Gold Coast Marathon Elite Field (updated)

Australia's Gold Coast Marathon is back for its 45th running with title sponsorship from longtime partner ASICS. Two-time winner Rodah Tanui is the top name in the women's race with a 2:23:14 in Copenhagen two years ago, with her strongest competition coming from Olympian Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh, who set a Mongolian NR of 2:26:32 in Tokyo last year. Zerihun Alemtsehay and Caroline Kilel both have recent sub-2:30 times, and debuting Ethiopian Tegest Ayalew looks to have a sub-2:30 in her too. Pacing is planned to be a 1:12:00 first half, an ambitious goal for pretty much everyone except maybe Tanui.

Up front in the men's race are a solid trio of 2:07 runners made up of Ethiopians Gizealew Ayana and Japan-based Derese Workneh, and Kenyan Mathew Samperu. The top tier of Japanese men come in at the 2:08 level, including Mizuki Higashi, Yuki Takei, and Ryoma Takeuchi, a pacer at Gold Coast last year. Past winner Yuki Kawauchi has only run under 2:20 once in 2024 and 2025, a 2:18:16 on the aided Vancouver course this year, and isn't likely to be a factor. More interesting are the debuting Yuto Imae and Tatsuya Tsunashima, both good half marathoners, and former Hakone Ekiden darling Aoi Ota taking another stab at the distance after going through halfway in Tokyo in a PB 1:01:19 in his debut before dropping out near 35 km. Pacing is scheduled to go on track to break the 2:07:40 CR.

The ASICS Gold Coast Marathon starts at 6:15 a.m. local time on July 6. Live streaming will be on Youtube. JRN will be on-site as usual, with Brett Larner doing a guest commentary spot on the streaming again this year.

45th ASICS Gold Coast Marathon

Elite Field Highlights

Gold Coast, Australia, 6 July 2025

times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted

Women

Rodah Tanui (Kenya) - 2:23:14 (Copenhagen 2023)

Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh (Mongolia) - 2:26:32 (Tokyo 2024)

Zerihun Alemtsehay (Ethiopia) - 2:27:39 (Paris 2025)

Caroline Kilel (Kenya) - 2:28:34 (Wuhan 2024)

Rebecca Chesir (Kenya) - 2:30:16 (Chengdu 2023)

Odekta Elvina Naibaho (Indonesia) - 2:34:05 (Daegu 2024)

Natsuki Ogawa (Japan/Suzuki) - 2:36:42 (Kobe 2024)

Milly Clark (Australia) - 2:36:45 (Gold Coast 2024)

Riine Ringi (Estonia) - 2:36:51 (Gold Coast 2024)

Ella McCartney (Australia) - 2:38:43 (Gold Coast 2023)

Sarah Short (Australia) - 2:39:51 (Valencia 2023)

Kit Ching Yiu (Hong Kong) - 2:41:09 (Hong Kong 2024)

Tegest Ayalew (Ethiopia) - debut - 1:08:06 (Warsaw Half 2023)

Men

Gizealew Ayana (Ethiopia) - 2:07:15 (Paris 2023)

Mathew Samperu (Kenya) - 2:07:25 (Seville 2025)

Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/ANDS) - 2:07:35 (Osaka 2023)

Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:07:46 (Beppu-Oita 2025)

Mizuki Higashi (Japan/Aisan Kogyo) - 2:08:03 (Osaka 2024)

Yuki Takei (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:06 (Osaka 2025)

Ryoma Takeuchi (Japan/ND Software) - 2:08:40 (Hofu 2023)

Olonbayar Jamsran (Mongolia) - 2:08:58 (Osaka 2023)

Ryuichi Hashimoto (Japan/Press Kogyo) - 2:09:40 (Osaka 2025)

Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 2:10:10 (Osaka 2024)

Ryoma Inoue (Japan/Chudenko) - 2:10:32 (Nobeoka 2025)

Thomas Broatch (Canada) - 2:10:35 (Houston 2025)

Fikade Debele (Ethiopia) - 2:10:49 (Buri Ram 2023)

Josh Izewski (U.S.A.) - 2:10:54 (Houston 2025)

Athanas Kioko (Kenya) - 2:10:56 (Los Angeles 2025)

Akihiro Kaneko (Japan/Comodi Iida) - 2:10:59 (Gold Coast 2024)

Vincent Kiprono (Kenya) - 2:11:49 (Hong Kong 2025)

Wataru Tochigi (Japan/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:12:28 (Tokyo 2025)

Yudai Fukuda (Japan) - 2:13:57 (Boston 2025)

Reece Edwards (Australia) - 2:14:34 (Melbourne 2023)

Jake Barraclough (Great Britain)- 2:14:55 (Tokyo 2025)

Aoi Ota (Japan/GMO) - DNF, Tokyo 2025, 1:01:19 at halfway

Yuto Imae (Japan/GMO) - debut - 1:00:33 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2023)

Tatsuya Tsunashima (Japan/YKK) - debut - 1:01:16 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)

Tsubasa Ichiyama (Japan/Sunbelx) - pacer - 2:06:00 (Tokyo 2025)

Masato Arao (Japan/ND Software) - pacer - 2:08:05 (Tokyo 2025)

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...

japan running news

Search This Blog