Skip to main content

Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon Elite Field


Sheila Chepkirui is the favorite in the Feb. 4 Marugame Half Marathon women's race, at 1:04:36 about three minutes up on her closest competition, Japan-based Kenyans Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) and Dolphine Omare Nyaboke (U.S.E.). Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) leads the Japanese women at 1:08:53, but the most interesting person on the entry list is her teammate Ririka Hironaka, all-time Japanese #2 for 5000 m and 10000 m and making her half marathon debut here. When Hitomi Niiya set the current NR of 1:06:38 in early 2020 it seemed like a mark that would last a long time, but with a better understanding of how much shoe tech has inflated road times since then that has to be a realistic goal for Hironaka, if not this time then next.

Sub-58 man Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) has a recent best of 58:48 that puts him just ahead of Charles Langat, ranked #2 at 58:53. Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko) is the only other runner under 60 minutes with a best of 59:18 from Marugame last year, but there are another five on the entry list under 60:30 and six more under 61, making for a strong pack up front. Kotaro Shinohara (Komazawa Univ.) leads the Japanese field with a 1:00:11 in Marugame 2023 and comes in fresh off almost equalling that in winning the First Stage earlier this month at the 100th Hakone Ekiden. Norwegian NR holder Sondre Nordstad Moen, Australian NR holder Brett Robinson and Japanese NR holder Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) also feature near the top of the entry list.

76th Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon

Marugame, Kagawa, 4 Feb. 2024
times listed are athletes' best within last 3 years except where noted

Women
Sheila Chepkirui (Kenya) - 1:04:36 (Ras al Khaimah 2022)
Pauline Kamulu (Kenya/Route Inn Hotels) - 1:07:22 (Marugame 2023)
Dolphine Omare Nyaboke (Kenya/U.S.E.) - 1:07:56 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Kyungsun Choi (South Korea) - 1:08:35 (Marugame 2020)
Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain) - 1:08:49 (Great North Run 2021)
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 1:08:53 (Sapporo 2021)
Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:09:00 (Gifu Seiryu 2022)
Mao Uesugi (Starts) - 1:09:57 (Osaka 2022)

Debut
Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) - 30:39.71 (Oregon World Championships 2022)
Caroline Kariba (Kenya/Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 31:52 (2023 Tamana 10 km)

Men
Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) - 58:48 (Ras al Khaimah 2022)
Charles Langat (Kenya) - 58:53 (Barcelona 2023)
Cleophas Kandie Meyan (Kenya/Mitsubishi Juko) - 59:18 (Marugame 2023)
Victor Kipruto Togom (Kenya) - 1:00:04 (Madrid 2023)
Kotaro Shinohara (Komazawa University) - 1:00:11 (Marugame 2023)
Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway) - 1:00:15 (Valencia 2021)
Shadrack Kipkemei (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 1:00:16 (Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 2023)
Dennis Kipruto (Kenya/Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:00:17 (Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 2023)
Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin University) - 1:00:31 (Marugame 2023)
Hiroto Hayashida (Mitsubishi Juko) - 1:00:38 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:00:38 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:43 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Masashi Nonaka (Toyota) - 1:00:48 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Yohei Ikeda (Kao) - 1:00:59 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Toshiya Sato (Toyota) - 1:01:06 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) - 1:01:14 (National Corporate Half 2020)
Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:01:16 (National Corporate Half 2021)
Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:01:25 (Osaka 2022)
David Shunqeya Neiyiai (Kenya/Reitaku Univ.) - 1:01:31 (Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 2023)
Sodai Shimizu (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:01:41 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Naoki Aiba (Chudenko) - 1:01:42 (National Corporate Half 2020)
Ryo Kuchimachi (Subaru) - 1:01:46 (Osaka 2022)
Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) - 1:01:48 (Ageo 2022)
Kensuke Horio (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.) - 1:01:49 (National Corporate Half 2020)
Joseph Razini Lemeteki (Kenya/Yasukawa Denki) - 1:01:50 (Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 2022)
Tadashi Isshiki (GMO) - 1:01:50 (Marugame 2020)
Eikichi Kazaoka (JFE Steel) - 1:01:51 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Kento Otsu (Sunbelx) - 1:01:56 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Yohei Komatsu (Logisteed) - 1:01:57 (National Corporate Half 2022)
Tatsuya Maruyama (Toyota) - 1:01:58 (Osaka 2020)
Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:01:59 (Launceston 2022)

Debut
Amos Bett (Kenya/Tokyo Kokusai University) - 27:59.45 (Sagamihara 2023)

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Stefan said…
This race will be an excellent indicator as to Ayuko Suzuki's fitness leading into her last ditch attempt to grab that Olympic 3rd position at Nagoya in March. An injury free, sub 1:09:00 time would give her confidence.

Super surprised to see Ririka Hironaka in this race. I welcome this and can see it benefiting her 10000m track speed endurance. It is a nice progression for her as I am sure she will gradually move onto the marathon distance post Olympics.

I'm hoping they have some good tv coverage of the women's field in this race.

Most-Read This Week

'2024 IAU 100k World Championships Results: Jumpei Yamaguchi and Floriane Hot Win Gold'

Silver two years ago , Japanese NR holder Jumpei Yamaguchi took gold at the IAU 100 km World Championships Saturday in Bengaluru, India. Defending gold medalist Haruki Okayama was bronze this time, with Toru Somiya just over 2 minutes behind Okayama in 4th. Japanese women were shut out of the medals, 24-hour world record holder Miho Nakata placing highest at 4th. Complete report and results here: https://www.irunfar.com/2024-iau-100k-world-championships-results photo © 2024 Tarzan Aqzawa, all rights reserved

Miu Saito Moves up Steeplechase All-Time List at Edion Distance Challenge

The last big track time trial of the season, probably, Saturday's Edion Distance Challenge had its biggest result in its smallest event. With only 3 women on the starting line, the 3000 mSC saw Miu Saito from Nittai University move up from all-time Japanese #9 to #8 with a 9:45.62 PB that put her almost 35 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Panasonic 's Nanami Watanabe took the women's 5000 m fast heat in 15:29.67, but a lot of the main competition, Kae Gyu from National Corporate Women's Ekiden winner Japan Post , Yuma Yamamoto , Risa Sasaki and Tomoka Kimura from runner-up Sekisui Kagaku , top-tier collegians Nanaka Yamazaki , Nanase Tanimoto and Haruka Ogawa , and others just looked tired. Only 8 women broke 16 minutes, and with 7 others going sub-16 in the B-heat better seeding might have produced better races. Some Japan Post runners did do well in the women's 10000 m fast heat, with Miyaka Sugata winning in 31:42.28 and Caroline Kariba 3rd in 3...

800 m NR Holder Ko Ochiai Heads to Komazawa University

Men's 800 m national record holder Ko Ochiai , 18, a 3rd-year at Shiga Gakuen H.S. , will go to ekiden powerhouse Komazawa University after his graduation in March. Ochiai won this year's National Championships 800 m in June, and at July's National High School Championships he ran a 1:44.80 NR to win for the second year in a row. His time there was almost 1 second under the old record of 1:45.75 set by Sho Kawamoto in 2014 and equalled by Hiroki Minamoto in 2021. In August he became the first Japanese athlete to make a World U20 Championships 800 m final, winning bronze. Hope are high that he will continue to lead Japanese middle distance into new territory. Ochiai's immediate goal is to make the Tokyo World Championships next year. After coming back from the World U20 Championships he told reporters, "I want to become someone who can make the final and go for a medal, not someone who is just targeting making the team." Regarding the 1:44.50 qualifying stan...