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
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
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
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
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
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
© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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