Workneh Over Shimoda at Beppu-Oita, Preisner Runs 2:08:58 for CAN #2

It's a rare year that there's no wind at all at the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, and the field took advantage of it with a pack run that lasted until the very last stage of the race. It really was a race of pure attrition, steady between 2:07:15 and 2:07:30 pace as it shook down from a lead group of over 30 to just 8 by the time the last two pacers stopped at 30 km: Japanese runners Yuta Shimoda (GMO), Hironori Kishimoto (GMO), Tomoki Yoshioka (Kyudenko), Takanori Ogata (Toyota Kyushu) and Yuichi Yasui (Toyota), former Takushoku University captain Workneh Derese (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin), and internationals Ben Preisner (Canada) and Hicham Laqouahi (Morocco). Their split of 1:30:31 put Preisner 39 seconds up on Cam Levins' 30 km NR and on track for 2:07:19, 51 seconds under the Paris Olympics qualifying time.

Shimoda took over once the pacers were out, a 2:59 for the 31st km enough to get rid of Ogata and Yasui. Yoshioka was next, and just past 32 km Laquoahi dropped too to make it a four-way race up front. Between 34 and 35 km the pace slowed enough that in was clear Preisner would need to turn it around to still have a chance at the Olympic standard, the lead group's 1:45:57 split at 35 km projecting to 2:07:44. Shimoda gestured for Workneh to take over, and even though he did the pace still slacked. Shimoda took over again at 37 km with a hard surge that gapped Kishimoto and Preisner, but Workneh answered and pulled away with what ended up being his winning move, taking almost 3 minutes off his best to win in 2:07:58.

Shimoda held on to 2nd in 2:08:24, with Kishimoto finding a 2:08:38 in himself in his debut for 3rd. Preisner could only watch as the Olympic standard slipped away, but his 2:08:58 PB for 4th was good enough to land him at 2nd in the Canadian record books. Yasui gutted out a 2:09:30 for 5th after dropping off earlier, but maybe the grittiest run came from Laqouahi, who was lying on the road with less than 5 km and staggering when he got back up but still managed a 2:11:42 for 10th. Happy with his victory after struggling with the marathon since his sub-2:11 debut in 2019, Workneh gave his winning interview in fluent Japanese. "I had good altitude training for this, and I'm not surprised that I won," he said.

The Beppu-Oita women's field is always small, and this year only two women were under 2:50. Social media influencer Aoi Makara followed up a couple of recent good half marathons with a 9-minute PB of 2:40:31 for the win. In the T11 class men's race, Shinya Wada took 1:02 off his own WR with a new mark of 2:23:27.

72nd Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon

Beppu, Oita, 4 Feb. 2024

Women

1. Aoi Makara (unattached) - 2:40:31 - PB

2. Rieko Koshi (unattached) - 2:43:40

3. Sonoka Nakayama (unattached) - 2:50:22 - PB

Men

1. Workneh Derese (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:07:58 - PB

2. Yuta Shimoda (GMO) - 2:08:24

3. Hironori Kishimoto (GMO) - 2:08:38 - debut

4. Ben Preisner (Canada) - 2:08:58 - PB

5. Yuichi Yasui (Toyota) - 2:09:30

6. Tomoki Yoshioka (Kyudenko) - 2:10:03 - PB

7. Yuki Muta (Logisteed) - 2:10:28 - debut

8. Takanori Ogata (Toyota Kyushu) 2:10:47 - PB

9. Reo Kuniyuki (SGH) - 2:11:27

10. Hicham Laqouahi (Morocco) - 2:11:42

11. Fumihiro Maruyama (Asahi Kasei) - 2:12:28

12. Shota Saito (JFE Steel) - 2:12:39

13. Akito Terui (Subaru) - 2:13:57

14. Genta Kuramoto (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 2:14:01 - debut

15. Ryo Osaki (Komori Corp.) - 2:14:18

16. Daigo Tomimura (unattached) - 2:14:50 - PB

17. Yuta Koyama (Toenec) - 2:15:03

18. Kazuma Taira (Kao) - 2:15:10 - PB

19. Kosuke Yamada (Toyota Boshoku) - 2:15:25 - PB

20. Kensuke Yamaguchi (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:15:34 - PB

21. Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:16:23

22. Tatsunori Hamasaki (Nanji AC) - 2:16:54

23. Shinya Kotabe (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:16:56 - debut

24. Tomohiro Okuyama (unattached) - 2:18:31 - PB

25. Tatsuki Ishii (Track Tokyo) - 2:19:29 - PB

26. Shunpei Oda (Komanechi RC) - 2:19:41

-----

DNF - Aychew Bantie (Ethiopia)

DNF - Mohamed Reda El Aaraby (Morocco)

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."

Fukube Breaks 100 mH NR at All-Star Night Games - Japan's Olympians Make Final Tune-Ups

Getting stuck in the shinkansen cancelation headaches yesterday means we're a day late getting to the weekend's track roundup, but better late than never. At the top of the list, women's 100 mH national record holder Mako Fukube (NKK) took 0.04 off her own record to win in 12.69 (+1.2) at the All-Star Night Games in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa in her last race before the Paris Olympics. Other Paris team members won their races too: 4x400 m squad member Takuho Yoshizu (GK Line) took the win in the men's 400 m in 45.89. Men's 400 m hurdler Daiki Ogawa (Toyo Univ.) set a meet record 49.09 for the win. Sumire Hata (Sumitomo Denko) set a women's long jump MR of 6.61 m (+0.8). Marina Saito (Suzuki) and Momone Ueda (Zenrin) both threw over the old MR held by world champion and Paris teammate Haruka Kitaguchi , Saito getting the win with a final attempt of 58.45 m, Ueda next at 57.93 m and 3rd-placer Yuki Yamamoto (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) also going over the old MR at 57

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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