Skip to main content

Local Reporter Otawa, 23, Breaks Ohtawara Marathon CR


The Ohtawara Marathon and 10 km took place Nov. 23 at DI Stadium in Ohtawara, Tochigi. 2803 people started the marathon at 10:00 a.m., with 2354 people finishing for a finisher rate of 84.0%. The race has a cutoff time of 4 hours, and all participants are able to use special drink tables.

Most years there is a headwind blowing from the mountains of Nasu in the 2nd half of the race, but this year there was almost no wind and cloudy skies. Itto Otawa, a 23-year-old Tochigi local, won the men's marathon in a 2:13:04 course record. Otawa ran this year's Hakone Ekiden for Senshu University, placing 15th on the Ninth Stage. After graduating in March he was hired by the Shimotsuke Newspaper in Tochigi, where he works as a reporter. In August he ran a PB of 2:16:29 at the Hokkaido Marathon.

"At work I'm mainly in charge of the Nikko beat," Otawa said. "My goal in Ohtawara this time was to break the course record. I've run a PB every time so far in the marathon, and I'm super happy to have won the only marathon in my home prefecture of Tochigi."

Asked about his training, Otawa said, "I run about 600 km a month. I usually do 20-25 km in the morning before work. At university we did a lot of group runs, but these days I pretty much train by myself. I've always been good at running alone, so doing long runs by myself doesn't bother me at all. I'm planning to run the Tokyo Marathon next year and want to run a good one there."

Saitama's Tomomi Sawahata won the women's race in 2:38:49, with a total of 9 women breaking 2:50.

Ohtawara Marathon

Ohtawara, Tochigi, 23 Nov. 2025

Men
1. Itto Otawa - 2:13:04 - CR
2. Tatsuya Itagaki - 2:15:03
3. Kenta Murayama - 2:15:20
4. Kazuki Takanuma - 2:16:36
5. Yoshinobu Otsu - 2:19:11
6. Kazuya Namera - 2:19:56

Women
1. Tomomi Sawahata - 2:38:49
2. Eri Suzuki - 2:40:53
3. Kana Numata - 2:42:33
4. Natsuki Tomii - 2:44:59
5. Miyuki Shibata - 2:45:27
6. Rieko Koshi - 2:45:29
7. Junko Ganbara - 2:47:38
8. Sonoka Nakayama - 2:48:36
9. Mirei Sugai - 2:48:37

source article:
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is an amazing race, great settings and very good organization.
November 29, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Anonymous said…
Further to the comment above, I had the pleasure of running it as a "new" race - maybe its 2nd season in 1991 - when it was a half marathon with supporting 5km. Even then the whole set up was excellent. Good memories.
December 4, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...
2 comments
Read more

JAAF Announces Marathon Teams for Nagoya Asian Games

On Mar. 25 the JAAF announced Japan's marathon team lineups for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) and Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) make up the men's team, with Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) and Mikuni Yada (Edion) representing Japan in the women's marathon. Each country can field up to 2 men and 2 women per marathon team at the Asian Games. The top-ranked male and female athletes in the 2025-26 MGC Series rankings were given first priority, with the second slots going to people with high-level performances in the 2025-26 MGC Series. Yoshida ran 2:05:16 to win the 2024 Fukuoka International Marathon, and at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon ran an excellent 2:06:59 to take the top Japanese spot in the race and in the MGC rankings. After having run the Tokyo World Championships marathon last fall this will be his second-straight marathon national team in a major international championships. Yamashita ran 2:06:18 at February's Osak...
Post a Comment
Read more

JAAF Announces World Road Running Championships Half Marathon Team

The JAAF announced the men's and women's half marathon teams today for this fall's World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen: Women Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 (1st, 2026 Osaka Half) Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 (1st, 2026 Nat'l Corp. Half) Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 (2nd, 2026 Osaka Half) Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 (3rd, 2026 Osaka Half) Men Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 (4th, 2026 Marugame Half) Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 (5th, 2026 Marugame Half) Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 (6th, 2026 Marugame Half) Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 (7th, 2026 Marugame Half) Mile and 5 km teams, if any, will be decided after June's National Track and Field Championships. © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved
Post a Comment
Read more