In his debut at the Ome 30 km Road Race Sunday in western Tokyo, Masato Arao (ND Software) won in 1:30:50. En route he split 15:04, 30:10, 45:46 and 1:01:14 while running in the lead pack, but breaking away on a hilly section of the course he was alone by the time he hit 25 km in 1:16:00. Unthreatened the rest of the way, he soloed the last 5 km to take the win.
Arao went to Sakata Minami H.S. in Yamagata and Toyo University. After graduating he moved back to Yamagata and started working full-time while continuing to run races as an amateur. In September he ran a PB of 1:02:53 for 2nd at the Ichinoseki International Half Marathon. That attracted the interest of the ND Software corporate team, which he joined on Jan. 1 this year. He ran the anchor stage for the Yamagata team at the National Men's Ekiden on Jan. 19.
In 2nd was his ND Software teammate Taiki Suzuki in 1:31:53. Ryo Kuchimachi (Subaru) was 3rd in 1:32:14. Moe Shimizu (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the women's race in 1:45:32, with Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) winning the women's 10 km in 33:38. Rikuto Ikeya (Komazawa H.S.) won the high school boys' 10 km in 30:22.
Ome 30 km and 10 km Road Race
Ome, Tokyo, 16 Feb. 2025
Women's 30 km
1. Moe Shimizu (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:45:32
2. Himeka Kudo - 1:52:01
3. Mai Arizuka - 1:56:50
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14. Mariko Yugeta - 2:06:07
Men's 30 km
1. Masato Arao (ND Software) - 1:30:50
2. Taiki Suzuki (ND Software) - 1:31:53
3. Ryo Kuchimachi (Subaru) - 1:32:14
4. Daichi Atsuta (ND Software) - 1:32:18
5. Yu Miyazaki - 1:32:21
6. Kaito Terui - 1:32:54
7. Keiji Hanaoka - 1:33:43
8. Itto Gushiken - 1:34:05
9. Takuma Akiyoshi - 1:34:11
10. Jake Barraclough (Great Britain) - 1:34:23
11. Taiga Usune - 1:34:32
12. Haruyuki Wada - 1:34:47
13. Yuto Shimizu - 1:35:12
14. Ikuta Shimizu - 1:35:15
15. Hibiki Sawanaka - 1:35:53
Women's 10 km
1. Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 33:38
High School Boys' 10 km
1. Rikuto Ikeya (Komazawa H.S.) - 30:22
source article:
translated by Brett Larner
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