Fukuoka, Hofu and Kosa - Weekend Road Preview

Sunday is a big day for road racing in Japan, with three major races, the Fukuoka International Marathon, Hofu Yomiuri Marathon and Kumamoto Kosa 10-Mile Road Race all happening. Even before them there's a big event Saturday, a one-day mini edition of the Nittai University Time Trials track meet in Yokohama with a large number of people who raced last weekend's Hachioji Long Distance meet or Queens Ekiden on the start lists.

Fukuoka is really the main event, set up to try to get one runner, 2:06:35 man Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima), to the 2:05:50 he needs to steal the third spot on the Paris Olympic team from the 3rd-placer at October's Olympic marathon trials, former NR holder Suguru Osako (GMO). Hosoya fell in the trials and dropped out. Since then he's run well in shorter races and doesn't seem to have any lingering damage, but considering that he's never broken 2:08 again since his 2:06:35 at the Miracle at Lake Biwa in 2021 it'd be a stretch for him to pull the time standard off. And with no other sub-2:10 Japanese men in the field it really is all up to him.

Ethiopian Abebe Negewo Degefa is the only runner in the field to have run under 2:05:50 recently, with Kenyans Bethel Yegon and Abel Kirui at the 2:06 level and Vincent Raimoi (Kenya/Suzuki), Zerei Kbrom Mezngi (Norway), Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki), Brett Robinson (Australia), Bethwell Kipkemboi Ruto (Kenya) and Shaohui Yang (China) at 2:07. Past champ Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway) is also in the race. TV Asahi will be broadcasting Fukuoka live via local affiliate KBC starting at 12:00 noon local time. More on the Fukuoka field here.

When Fukuoka announced that it was being discontinued in 2021 the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, traditionally held two weeks later, was quick to take over Fukuoka's date on the first Sunday of December for its 2022 running. The unexpected return of Fukuoka meant both races happened on the same day last year, and with Hofu organizers sticking to their decision it's going to happen again this year. Past Ageo City Half Marathon winner Simon Kariuki (Togami Denki) leads the field with a 2:07:18 from Lake Biwa 2021, and looking at the Japanese entries, two 2:07 men, two 2:08, and one 2:09, it's pretty clear why there's a big hole in the Fukuoka field between Hosoya and the next-fastest Japanese runner there, 2:10:41 man Takuma Kumagai (Sumitomo Denko).

Like Hosoya and Kariuki, the #2 and #3 entries in Hofu, Yuki Kawauchi (ANDS) and Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda) ran their bests of 2:07:27 and 2:07:54 at Lake Biwa 2021 and haven't improved on them since. #4 seed Yuki Nakamura (Sumitomo Denko) is the best in the race with a PB from somewhere else, a 2:08:29 for the win at last year's Hofu. Also in the race is Mongolian NR holder and past Hofu winner Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Shin Nihon Jusetsu), trying to get on the boards for qualification for his 6th-straight Olympics after running a career 2nd-best 1:02:37 two weeks ago at the Ageo City Half Marathon.

Hofu also has small women's and IPC fields. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Holdings) and Ayano Ikeuchi (Denso) are the fastest women with recent bests of 2:28:45 and 2:33:29, with Tokyo Paralympians Tadashi Horikoshi (NTT Nishi Nihon) and Yumiko Fujii (Biwako Timers) leading the IPC races. Local broadcaster KRY will be showing the race at 10:40 a.m. local time, with streaming on Hulu and a finish line cam on Youtube. Complete Hofu field listing here.

The race where Benard Koech (Kyudenko) set a new world best for 10 miles last year, the Kumamoto Kosa 10-Mile Road Race, which also has high-level high school boys' 10 km and women's 5 km races, is a key tune-up for all the big championship ekidens still on the calendar from high school to collegiate to corporate league. Top entries in the 10-miler include 2:05:51 marathoner Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko), 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.), 59:18 half marathoner Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko), sub-61 half marathoners Joseph Razini Lemeteki (Yasukawa Denki), Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) and Kiyoshi Koga (Yasukawa Denki) and many more. Streaming starts above at 10:35 a.m. local time for the women's 5 km and 11:20 for the men's 10 miles. Live results for all distances will be here. Complete entry lists here.

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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