Skip to main content

Noda Wins National University Women's Half Marathon


Daito Bunka University 1st-year Mariya Noda won a tight three-way battle over the last km to win the 2024 National University Women's Half Marathon title Sunday in Matsue. After a slow start with almost 40 athletes going through 5 km in 17:22, the pace built steadily with 17:14 and 16:41 splits over the middle part of the race. By 20 km it was down to just Noda, newcomer Mahiru Kobayashi of Osaka Gakuin University, last year's 5th-placer Nanase Tanimoto from national champion Meijo University and corporate leaguer Shiho Tachizako from Tenmaya, with 2023 3rd-placer Saki Harada drifting 9 seconds back in 5th. Noda ramped the pace up to 3:08 for the final km, dropping Tachizako, then Tanimoto, and finally Kobayashi to win by 2 seconds in 1:12:01. Kobayashi was next in 1:12:03, holding Tanimoto back to 3rd in 1:12:05. The top 6 were all under 1:13, with 17 women under 1:15 and 24 under 1:16.

45th Matsue Ladies Half Marathon

National University Women's Half Marathon
Matsue, Shimane, 17 Mar. 2024

1. Mariya Noda (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:12:01
2. Mahiru Kobayashi (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:12:03
3. Nanase Tanimoto (Meijo Univ.) - 1:12:05
4. Shiho Tachizako (Tenmaya) - 1:12:18
5. Saki Harada (Meijo Univ.) - 1:12:29
6. Momoka Tsutano (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:12:57
7. Saki Arai (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:13:12
8. Hinata Kaneko (Josai Univ.) - 1:13:20
9. Ai Yamada (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:13:36
10. Shiori Zama (Shimamura) - 1:13:56
11. Nana Nagashima (Josai Univ.) - 1:14:02
12. Ami Furunishi (Meiji Kokusai Iryo Univ.) - 1:14:03
13. Koharu Kaneko (Josai Univ.) - 1:14:16
14. Mako Nakasai (Toyo Univ.) - 1:14:25
15. Shuho Takahashi (Asia Univ.) - 1:14:39
16. Koto Hiramura (Daiso) - 1:14:50
17. Mana Marumo (Surugadai Univ.) - 1:15:16
18. Akie Hirao (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:15:23
19. Amisa Murayama (Tohoku Fukushi Univ.) - 1:15:24
20. Misaki Matsumoto (Chukyo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:15:37
21. Sakurako Yanai (Nittai Univ.) - 1:15:39
22. Ayaka Maeda (Kansai Univ.) - 1:15:39
23. Hinano Shiroki (Josai Univ.) - 1:15:49
24. Momoko Shimada (Nittai Univ.) - 1:15:58
25. Hikari Kobayashi (Tohoku Fukushi Univ.) - 1:16:00
26. Ayana Yamashita (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:16:12
27. Momona Nishimoto (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:16:13
28. Misaki Kato (Daiso) - 1:16:31
29. Nanaka Miyahara (Fukuoka Univ.) - 1:16:40
30. Himeka Chiba (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:16:44
31. Nozomi Tanaka (Nittai Univ.) - 1:16:48
32. Yumena Kirikuri (Kansei Univ.) - 1:16:59
33. Koyuki Kato (Daiso) - 1:17:07
34. Moe Koda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:17:23
35. Kyoka Gomi (Meijo Univ.) - 1:17:27
36. Shion Katagiri (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:17:52
37. Aiwa Sakaguchi (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:17:52

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...

70th Yamagata-ken Judan Ekiden

The 70th running of the Yamagata-ken Judan Ekiden happened over the start of the Golden Week holidays, a 3-day, 29-leg race covering 306.9 km around the northern prefecture of Yamagata. There used to be a lot more of these races where people from the prefecture run for their hometown teams on a Tour de Whatever prefecture or area it happens to be held in, but Yamagata's is one of the few to have survived this long. And amazingly enough, local broadcaster YBC live streamed the entire thing on Youtube. There aren't many corporate teams in the mostly rural area, so runners from the ND Software corporate team played a heavy role, its 2 best runners Masato Arao and Ryoma Takeuchi winning their stages on Day 2 with Takeuchi doubling to anchor the Kita-Murayama team to an overall 5th-place finish, and Koichi Shoji breaking the 2nd leg CR on Day 1 and winning the 2nd-to-last stage on Day 3 to play a key role in the Yamagata city team taking the overall win in 16:06:51, 3:09/km ...