Mwikali Breaks Own CR at Sanyo Ladies Road Race, Tesfaye Takes Kanto 10-Miler

Japan's last big non-ekiden road race of the year happened Sunday in Okayama at the Sanyo Ladies Road Race 10 km and half marathon. In the 10 km, CR holder Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) soloed a 31:09 CR for the win. 2 seconds up on rival Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) at 5 km in 15:34, Mwikali held steady over the second half to cut 2 seconds off her old CR of 31:11 from 2021. Nyiva faded to 31:57 but held on to 2nd, with Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) passing Eva Cherono (Toto) for 3rd in 32:22.

In the half marathon, a lead group of four stayed together through 15 km before 2022 winner Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) surged over the last 5 km. Taking almost 2 minutes off her PB, Akidor took the top spot in 1:09:29, beating #1-ranked Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) by 18 seconds. Joanne Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) was 3rd in 1:10:01, with Yuri Karasawa (Kyudenko) scoring the top Japanese spot at 5th in 1:10:48.

Also Sunday in Chiba was the 137th running of the Kanto 10-Miler. After a DNF at last month's Hachioji Long Distance meet, Eritrean Tesfaye Biniam Zeratsion (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) took the win in 47:56, narrowly out kicking marathoner Kensuke Horio (Kyudenko) by 4 seconds. Chuo University athletes took the next three spots, with two runners from Juntendo University close behind. Chuo and Juntendo meet next Jan. 2 on day one of the 100th Hakone Ekiden.

42nd Sanyo Ladies Road Race

Okayama, 17 Dec. 2023

complete results

10 km

1. Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) - 31:09 - CR

2. Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) - 31:57

3. Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) - 32:22

4. Eva Cherono (Toto) - 32:38

5. Mitsu Ozaki (Sysmex) - 33:01

6. Misaki Hayashida (Kyudenko) - 33:01

7. Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) - 33:04

8. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) - 33:09

9. Yuri Tasaki (Sysmex) - 33:19

10. Ayaka Kato (Uniqlo) - 33:30

Half Marathon

1. Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) - 1:09:29 - PB

2. Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) - 1:09:47

3. Joanne Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) - 1:10:01

4. Desta Burka (Denso) - 1:10:16

5. Yuri Karasawa (Kyudenko) - 1:10:48

6. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:10:57

7. Madoka Nakano (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:11:22

8. Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:24

9. Hibiki Sakuragawa (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:11:28

10. Mizuki Tanimoto (Tenmaya) - 1:11:29

11. Chinatsu Takeda (Daihatsu) - 1:13:17

12. Nanami Aoki (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:13:18

13. Saya Nishitani (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:13:18

14. Yuko Kikuchi (Shimamura) - 1:13:19

15. Ayami Hirano (Noritz) - 1:13:22

137th Kanto 10-Miler

Narita, Chiba, 17 Dec. 2023

complete results

1. Tesfaye Biniam Zeratsion (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 47:56

2. Kensuke Horio (Kyudenko) - 48:00

3. Hinata Shirakawa (Chuo Univ.) - 48:12

4. Kanta Kotagiri (Chuo Univ.) - 48:16

5. Yuto Urata (Chuo Univ.) - 48:16

6. Yuki Murao (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:29

7. Kyota Iwashima (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:36

8. Yosuke Nagashima (Chuo Univ.) - 48:45

9. Shoto Horikoshi (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:49

10. Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.) - 48:53

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

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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, 7˚ at the start and rising to 12˚ 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...

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 ...

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