkemoi outran Japan-based world all-time #4 Alexander Mutiso for the win 1:00:10 to 1:00:29, with 3rd and 4th-placers Benard Kimeli and Vincent Raimoi also getting under 61 minutes despite the tough uphill finish. With prize money running 8 deep Kenyans took the top 8 spots. Winning a three-way sprint finish on the track for 9th and top Japanese honors was Kenta Murayama, outkicking marathoners Daisuke Uekado and Yusuke Nishiyama by 1 second in 1:02:14.

In the women's race, unknown Caroline Nyaga outran 2022 National Corporate Half Marathon champ Dolphine Omare Nyaboke for the win, breaking her PB by over a minute and a half in 1:08:23. Nyaboke was 2nd in 1:09:46. On the climb back up to the stadium 2022 Hokkaido Marathon winner Haruka Yamaguchi broke away from American Betsy Saina to take 3rd in 1:10:35. Saina faded badly in the last 2 km but held off marathoner Mao Kiyota by 5 seconds for 4th in 1:11:13.

Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon

Tokyo, 16 Oct. 2022

complete results

Men

1. Vincent Kipkemoi (Kenya) - 1:00:10

2. Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) - 1:00:29

3. Benard Kimeli (Fujitsu) - 1:00:36

4. Vincent Raimoi (Suzuki) - 1:00:56

5. Macharia Ndirangu (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:11

6. Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:32

7. Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:02:04

8. Benson Tunyo (Kenya) - 1:02:07

9. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:14

10. Daisuke Uekado (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:02:15

11. Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) - 1:02:15

Women

1. Caroline Nyaga (Kenya) - 1:08:23

2. Dolphine Omare Nyaboke (U.S.E.) - 1:09:46

3. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 1:10:35

4. Betsy Saina (U.S.A.) - 1:11:13

5. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:11:18

6. Natsuki Omori (Daihatsu) - 1:11:46

7. Kotona Ota (Japan Post) - 1:11:54

8. Beatrice Cheburet (Kenya) - 1:12:33

9. Ikumi Fukura (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:13:33

10. Rie Kawauchi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:14:47

11. Kotomi Tsubokura (Wacoal) - 1:14:51

12. Ai Ikemoto (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 1:15:32

Keita Satoh Running New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile

1500 m U20 NR holder Keita Satoh (Nike Swoosh TC) is running this weekend's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile , the first time that a Japanese man has been invited in the race's 45-year history. In university Sato had to change focus away from middle distance to the half marathon-scale lengths of the Hakone Ekiden stages, but since graduating in March and relocating to Flagstaff he has refocused on the 1500 m, going from 3:43.19 in April in his first 1500 m in almost 4 years to 3:38.30 over the course of 5 races. Fifth Avenue will be his last race before heading back to Japan for one more track 1500 m and some down time. Men's entries with best 1500 m times in last 3 years: Stefan Nillessen (NED) - 3:29.23 (2025) Flavien Szot (FRA) - 3:30.74 (2025) Oliver Hoare (AUS) - 3:31.07 (2024) Jake Heyward (GBR) - 3:31.18 (2026) Titouan Le Grix (FRA) - 3:31.46 (2026) Romain Mornet (FRA) - 3:31.62 (2025) Adam Spencer (AUS) - 3:31.83 (2026) Pieter Sisk (BEL) - 3:31.85 (2025) Gary Martin (...

Nat'l University Ekiden Updates Here

Looks like I just went over my update limit on Twitter - sorry, it's the first time I've tried to use it for this. I'll look for another option next time. In the meantime I'll add updates to the comments below. Not sure if that has a max too but I guess we'll find out. Update: Part one of the Nationals commentary can be found here .

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

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