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

Labels:

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.
January 13, 2024 at 4:24 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Japan Announces Complete London Olympics Athletics Team

by Brett Larner Click here for JRN's complete video coverage of the 2012 Japanese Olympic Trials, 27 videos making up nearly three hours of footage. The Japanese Federation and Olympic Committee announced the complete lineup of Japan's team of 48 athletes for this summer's London Olympics track and field events at a press conference on June 11.  The team features 11 national record holders and 18 current national champions and is young overall, with a heavy preponderance of first-time Olympians including a World Junior gold medalist, 13 collegiates and one high schooler.  The Fujitsu corporate team is overwhelmingly the best-represented, boasting 8 Olympic team members, while Chukyo University tops the collegiate list with 3 athletes on the team.  Suzuki, whose Suzuki Hamamatsu AC club team exists outside the corporate league, also has 3 Olympians. No Olympic team selection process is free of controversial decisions, and the omission of women's 10000 m Jr. NR hold
3 comments
Read more

Yamagata-Based Alexander Mutiso Aims to Be #1 in Paris Olympics Marathon

Having been named to the Kenyan men's team for this summer's Paris Olympics, Alexander Mutiso , 27, of the Nanyo, Yamagata-based ND Software corporate team, told the Yamagata Newspaper on May 13 that his goal for the Olympic marathon is "to be #1." Having lived in Yamagata for 10 years, Mutiso has strong attachment to the area and credits its environment for helping him develop, saying, "Ever since I came to Yamagata I've been running well." He left for Kenya on May 14 to join the Kenyan national team training camp, aiming to be in perfect condition when he arrives in Paris for the main event. Mutiso came to Japan in 2015, joining the ND Software team and taking up residence in Nanyo. "I don't like the cold winters in Yamagata so much, but the other seasons are nice." From that base he has grown into the athlete he is now, competing in races across Japan and around the world. Compared to the track, his strengths lie more in long road races
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Update

  The biggest domestic meet of the weekend was the four-day Kanto Region Track and Field Championships , but there were other good meets happening across the country. At the Kinami Memorial Meet in Osaka, Kazuto Iizawa (Sumitomo Denko) had a near-miss on the Japanese NR, running a meet record 3:35.77 for the win to come in at all-time JPN #2. 2nd through 4th-placers Abraham Guem (South Sudan), Felix Muthiani (Kenya) and Dezhu Liu (China) were all under the old MR and under 3:38, and the top 10 all went under 3:40. All told it was one of the best non-international championship men's 1500 m ever on Japanese soil. The women's 3000 mSC also saw a new MR from Shuangshuang Xu (China) in 9:47.45, with 2nd through 4th-placers Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.), Georgia Winkcup (Australia) and Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) all breaking 10 minutes. At part one of the Chugoku Corporate Championships in Hiroshima, Rebecca Mwangi (Daiso) had an easy win in the women's 5000 m
Post a Comment
Read more