Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon. Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed.

By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits."

Just back from training in Kenya, Koike was 2nd a PB 1:03:26, with Yamazaki 3rd in 1:03:47. Also headed to Boston, Kento Otsu (Sunbelx) was 8th in 1:04:19. Running the Copenhagen Marathon on May 5 in one last shot at firming up his Paris Olympics spot, Mongolian national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir was 10th in 1:04:36 after organizers let him enter just a week beforehand. Local college student Neneka Kamitani of Niigata Iryo Fukushi University took the women's race in 1:21:34.

Niigata Half Marathon

Niigata, 20 March 2024

Women

1. Neneka Kamitani (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 1:21:34

2. Mayumi Yoshikawa (unattached) - 1:23:10

3. Haru Fukuhara (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 1:23:53

Men

1. Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) - 1:03:13

2. Riki Koike (Soka Univ.) - 1:03:26 - PB

3. Susumu Yamazaki (Nittai Univ.) - 1:03:47

4. Yuta Inage (Press Kogyo) - 1:04:10

5. Ryuga Ishikawa (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:12

6. Rikuto Ogihara (YKK) - 1:04:15

7. Daisuke Shimojo (ND Software) - 1:04:17

8. Kento Otsu (Sunbelx) - 1:04:19

9. Kazuki Watanabe (Sekino Kosan) - 1:04:35

10. Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 1:04:36

11. Hiromu Sato (Sekino Kosan) - 1:04:38

12. Kaihei Kitano (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 1:04:38

13. Reo Yoshida (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:53

14. Hibiki Kikkawa (Meijo Univ.) - 1:04:58

15. Shizuya HIgashiyama (YKK) - 1:05:46

16. Ryoto Mizogami (Meiji Univ.) - 1:05:46

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .

Chesang Wins Osaka Women's Marathon in 2:19:31, Yada Drops 2:19:57 Debut NR

This year's Osaka International Women's Marathon was a race run with a high level of methodicalness, starting slower than the planned 3:19/km but ramping up until the lead pack was skimming around the 2:20:15-30 projected finish level. After hitting halfway in 1:10:13 with a group of 6, by 25 km only 4 were left up front, sub-2:19 runners Workenesh Edesa , Stella Chesang and Bedatu Hirpa , and the debuting Mikuni Yada , and when the last 2 pacers stepped off at 30 km it was Yada who went to the front. Despite never have raced longer than the 10.6 km Third Stage at November's Queens Ekiden where she had helped the Edion team score its first-ever national title, Yada was very, very impressive, fearlessly surging from 12 km and never letting up, even laughing and smiling to fans along the course. When she started sustaining a pace around 3:15/km the projected finish dropped under 2:20 and all the way down to 2:19:28 by 35 km, and even when all 3 of the more experienced ru...

Hirayama Breaks Osaka Half CR, Martinez Set Puerto Rican NR

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...

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