The 9th Okukuma Road Race, a JAAF-certified half marathon, took place Jan. 15 across the towns of Mizukami, Yunomae and Taragi in rural Kumamoto. In its first edition in 3 years after pandemic-era cancelations in 2021 and 2022, a total of 364 people finished in the event's 6 categories. In the men's half marathon, Hiroko Hashimoto (SG Holdings) won in 1:02:19, the fastest time ever at the race by a Japanese athlete. Former Hakone Ekiden uphill star Daichi Kamino (Cell Source) also ran, finishing 23rd in 1:06:11.
Tokyo Olympics women's marathon 8th-placer and course record holder Mao Ichiyama (Shiseido) won the women's half marathon in 1:12:34. "I want to keep getting back into good shape and to earn my ticket to the Paris Olympics," she said post-race. Rio Olympics 5000 m finalist Miyuki Uehara (Kagoshima Ginko) was 12th in 1:22:27.
source articles:
9th Okukuma Road Race Half Marathon
Kumamoto, 15 Jan. 2023
Men
1. Hiroki Hashimoto (SG Holdings) - 1:02:19
2. Shun Yuzawa (SG Holdings) - 1:02:56
3. Allan Biwott (Mazda) - 1:03:06
4. Tomoki Araki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:11
5. Kira Migita (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:03:21
6. Takayasu Hashizume (SG Holdings) - 1:03:32
7. Kenta Shimura (Soka Univ.) - 1:03:37
8. Kento Yamauchi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:44
9. Kyosuke Kogure (SID Group) - 1:04:03
10. Ibuki Kaneko (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:04:08
Women
1. Mao Ichiyama (Shiseido) - 1:12:34
2. Shoko Miyake (18 Ginko) - 1:15:15
3. Rui Nishida (Higo Ginko) - 1:15:29
4. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:15:52
5. Kokoro Sakagawa (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:16:11
6. Asuka Ito (SID Group) - 1:17:11
7. Miyuki Takano (SID Group) - 1:17:58
8. Mai Tokudome (Fukuoka Univ.) - 1:19:40
9. Eina Tokura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 1:20:04
10. Kei Akutagawa (Nittai Univ.) - 1:20:25
translated and edited by Brett Larner
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