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Edesa Repeats, Kobayashi Breaks Through at Osaka Women's Marathon


After breaking the CR with a 2:18:51 win at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon, Ethiopian Workenesh Edesa was back as one of exactly 2 non-Japanese women in the elite field at this year's race. Set up to try to get at least Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki under the 2:20 barrier, Osaka went out slower than planned but still ground the field down, only Edesa, Suzuki, the debuting Nanaka Izawa and last month's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon winner Kana Kobayashi left when they hit halfway in 1:10:12.

The pacers immediately picked it up after halfway to try to get it back on target, killing off Izawa and Kobayashi. Suzuki lasted through 25 km in 1:22:53, 2:19:53 pace, but that was as far as she could go. The gap never really grew that much, but for the rest of the way in Edesa pulled away from Suzuki, taking the win in 2:21:00 without ever being under threat again.

But there was some excitement behind her. After losing 35 seconds on Suzuki between halfway and 30 km, Kobayashi started to make the ground back up. By 40 km she was only 16 seconds behind, and with less than a kilometer to go, in sight of the stadium Kobayashi flew past into 2nd. With the fastest split in the field after 40 km, 7:19, Kobayashi finished in 2:21:19, a PB by almost 4 minutes.

And it's not like Suzuki had a bad race. 3rd in 2:21:33, she took 2 and a half minutes off her PB too. A star runner in college at Daito Bunka University, her progression in the marathon continues to impress:

2:25:02 - 5th, Nagoya Women's Marathon 2022 (age 22)
2:25:46 - 6th, Nagoya Women's Marathon 2023 (age 23)
2:24:09 - 1st, Paris Olympics Marathon Trials 2023 (age 24)
2:24:02 - 6th, Paris Olympics Marathon 2024 (age 24)
2:21:33 - 3rd, Osaka International Women's Marathon 2025 (age 25)

But Kobayashi's performance ranks her as the most interesting thing happening in Japanese marathoning right now. At Waseda University she wasn't even on the school's track team, running for fun and debuting in Osaka 2 years ago. Her progression since then, especially since her graduation last spring and joining the Otsuka Seiyaku corporate team, is even more impressive:

2:36:54 - 21st, Osaka International Women's Marathon 2023 (age 21)
2:54:45 - 11th, Hokkaido Marathon 2023 (age 22)
2:29:44 - 12th, Osaka International Women's Marathon 2024 (age 22)
2:24:59 - 1st, Hofu Yomiuri Marathon 2024 (age 23)
2:21:19 - 2nd, Osaka International Women's Marathon 2024 (age 23)

Improving on these times in their next races is going to be a major challenge for both women, but with Kobayashi going from a fun runner to top-tier domestically and Suzuki continuing to grow and both clearing the qualifying standard for September's Tokyo World Championships there's a lot to look forward to from both of them.

44th Osaka International Women's Marathon

Osaka, 26 Jan. 2025

1. Workenesh Edesa (Ethiopia) - 2:21:00
2. Kana Kobayashi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:21:19 - PB
3. Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) - 2:21:33 - PB
4. Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (Israel) - 2:24:03
5. Natsumi Matsushita (Tenmaya) - 2:26:04
6. Chiharu Suzuki (Hitachi) - 2:26:41
7. Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) - 2:27:11
8. Nanaka Izawa (Starts) - 2:29:28 - debut
9. Yumi Yoshikawa (Chiba T&F Assoc.) - 2:31:6
10. Ayano Ikeuchi (Denso) - 2:33:30
-----
DNF - Kurumi Yoda (Osaka Gakuin Univ.)

© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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Stefan said…
I was supporting Kana Kobayashi at the start of the race hoping she would break her personal best. I never ever thought she would finish as the top Japanese runner. When she fell off the leading pack on the uphill after the half marathon distance it looked bleak. Then surprisingly she rejoined within a kilometer only to fall back off again at 24km and looking distressed. She was weaving, left and right with her head tilted slightly upwards. I thought to myself, perhaps she overtrained and all those kilometers have finally caught up to her. At 29km when she caught and passed Nanaka Izawa I was taken aback but I wasn't sure whether it was because Nanaka's pace had dropped significantly or Kana's had increased. And then when I could see the gap to Yuka Suzuki was not widening as much as I expected I thought perhaps a PB is still possible, never thinking she would overtake her so dramatically in the last kilometer and beat her. As you pointed out, the progression of both athletes has been nothing short of spectacular especially in the case of Kana. Her running style is unique. I think of it as a race walker who is cheating with such high cadence and her feet so low to the ground. It clearly works for her. The fear of injury is my greatest concern with the heavy workload she has been undertaking.

However, one negative from the race is the management of the pacemakers. They need to get a separate table of drinks solely for them, perhaps a few 100m before the athlete drink station. In last year's race, at around the 20km station, Maeda Honami narrowly avoided a collision with a pacemaker. And she needed that drink, having missed the one at the 15km station! This year, at the 10km station, Nanaka Izawa got impeded. Then at the 15km station, Kana Kobayashi had a collision with a pacemaker who went back for her drink. I can understand if it were another athlete because these things can happen but it should not happen with pacemakers. Also the pace making was not the best this year. There was a lot of variability in the kilometer splits.

Other than that it was an exciting race and I am thankful that the Official TV broadcast has already been uploaded to Youtube. The race management do a wonderful job in that regard. I enjoyed reading your race recap and look forward to the upcoming Tokyo and Nagoya marathons. Hopefully, we get some more good qualifying times for the Worlds in September.
January 28, 2025 at 3:52 AM
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