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 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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