Skip to main content

Marugame, Beppu-Oita and More - Weekend Preview


After the Osaka International Women's Marathon and Osaka Half Marathon last weekend Japan's winter road season rolls on with 3 big races Sunday. The Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon has a good field up front in the women's race with 5 runners, Eilish McColgan, Dolphine Omare, Isobel Batt-Doyle, Charlotte Purdue and Yuka Ando, with sub-1:09 bests and the debut of #1 collegiate runner Sarah Wanjiru of Daito Bunka University.

3 men in Marugame have recent sub-60 times, Emmanuel Maru, Richard Etir and Kotaro Shinohara leading the way. Shinohara was one of 2 Japanese men to break 60 at Marugame last year and missed the NR by 3 seconds in 59:30. After a 42:53 CR on his 15.3 km leg at the New Year Ekiden on Jan.1, 45:06 pace for 10 miles, he's looking to pick up at least another 4 seconds this time around. 14 other men in the field are at the 60-minute level, and Chuo University's sub-28 10000 m runner Yamato Hamaguchi is making a highly anticipated debut after not getting picked as a starting member at Hakone. The forecast is looking good, with sunny skies and temps in the high single digits. JRN will be on-site in Marugame for the race. Detailed field listing here.

Marugame started hosting the National University Half Marathon Championships last year, but Yokohama's Kanagawa Half Marathon happening at the same time always hosts a massive number of college runners outside the very top tier. 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University and Komazawa University usually have a big presence, and this year Soka University will be sending a big crew. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) won last year over AGU's Shunya Udagawa and Nihon University's Yusei Tomita, so there is a chance some other high-level corporate runners will be there, especially from New Year Ekiden winner GMO.

Yoshida and Udagawa for sure won't be at Kanagawa as they're both running the day's other big race, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Yoshida made his debut there with a 2:08:30 for 3rd right before graduating from AGU, and Udagawa will be debuting this time around. His AGU teammates Shota Shiode, Kyosuke Hiramatsu and Tomoki Aramaki are also debuting, but the big name is collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda, fresh off an incredible record-breaking run on Hakone's uphill Fifth Stage to held solidify AGU's 3rd-straight Hakone title.

Kuroda debuted in 2:06:05 in Osaka last year and is reportedly targeting the 2:04:55 Japanese NR in Berlin this fall after he graduates and heads to GMO, so something in the low-2:05 range seems like a realistic step this time. But with Hibiki Yoshida slated to debut in Osaka at the end of February off the equivalent of a 58:47 half marathon at the New Year Ekiden and saying he's going for the NR there, it might give some motivation for Kuroda to go the extra 1 sec/km this time around.

Other top names in Beppu-Oita include Ronald Korir, Hiroto Inoue, Mohamed Reda El Araaby, Toru Kubota and Daiki Hattori. Wind can be a factor in Beppu-Oita, but like in Marugame as of right now the forecast is looking very good. Detailed field listing here.

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

 

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think we can be in for a massive day on Sunday both at Marugame and Beppu.
I'm not sure the pacing in Beppu will be enough to properly attempt a NR but surely needs to watch it closely as I think Kuroda has a very good chance to demolish Wakabayashi's time of last year.

My dream was to see Kuroda and Hibiki Yoshida running the same marathon and now knowing that Yoshida will be in Osaka (where I was hoping Kuroda would run again before he announced Beppu) it's a bit of a bitter feeling but hey,let's see what this 1-2 punch gives us.
With these guys it feels like the Osako's NR won't survive 2026: will it happen? No idea but we are here to see it.
January 30, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more