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

complete field listing

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)

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

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