Yamaguchi Wins Setagaya 246 Half, Orita Takes Miyako

It's the point in the season where Hakone Ekiden-bound university coaches are farming out their squads to half marathons to sort through the contenders to make their 16-runner Hakone entry rosters. Next weekend's Ageo City Half Marathon is the biggest of them, but two key races happened today. In rainy conditions at the Setagaya 246 Half in Tokyo, Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) won a sprint finish against sub-60 man Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon), Kuira overtaking Yamaguchi after Yamaguchi had pulled away over the last km but Yamaguchi fighting back on the track. Both clocked 1:01:46, but Yamaguchi succeeded in snagging the win away from Kuira right before the line.

In 3rd, Aito Sato led a massive group from 2025 Hakone champ Aoyama Gakuin University with a PB of 1:01:57 for 3rd. 5 other AGU runner were under 63 minutes, all but one breaking 62:30 and most in PBs, with Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.), 8th in 1:02:28, and Yota Aoteki (Hosei Univ.), 10th in 1:02:46 breaking up AGU's control of the rest of the top 10. Former Nitori member Kaede Okajima (Kanto RC) won the women's race in 1:18:07, with 50-year-old Junko Ganbara running an excellent 1:20:09 for 3rd.

AGU's Sota Orita, 13:28.78 for 5000 m in high school, was at the Miyako Salmon Half in Iwate for his half marathon debut instead of Setagaya. Orita soloed a 1:02:51 for the win, opening up 9 seconds on Kosei Niitani from National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University, 2nd in a PB of 1:03:00. Also debuting, AGU's Ao Funakoshi ran 1:03:02 for 3rd. The duel between AGU and Komazawa was a preview of what is probably to come at Hakone less than 2 months from now.

Atsumi Nagashima (Saysky) won the women's race in Miyako in 1:25:15.

20th Setagaya 246 Half Marathon

Tokyo, 9 Nov. 2025

complete results

Women

1. Kaede Okajima (Kanto RC) - 1:18:07

2. Remi Tanaka (Hiratsuka T&F Assoc.) - 1:19:01

3. Junko Ganbara (Kasai Runners) - 1:20:09

Men

1. Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) - 1:01:46

2. Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:01:46

3. Aito Sato (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:57 - PB

4. Kyosuke Hiramatsu (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:04 - PB

5. Kaito Nakamura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:08 - PB

6. Kenta Torii (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB

7. Keito Kumai (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:25 - PB

8. Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.) - 1:02:28 - PB

9. Ibuki Sugiyama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:32 - debut

10. Yota Aoteki (Hosei Univ.) - 1:02:46 - PB

39th Miyako Salmon Half Marathon

Miyako, Iwate, 9 Nov. 2025

complete results

Women

1. Atsumi Nakashima (Saysky) - 1:25:01

2. Norie Kamamachi (unattached) - 1:27:59

3. Kako Washizu (Tohoku Univ.) - 1:28:26

Men

1. Sota Orita (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:51 - debut

2. Kosei Niitani (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:00 - PB

3. Ao Funakoshi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:02 - debut

4. Ryosuke Kamimura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:05 - debut

5. Hijiri Komatsu (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:27 - debut

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

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