'18 World Half Bronze Medalist Kamulu and Tokyo Olympic Marathon Trials Winner Nakamura Take Humid Hokkaido Marathon

2018 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Pauline Kamulu Kaveke and Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura survived tough conditions, 22˚C at the start with 82% humidity, sunny skies and almost no wind, to take the 2024 Hokkaido Marathon Sunday in Sapporo.

Both running their debuts, Kamulu and Shiho Tachizako ran steadily around 2:28-flat pace surrounded by a group of amateur men, staying together until just before 30 km when Tachizako started to fade. Kamulu struggled with the hot conditions late in the race and could only watch the clock as sub-2:30 slipped away, looking very tired as she crossed the finish line in 2:31:04. Tachizako faded to 2:33:47 for 2nd, but even that was good enough to easily beat the rest of the field, with last year's 2nd-placer Ayano Ikeuchi 3rd in 2:35:26 in her third marathon so far this year.

Nakamura had said pre-race that he didn't care about time and was only focused on getting in the win, and that was exactly how he ran, ignoring the early action and staying near the front of the main pack until he made his initial move at 30 km. That got rid of the pretenders, with only 2:08~2:10 men Takeshi Soma, Atsumi Ashiwa and Masaru Aoki, and 2:18 amateur Ryuichi Yoshioka getting back on board. Soma countered with an attack after 34 km, but Nakamura quickly reeled him back in and made his real move with 5 km to go.

Yoshioka was the only one to try to follow, but it was all Nakamura the rest of the way, scoring his first win since his Olympic trials victory in 2019 with a 2:15:36 for 1st. Yoshioka was elated in the home stretch with a 2:16:28 for 2nd, a 2-minute PB and the only runner male or female in the top 10 to PB. Nakamura's toughest competition still standing when he dropped his big move, Ashiwa out kicked Soma and Aoki for 3rd in 2:16:40.

Osaka Marathon winner Kiyoto Hirabayashi ran Hokkaido as a training run, jogging in to a 70th-place finish in 2:41:19. The next-fastest man on paper after Hirabayashi with a 2:07:58 win in Beppu-Oita in February, Japan-based Ethiopian Derese Workneh was a DNF near 30 km.

Hokkaido Marathon

Sapporo, Hokkaido, 25 Aug. 2024

Women

1. Pauline Kamulu Kaveke (Kenya/Route Inn Hotels) - 2:31:04 - debut

2. Shiho Tachizako (Tenmaya) - 2:33:47 - debut

3. Ayano Ikeuchi (Denso) - 2:35:26

4. Yuko Kikuchi (Shimamura) - 2:36:50

5. Yuri Mitsune (18 Ginko) - 2:37:08

6. Asuka Yamamoto (Universal Entertainment) - 2:39:14

7. Nanami Aoki (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:40:07

8. Tomomi Sawahata (Sawahatters) - 2:40:15

9. Ayami Hirano (Noritz) - 2:41:40 - debut

10. Kana Masuda (stylish) - 2:48:14

Men

1. Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 2:15:36

2. Ryuichi Yoshioka (Honda Tochigi) - 2:16:28 - PB

3. Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda) - 2:16:40

4. Takeshi Soma (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:16:43

5. Masaru Aoki (Kao) - 2:16:46

6. Takumi Komatsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:18:09

7. Toshiya Sato (Toyota) - 2:18:42 - debut

8. Hiromasa Kurahashi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:19:03

9. Benjamin Ngandu (Kenya/Yonezawa B of E) - 2:19:36

10. Takuya Kumashiro (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 2:19:46

11. Kazuto Kawabata (SGH) - 2:20:17

12. Yuma Morii (Kyoto T&F Assoc.) - 2:21:18

13. Naoya Sato (Miraspo) - 2:21:37

14. Takayuki Matsuura (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.) - 2:22:09

15. Kensuke Yamaguchi (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:23:16

16. Yueqing Zhen (China) - 2:23:16

17. Chaoqing Zhen (China) - 2:23:16

18. Hyuma Abe (Team Nitro) - 2:23:54

19. Yuki Suzuki (Kao) - 2:24:17

20. Daichi Atsuura (ND Software) - 2:25:50

-----

26. Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) - 2:28:11

34. Ren Umezaki (Toyo Univ.) - 2:32:21

40. Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:34:03

56. Yuki Nakamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:38:32

70. Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 2:41:19

196. Daichi Kamino (MABP) - 2:53:55

-----

DNF - Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin)

Mashiko Breaks U20 5000 m NR - Weekend Track Roundup

Saturday's Kanakuri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto was the weekend's main event in Japanese track, but there were good results at the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama too. Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) led the men's 5000 m A-heat at Kanakuri in 13:14.06, with Tomonori Yamaguchi (SGH) clocking the fastest Japanese time in 13:16.38 in his first race as a corporate leaguer. Waseda University duo Rui Suzuki and Yota Mashiko went 6-7 in 13:20.64 and 13:22.87, the 18-year-old Mashiko shaving 0.04 off the U20 NR. In 8th, Yamato Yoshii (Toyota) ran a PB of 13:23.92. 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Subaru) continued to struggle after a weak indoor season, finishing 18th of 20 finishers in 13:45.10. 19-year-old Festus Kimorwo (Kurosaki Harima) was under 13:20 in the B-heat too, winning in a 13:19.59 PB. 2 more collegiate men broke 13:30, Daichi Fujita (Chuo Univ.) 8th in 13:28.93 and Riki Koike (Soka Univ.) 9th in 13:29.09. The top 6 in the men's 800 m A-hea...

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...

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."...

japan running news

Search This Blog