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

National Championships Schedule and Streaming

The National Track and Field Championships happen Friday through Sunday at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. Primetime events will be broadcast on NHK, but the rest of the meet will be streamed on separate field and track channels. Day 1 track events are above, with the rest of the streaming here . Entry lists here . Complete meet schedule: Friday, June 12 13:20 - Women's Discus Throw Final 14:00 - Women's Pole Vault Final 14:05 - Women's 100 m Heats 14:30 - Men's Triple Jump Final 14:38 - Men's 1500 m Heats 15:03 - Women's 100 mH Heats 15:35 - Men's 100 m Heats 15:50 - Men's Discus Throw Final 16:25 - Women's 400 m Heats 16:47 - Men's 400 m Prelims 17:10 - Men's 5000 m Heats 17:45 - Men's Long Jump Final 18:10 - Women's 100 m Semifinals 18:25 - Women's 800 m Heats 18:30 - Women's Javelin Throw Final 18:48 - Men's 800 m Heats 19:15 - Men's 3000 mSC Final 19:35 - Women's 100mH Semifinals 20:00 - Women's 5...

Kitaguchi Returns, 2 MR, and More - National Championships Day One Highlights

Japan's 110th National Track and Field Championships kicked off Friday at the same stadium that will host September's Asian Games. From an international point of view the biggest result was the return of Paris Olympics women's javelin throw gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi . After a rough year Kitaguchi threw 62.86 m on her fifth attempt, her best throw since last June's Ostrava Golden Spike meet and enough to give her the win by over a meter. It was still almost 4.5 m short of Kitaguchi's NR, but it was a big step back in the right direction. On the track there were a lot of surprising results on the first day, with multiple meet records, near-misses on MR, and fastest-ever qualifying rounds. The race of the day was the women's 5000 m final, where 4-time national champ and NR holder Nozomi Tanaka tried to make it 5 in a row. With the race going at 15:15-20 pace Tanaka broke away with 4 laps to go, opening a substantial lead over Aichi local Yuma Yamamoto and t...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

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