Weekend Road Race Roundup

It was another busy weekend with marathons in Osaka, Ibaraki and Chiba, a half marathon in Osaka, and post-season ekidens across the country. The Osaka International Women's Marathon was the major one of the bunch, if not an especially memorable race.

On a new course that saw the addition of at least two hills and the start and finish point downgraded from the spectacular Yanmar Stadium Nagai to its exterior warmup track, it was basically a race of attrition that saw people fall off the sub-2:20 pace set by the pacers until only three athletes, Ethiopians Haven Hailu Desse and Meseret Gola Sisay and top-ranked Japanese woman Yuka Ando (Wacoal) were left. Desse surged the hardest at 30 km, running on unchallenged from there to win in 2:21:13. Sisay was next in 2:22:12, with Ando 3rd in 2:22:59.

More memorable were two mid-race incidents. Just past 5 km, Reia Iwade (Denso) clipped Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) from behind and both went down. Sato got the worst of it, bloody in both knees as she tried to get going again, but both women eventually dropped out. Another incident happened after 30 km, when a TV camera motorcycle way too close to the 2nd group of women bumped collegiate record holder Sairi Maeda (Daihatsu), who stumbled but managed not to go down.

Ando, Iwade, Sato and 4th-placer Mao Uesugi (Starts) were all already qualified for October's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, but for Maeda and the others in the chase pack spots at the trials were on the line. In the end four women qualified, 5th-placer Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo) with a 2:25:20 debut, Maeda with a 2:25:24 for 6th, 7th-placer Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) in 2:25:59, and Yuna Daito (Tenmaya) with a 10-minute PB of 2:26:09 for 8th. Kaena Takeyama (Senko) and Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) rounded out the top 10 in 2:29:20 and 2:29:45, short of what they needed for trials qualification. Complete results and splits here.

Alongside the marathon, the Osaka Half Marathon also happened Sunday. In the women's race, Rinka Hida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) ran down early leaders Shuri Ogasawara (Denso) and Hina Yanagitani (Wacoal) in the last 5 km to take the win by 1 second in 1:10:10. Yanagitani was next in 1:10:11 with Ogasawara hanging on to 3rd in 1:10:36. Complete women's results here.

In the men's race, a lead group of 16 was together through 15 km before eventual top 2 Yohei Ikeda (Kao) and Shunya Kikuchi (Chugoku Danryoku) broke free. Ikeda got the win in the last km in 1:01:29, Kikuchi 4 seconds back in 2nd. 7 seconds separated the next 3, with Hayato Mera (Mitsubishi Juko) outkicking 5 people in the last km including Sweden's David Nilsson to take the last spot on the 8-deep podium in 1:01:59. Complete men's results here.

In Ibaraki, the Katsuta Marathon celebrated its 70th anniversary with its first in-person race since 2020. Ikeda's teammate Yukari Ishizawa from the local Hitachi corporate team won the women's race in 2:39:57 in her debut, her first road race longer than 5 km since 2017. Amateur Shusei Ohashi (Kodaira City Hall) won the men's race in 2:18:10. Katsuta has traditionally sent its top placers to run April's Boston Marathon, so expect to see them added to the field if the program is still in place post-pandemic.

In Chiba the Tateyama Wakashio Marathon was also back for its 43rd edition. Corporate leaguer Miharu Shimokado (SID Group) took the women's race in a decent 2:42:50, with amateur Suguru Sato winning the men's race in 2:27:55.

At the 12th Okayama Ekiden, 9th-grader Sherry Drury followed up her incredible run at the National Women's Ekiden two weeks ago with a 9:40 CR for the 3.0 km 3rd leg, 10 seconds under the old CR. Drury faced intense media attention, including national TV, throughout the weekend, which, given her age, would be another argument for her to opt for competing in and for Canada. Whatever it takes to keep her from ending up at local corporate team Tenmaya.

Japan's Team Performance at World U20 Championships

There wasn't much surprise in the events where Japan did well at the Oregon World U20 Championships , with medals in the men's 110 mH, 400 mH and 3000 m, and top 5 finishes in the women's and men's 5000 m race walks, men's 4x100 m relay, men's pole vault and long jump, men's 200 m, women's 800 m and 3000 m, and women's javelin throw. Jeremy Koga ran a 12.95 (+0.3) Asian U20 AR in the men's 110 mH semifinals, then came back in the final with a 12.97 (+0.7) in the final to take silver behind a brilliant 12.72 U20 WR by American Le'Ezra Brown . Taiju Goto was expected to medal in the men's 400 mH, but after leading the semifinals the best he could do was silver in 49.23, gold going to the Czech Republic's Michal Rada with a 48.59 European U20 AR. Expected to do better in the 1500 m, Ojiro Honda ran a 7:48.49 U20 NR in the men's 3000 m final to score bronze, only to come in near the back of the field in the 1500 m final at 14th in...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

Some Mid-Season Women's Corporate Team Roster Changes

The Daiichi Life women's corporate team announced last week on its official site that Paris Olympics 10000 m runner Haruka Kokai and teammate Yuka Masubuchi left the organization as of July 31. Kokai was born in 2003. Kokai rose to the national level while at Sendai Ikuei H.S. , winning the first leg at the National High School Ekiden her 2nd year to lead them to the overall national title. After graduating she joined Daiichi Life, then called Daiichi Seimei, in 2021. In March, 2023 she was the gold medalist in the women's 10000 m at the Asian Championships, and in December the same year she took 3rd in the National Championships 10000 m in an all-time Japanese #7 30:57.67 to score a place on the Paris Olympics team. In Paris she placed 19th. In a statement released by Daiichi Life Kokai said, "I want to thank the team, who always put the athletes first as they shared this journey, and all my teammates for so many good times together. There were times I got really disco...

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