Marathon Weekend Roundup

The Kumanichi 30 km and Ome 30 km were the two big road races this past weekend, but there were at least 5 big mass-participation marathons with decent semi-elite results Sunday too.

The Kyoto Marathon saw the fastest times of the weekend, with local boy Yuma Morii beating Yudai Fukuda 2:16:19 to 2:16:50 to win. Fuka Hirokawa won the women's race by over 3 minutes in 2:45:09, but 3rd-placer Miyu Fukada had a much faster net time, 2:41:09 versus her gun time of 2:50:16. It's not clear why she started so far back.

The Kumamoto Castle Marathon had a great race up front between last year's winner and CR holder Hiroaki Furukawa and Hyuga Abe. Abe missed Furukawa's CR by 12 seconds but beat Furukawa by 14, going 2:16:26 to 2:16:40. Michiru Kato won out over the ageless Mai Fujisawa in the women's race, winning in 2:45:32 to Fujisawa's 2:47:11.

Veterans dominated at the Kitakyushu Marathon, where Rio Olympian Hisanori Kitajima, now 40, beat another 40+ runner, Takashi Hashimoto, 2:17:25 to 2:18:08. Like Fukada in Kyoto, Hashimoto's net time was 2:14:21, baffling given his level. Riko Ozawa took the women's race in 2:47:16 by a slim margin over veteran, Chika Tawara, 2nd in 2:48:02.

The Kochi Ryoma Marathon saw the tightest race of the weekend in the men's race. 100 km NR holder Jumpei Yamaguchi dug deep to fight off amateurs Takemaru Yamasaki and Shinya Ohashi, all of them finishing within 32 seconds but Yamaguchi getting the win in 2:20:10. Mai Fukushima was the women's winner in 2:55:58.

With hills and humidity the Okinawa Marathon isn't suited to fast times. Daijiro Seto won the men's title in 2:29:36, with 40+ runner Eri Suzuki winning the women's race in 2:53:51.

Kyoto Marathon

Kyoto, 16 Feb. 2025

complete results

Men

1. Yuma Morii - 2:16:19

2. Yudai Fukuda - 2:16:50

3. Tatsuya Itagaki - 2:18:56

Women

1. Fuka Hirokawa - 2:45:09

2. Miyuki Nishimura - 2:48:18

3. Miyu Fukada - 2:50:16 (2:41:09 net)

Kumamoto Castle Marathon

Kumamoto, 16 Feb. 2025

complete results

Men

1. Hyuma Abe - 2:16:26

2. Hiroaki Furukawa - 2:16:40

3. Yuhi Takami - 2:19:45

4. Taiga Nishihara - 2:19:56

Women

1. Michiru Kato - 2:45:32

2. Mai Fujisawa - 2:47:11

3. Reina Okumura - 2:48:28

4. Seika Iwamura - 2:49:27

Kitakyushu Marathon

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 16 Feb. 2025

complete results

Men

1. Hisanori Kitajima - 2:17:25

2. Takashi Hashimoto - 2:18:08 (net 2:14:21)

3. Yuichi Hirotani - 2:24:20

Women

1. Riko Ozawa - 2:47:16

2. Chika Tawara - 2:48:02

3. Yuka Tomitaka - 2:56:25

Kochi Ryoma Marathon

Kochi, 16 Feb. 2025

complete results

Men

1. Jumpei Yamaguchi - 2:20:10

2. Takemaru Yamasaki - 2:20:33

3. Shinya Ohashi - 2:20:42

Women

1. Mai Fukushima - 2:55:58

2. Kaho Morino - 2:57:30

3. Satomi Okabayashi - 3:00:04

Okinawa Marathon

Okinawa, 16 Feb. 2025

complete results

Men

1. Daijiro Seto - 2:29:36

2. Shogo Sasaki - 2:30:56

3. Tomohide Nishikawa - 2:34:05

Women

1. Eri Suzuki - 2:53:51

2. Natsuki Yokoo - 2:55:53

3. Mari Yonekura - 3:01:14

Kobe Marathon Elite Field

Sunday's Kobe Marathon has announced its elite fields, finally. Japanese athletes have a shot at qualifying for next fall's MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, if they go sub-2:27 for the first Japanese woman across the line or sub-2:09 for the first 3 Japanese men to do it. There aren't a lot of contenders to pull it off. On the women's side, Kaede Hagitani , Ayaka Shimoyamada and Kotomi Tsubokura all ran 2:31-32 PBs in the spring and will need to step it up a couple of notches to get there. 2:23 Kenyan Antonina Kwambai is perfectly positioned to help. On the men's side, Keijiro Mogi is closest with a 2:09:06 at last year's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Hiroto Kanamori his closest domestic competition with a 2:10:01 PB in Osaka in February. The international trio of last year's winner Barnaba Kipkoech , Elisha Rotich and Goitom Kifle all have recent 2:06-7 times and should help set it up for someone to get there, wh...

Kenyan Graduate Student Athlete Posts Job Hunt for Ekiden Team on Twitter

A Kenyan runner who had tried to help lead his team to the Hakone Ekiden has taken an unusual approach to finding a post-graduation sponsor. Last week Patrick Kamau posted his job hunt on his Twitter account , saying, "I am looking for a club team or a corporate team where I can run in ekidens. I would be happy to run for any team that gave me a chance. I would be grateful for any opportunity and take it on with a positive attitude!" Kamau was 5th at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race half marathon in 1:01:10 last year during his 4th year at Jobu University . But despite his efforts, Jobu never qualified for Hakone during his 4 years there. He is currently working on a graduate degree while looking for "a team that will let me continue my competitive career." Fans responded to Kamau's job search posting, saying, "I hope it works out for you!" "Good luck comes to those who work hard" and "Kamau is going to graduate school? Given...

Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field (updated)

Another big race on the MGC qualifying calendar has posted its elite fields, the Dec. 6 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . It looks like a good race for the single MGC spot up for women under 2:27, and the 6 spots for men sub-2:09. Yuka Ando is the favorite in the women's race with a 2:21:18 in Nagoya 2 years ago, with her only real competition coming from Ayumi Morita , who broke 2:27 in Hofu last year but missed qualifying by not being the first Japanese woman across the line. CR holder Workneh Derese is back after his 2:06:58 win last year, leading Kenyan veteran Bedan Karoki and 4 Japanese men with a solid chance at sub-2:09, Tatsuya Maruyama , Ryoma Takeuchi , Shuho Dairokuno and Kento Nishi . Takeuchi set his 2:08:20 PB at Gold Coast in July, and Dairokuno is fresh off a great run at the final Kyushu Corporate Ekiden. Masatoshi Sakata , Yota Ifuku , Madoka Tanihara and Daiji Kawai have both come close to sub-2:09 in recent races and could factor in. 57th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite...

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