Skip to main content

Ruth Chepngetich Repeats in Nagoya With Solo 2:18:08



With temps in the high teens the Nagoya Women's Marathon was warmer than ideal, but that didn't stop the expected protagonists from dominating, and in fast times.

2022 winner Ruth Chepngetich soloed the race the entire way, going ahead of the pacers in the first kilometer and splitting between 16:14 and 16:19 for five of the six 5 km splits up to 30 km. She couldn't quite hold it together enough over the last 10 km to give her 2:17:18 CR from last year a serious go, fading from 1:08:47 at halfway to a 2:18:08 for 1st. But that was still enough for her to win by over a kilometer and take home another $250,000.



The main chase group of over a dozen skimmed just under 17 minutes per 5 km through a 1:11:20 half split before top-ranked Japan woman Ayuko Suzuki took off when the last pacer stopped. Deshun Zhang and Mao Uesugi initially went with her but soon lost touch, leaving Suzuki to drop an impressive 48-second negative split for a 2:21:52 PB, 10 seconds better than her run at last fall's Berlin Marathon in better conditions and an easier course.

The only top-level Japanese woman in the race not to have qualified for October's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, 2020 Olympic trials winner Honami Maeda held back when Suzuki made her move, then took her time reeling Uesugi and Zhang back in. Maeda also pulled off a negative split by 8 seconds, running a 2:22:32 PB for 3rd and landing her spot at the MGC Race.

Coming to Nagoya with a best of only 2:27:01, Zhang showed nothing but tenacity as she took 4th in 2:24:05, the fastest time by a Chinese woman since 2012. Uesugi, who was 4th at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:25:18, was 5th here in 2:24:16, practicing up for a planned double at August's Budapest World Championships and the MGC Race on Oct. 15.

7 of the top 11 women ran PBs, surprising given the conditions. Maeda was the only addition to the list of women's qualifiers for the Olympic trials, bringing the total to 29 versus 62 men. Nagoya was the last major qualifying race, leaving remaining hopefuls like Honoka Tanaike, 9th in a PB of 2:27:30, to chase a 2:24:00 or two-race 2:28:00 average at the Tokushima Marathon, Nagano Marathon, or overseas before the May 31 deadline. World Athletics Elite Label and higher races like the May 28 Ottawa Marathon, where at least 7 Japanese men are currently planning to chase last-chance qualification, are bound to be packed with desperate Japanese athletes.

In the accompanying half marathon, club runner Junichi Ushiyama took the win in the men's race in 1:04:52 by 23 seconds over Australian Ben St. Lawrence. Erika Kawamura won the women's race in 1:20:28.

Nagoya Women's Marathon

Nagoya, Aichi, 12 Mar. 2023

1. Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya) - 2:18:08
2. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 2:21:52 - PB
3. Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 2:22:32 - PB
4. Deshun Zhang (China) - 2:24:05 - PB
5. Mao Uesugi (Starts) - 2:24:16
6. Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) - 2:25:46
7. Mirai Waku (Univ. Ent.) - 2:25:58 - PB
8. Zhixuan Li (China) - 2:26:28
9. Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:27:30 - PB
10. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) - 2:27:54 - PB
11. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Holdings) - 2:28:45 - PB
12. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 2:29:20
13. Mizuki Tanimoto (Tenmaya) - 2:29:56
14. Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) - 2:30:23
15. Yuri Mitsune (Juhachi Ginko) - 2:31:26 - debut
16. Mayu Nishikawa (Starts) - 2:31:44
17. Sarah Pagano (U.S.A.) - 2:32:05 - PB
18. Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 2:32:09
19. Xinyan Zhang (China) - 2:32:19
20. Kaena Takeyama (Senko) - 2:32:20
21. Mayu Hirata (Wacoal) - 2:32:48 - debut
22. Nana Sato (Starts) - 2:33:15
23. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 2:33:29
24. Sarah Klein (Australia) - 2:33:51
25. Ryo Koido (Hitachi) - 2:33:52 - debut
-----
DNF - Nancy Jelagat (Kenya)

photos © 2023 Nagoya Women's Marathon, all rights reserved
text © 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Kyle S. said…
I'm really glad to see Honami Maeda put together a solid race after struggling so much with injury and illness recently. I hope that she can make it to October healthy enough to compete well at the MGC race. Ayuko Suzuki also looked very impressive with how she handled the second half of the race!
March 13, 2023 at 12:31 PM
Stefan said…
Ruth Chepngetich was in a class of her own. What an athlete! You could tell she was suffering in the last 10k or so but she still pushed through to post an excellent time. The conditions weren't the best for fast times but I very pleased with the PB times posted by Ayuko Suzuki and Honami Maeda. The October MGC Race is going to be very closely fought and I think a lot will depend on who can turn up to the start line having completed an injury free and productive training block leading into the event.

By the way, I'm a bit unsure as to Mao Uesugi's reasoning for completing the Osaka Marathon then this one so close together. I understand she did it to prepare for the back to back marathons at the World Champs (Budapest) in August and then the MGC race in October. I could be wrong but it sounds like a recipe for disaster or at best, 2 sub peak performances. History will be the judge but I think it is will result in disappoint at the MGC race. That is, should she be able to turn up injury free. 4 marathons in one year for an elite athlete. Even the great Kipchoge limits himself to 2 per year!

By the way, I watched the livestream coverage from the Nagoya Marathon website. I tuned in well before the race start and was surprised to see they were telecasting the MCs preparing beforehand with the make up artists and floor director on screen. They also had vision of the athletes leaving their hotel (Ruth Chepngetich and Honami Maeda) and it looks like all this was screened by mistake as you had the video being paused, rewound then edited! It was like a behind the scenes VIP pass and for me, as a fan, I was so pleased to see how it all comes together. They must have realized this as not long after they went to a screen with the words to the effect, the live broadcast will commence shortly! And when it did begin, you could see the edited pieces being shown properly! The coverage was excellent! Another superb event at Nagoya!
March 17, 2023 at 3:55 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview

The Nagoya Women's Marathon , the world's largest women-only marathon and the last race in the selection cycle for September's Tokyo World Championships, happens Sunday. Weather conditions are looking better than what they had in Tokyo and Osaka the last two weekends, 7Ëš at the start and rising to 12Ëš with sunny skies. The wind looks a bit stronger than ideal, but it could be worse. Fuji TV has the live broadcast starting at 9:00 a.m. Sunday local time, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch the TVer streaming . One option for  a leaderboard is here , and another here . We'll have some coverage on @JRNLive . Just like last time around there are three Ethiopian and Kenyan-born athletes at the top list, this time it being sub-2:20 women Sheila Chepkirui , winner in NYC last year, and Ruti Aga , winner in Xiamen in January, and last year's Nagoya runner-up Eunice Chebichii Chumba . But last year Yuka Ando still pulled off the win, so there's a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...
1 comment
Read more