Ryuichi Yoshioka 7th at Volksbank Muenster Marathon

Bumped by a local election from its usual date at the beginning of September to the same day as the Berlin Marathon, the Volksbank Muenster Marathon saw its most competitive men's race ever. With pacers assigned to go 3:04/km with a halfway split of 1:04:30-45, the lead men went through 5 km way ahead of that in 15:02 and 15 km in 45:17.

Running his first race in Europe and hoping for a low-2:10 improvement to his 2:10:49 PB in Tokyo this year, Ryuichi Yoshioka, stayed tucked into the lead pack at that point, but Taiki Suzuki, with a 2:11:51 PB from Tokyo and fresh from altitude training in Kenya in hopes of 2:09, was already starting to lose touch.

Yoshioka rolled with the lead group through halfway in 1:03:55 on CR pace, but when a break came just before 30 km he was dropped. Most of the people ahead of him ended up running PBs, no small achievement with relatively windy conditions, and for the first time in the race's 23-year history 3 men ended up going under 2:10. Kenyans took the top 5 positions, Samuel Kiplimo Naibei getting the win in 2:09:20, Stephen Kipkemoi Kibor 2nd in 2:09:33 and Cornelius Kibiwott Chepkok 3rd in 2:09:39. The top 6 all broke 2:12, a first in Muenster history.

Yoshioka wound up just off the 6-deep podium in 7th in 2:13:28 in his European debut, a bit disappointed at not being able to stay with it but with the consolation prize of taking 29 seconds off the fastest time by a Japanese man in Muenster, previously 2:13:57 by Makoto Fukui back in 2012. "It's been really hot in Japan this summer, and since I couldn't get away from work to train I didn't get in some of the main workouts," Yoshioka told JRN post-race. "I felt better than I expected, but it was a lot faster than I expected too, so I was pretty tired by the time we got to 30 km. It was a great race and an incredible town, though."

After Suzuki lost touch just before 15 km he started to struggle, and around 32 km he dropped out. "I just starting having rouble moving," he said post-race. "I felt stiff, and when once I was alone it got harder and harder. At 32 km I just decided to stop."

The women's race was a heavy-duty blowout by favorite Aberash Faye Robi, with a 2:24:59 PB the only woman in the field to have run under 2:31. 2 male pacers held steady at 2:29-flat pace, and while all the African women in the race went with them Aberash was the only one who had the caliber to really sustain it. She won in 2:29:21, a rare sub-2:30 in Muenster and ultimately over 3 minutes ahead of runner-up Carolyne Jepchumba Biwott, who ran a PB 2:32:31. Noreen Jebichii Kimutai was a distant 3rd in 2:38:04.

23rd Volksbank Muenster Marathon

Muenster, Germany, 21 September 2025

complete results and splits

Men

1. Samuel Kiplimo Naibei (Kenya) - 2:09:20

2. Stephen Kipkemoi Kibor (Kenya) - 2:09:33

3. Cornelius Kibiwott Chepkok (Kenya) - 2:09:39

4. Abraham Kipkemei Biwott (Kenya) - 2:10:50

5. Gilbert Kipkoech Bii (Kenya) - 2:11:46

6. Godwin Light Katakura (Zimbabwe) - 2:11:53

7. Ryuichi Yoshioka (Japan/Honda Tochigi) - 2:13:29

8. Wilson Cheruiyot (Kenya) - 2:16:03

9. Manuel Kruse (Germany) - 2:23:53

10. Nic Ihlow (Germany) - 2:24:38

-----

DNF - Taiki Suzuki (Japan)

DNF - Blessing Zvikomborero Waison (Zimbabwe)

Women

1. Aberash Fayesa Robi (Ethiopia) - 2:29:21

2. Carolyne Jepchumba Biwott (Kenya) - 2:32:31

3. Noreen Jebichii Kimutai (Kenya) - 2:38:04

4. Maria Elisa Legelli (Germany) - 2:40:39

5. Jana Kappenberg (Germany) - 2:46:26

6. Caroline Jepkemei Kimosop (Kenya) - 2:47:13

7. Miriam Zirk (Germany) - 2:47:45

8. Franziska Rennecke (Germany) - 2:51:45

9. Reikja Krause (Germany) - 2:54:10

10. Lavinia Jurgens (Germany) - 2:55:06

-----

DNF - Winnie Jebet (Kenya)

DNF - Monica Jeptoo (Kenya)

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

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