Skip to main content

Sato and Fukunaga Win Fukui Sakura Marathon


The lead group took a shot at sub-2:10 in the men's race at the Fukui Sakura Marathon, with a group of 7 going through halfway in 1:04:40 before things started to come apart. By 25 km it was down to 4, and at 30 km only Koki Sato and Hiromasa Ishikawa were left, hitting it in 1:32:09, 2:09:37 pace. Neither could hold that til the end, but Sato held on best as he broke the tape in 2:11:07, a PB by 6 seconds and a new Fukui CR. Ishikawa took 2nd in 2:12:24 in his debut, with amateur Yudai Fukuda 3rd in 2:13:16.

Fuka Fukunaga had a solo run in her debut, hitting halfway in 1:16:55 with a 50-second lead over local Momoko Yao and turning that into a win by 2:10 in 2:37:00. Mai Arizuka moved into 3rd just before 30 km and stayed there til the end, running 2:43:33.

Runners from NTT Nishi Nihon swept the men's 5 km top 5, all under the old CR with Haruki Minatoya winning in 13:43. Bears runners took the top 3 in the women's 5 km, Saki Matsui getting the win in 16:23.

Fukui Sakura Marathon

Fukui, 29 March 2026

Men
1. Koki Sato (Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:07 - CR, PB
2. Ryuga Ishikawa (Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:12:24 - debut
3. Yudai Fukuda (Ishikawa T&F) - 2:13:16
4. Mahiro Sato (Konica Minolta) - 2:15:27 - debut
5. Sho Ota (Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:20:17 - debut

Women
1. Fuka Fukunaga (Edion) - 2:37:00 - debut
2. Momoko Yao (Fukui T&F) - 2:39:10
3. Mai Arizuka (Wayz) - 2:43:33 - PB
4. Erina Tanimachi (Fukui T&F) - 2:48:27 - debut
5. Ayaka Furukawa (Frontier) - 2:51:17

Men's 5 km
1. Haruki Minatoya (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 13:43 - CR
2. Sakito Matsuzaki (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 13:46 (CR)
3. Benson Kiplangat (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 13:47 (CR)
4. Kazuma Hattori (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 13:48 (CR)
5. Taishi Ito (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 13:50 (CR)
6. Yuto Hirosawa (Konica Minolta) - 13:56

Women's 5 km
1. Saki Matsui (Bears) - 16:23
2. Momoyo Hirota (Bears) - 16:32
3. Rizuna Yaji (Bears) - 16:56

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
1 comment
Read more

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more