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. Shiori Zama (Shimamura) won the women's race by almost 3 minutes over Asuka Yamamoto (Universal Entertainment) - 1:44:57, with Haruka Ito (Komazawa H.S.) taking the high school girls' 10 km in 35:07 and Ryusa Furuya (Takushoku Daiichi H.S.) the high school boys' race in 29:54.

The former home of the 30 km world record, Kumamoto's Kumanichi Road Race is usually a faster race than Ome, but this year the men's race was more of a tense pack race til near the end. Mahiro Sato pulled away late to win in 1:31:51, the third big road title so far this year for the Konica Minolta corporate team following teammate Taiga Hirayama's wins at the Osaka Half Marathon and National Corporate Half Marathon. 2nd through 4th all finished within 7 seconds, Hinata Kuroki (Soka Univ.) taking 2nd in 1:32:25.

Higo Ginko teammates Eriko Otsuka, Miyu Kubo and Hina Tada ran most of the race together and finished close, Otsuka winning in 1:49:50, Kubo next in 1:50:00 and Tada 3rd in 1:50:07.

58th Ome Road Race

Ome, Tokyo, 15 Feb. 2026

complete results

Men's 30 km

1. Masato Arao (ND Software) - 1:30:54

2. Yudai Shimazu (GMO) - 1:31:58

3. Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:32:07

4. Akihiro Kaneko (Comodi Iida) - 1:32:20

5. Takumi Oishi (Suzuki) - 1:32:35

6. Takuma Akiyoshi (Tokyo Univ.) - 1:32:48

7. Yuichi Sato (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:33:56

8. Ryo Kuchimachi (Subaru) - 1:36:12

9. Ezekiel Cheboitibin (Kenya) - 1:36:42

10. Ruon Oikawa (ND Software) - 1:36:54

Women's 30 km

1. Shiori Zama (Shimamura) - 1:44:57

2. Asuka Yamamoto (Univ. Ent.) - 1:47:41

3. Anna Matsuda (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:52:32

4. Eri Suzuki (Kumashiro T&F Assoc.) - 1:55:53

5. Mitsuko Hirose (Tokyo Wings) - 1:57:39

High School Girls' 10 km

1. Haruka Ito (Komazawa H.S.) - 35:07

2. Reika Kitamura (Komazawa H.S.) - 35:41

3. Ayane Kobayashi (Komazawa H.S.) - 35:58

4. Yuho Fujii (Komazawa H.S.) - 36:27

5. Arisa Otsuka (Fussa H.S.) - 37:47

High School Boys' 10 km

1. Ryusa Furuya (Takushoku Daiichi H.S.) - 29:54

Kumanichi Road Race

Kumamoto, 15 Feb. 2026

complete results

Men's 30 km

1. Mahiro Sato (Konica Minolta) - 1:31:51

2. Hinata Kuroki (Soka Univ.) - 1:32:25

3. Koki Kobayashi (SG Holdings) - 1:32:31

4. Takuto Aramaki (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:32:32

5. Sota Sumihara (Aisan Kogyo) - 1:33:38

6. Kaito Iida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:34:11

7. Yuito Nakamura (SG Holdings) - 1:34:34

8. Kento Otsu (Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:34:55

Women's 30 km

1. Eriko Otsuka (Higo Ginko) - 1:49:50

2. Miyu Kubo (Higo Ginko) - 1:50:00

3. Hina Tada (Higo Ginko) - 1:50:07

Mashiko Breaks U20 5000 m NR - Weekend Track Roundup

Saturday's Kanakuri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto was the weekend's main event in Japanese track, but there were good results at the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama too. Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) led the men's 5000 m A-heat at Kanakuri in 13:14.06, with Tomonori Yamaguchi (SGH) clocking the fastest Japanese time in 13:16.38 in his first race as a corporate leaguer. Waseda University duo Rui Suzuki and Yota Mashiko went 6-7 in 13:20.64 and 13:22.87, the 18-year-old Mashiko shaving 0.04 off the U20 NR. In 8th, Yamato Yoshii (Toyota) ran a PB of 13:23.92. 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Subaru) continued to struggle after a weak indoor season, finishing 18th of 20 finishers in 13:45.10. 19-year-old Festus Kimorwo (Kurosaki Harima) was under 13:20 in the B-heat too, winning in a 13:19.59 PB. 2 more collegiate men broke 13:30, Daichi Fujita (Chuo Univ.) 8th in 13:28.93 and Riki Koike (Soka Univ.) 9th in 13:29.09. The top 6 in the men's 800 m A-hea...

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...

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges. Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...

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