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Ngetich and Mutiso Take Down Tokyo Legacy Half CR


In its 5th edition the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon scored 2 new course records via Kenyans from the Ikaika agency, with 10 km WR holder Agnes Ngetich blasting 3 minutes off the old record to win by over 4 in 1:04:23, and Alexander Mutiso skimming just 1 second under the CR for the win by 5 seconds in 59:51. The 2 races played out completely differently, even if the paydays were the same for the winners.

Surrounded by an envelope of male runners all the way to the final 100 m, Ngetich was out hard on the downhill in the first 5 km, hitting it on sub-64 pace in 15:08 before leveling out on the flat middle 10 km. Her next 2 splits projected to 1:04:09 and 1:04:17, and even with the uphill back to the stadium in the last 5 km she didn't fall far off from that, winning in 1:04:23.

Runner-up Tabitha Njeri Kamau was nearly a mile back in 1:08:28, with Kamau's Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo teammate Kazuna Kanetomo dropping a 1:10:17 PB for 3rd. Now an independent, track Olympian Kaede Hagitani was the only other woman in the top 10 to PB, taking 5th in 1:10:49.

Mutiso led the men's race out on 59:51 pace through 5 km, then picked it up slightly after hitting the flat to hit 10 km on 59:39 pace. That cut the lead group down from 18 to 14, out of which the only Japanese athletes were Shota Shiode, Akira Aizawa, Itta Tameike and Shunya Kikuchi. By 15 km the pace had slowed very slightly with a 59:44 projection, leaving only Amos Kiprotich, James Mutuku and Kiprono Sitonik in contact with Mutiso and Tameike and Aizawa a few seconds back in a small 2nd group.

Mutiso attacked the uphill to drop the other Kenyans, digging down hard on the track at the end to clip the CR for the win in 59:51. Sitonik broke 60 for the first time in 59:56 for 2nd, and 7 of the other 8 athletes in the top 10 likewise set new PBs. Tameike had a massive run, taking almost 3 minutes off his best for a new one of 1:00:13 in 5th, beating even the 1:00:23 equivalent he ran on the 23.1 km Second Stage at Hakone in January and tying him with Shunsuke Kuwata at all-time Japanese #6. Aizawa also ran a 1-minute of 1:00:26 for 6th, an encouraging sign ahead of his planned appearance in Fukuoka in December.

With its uphill finish the Tokyo Legacy Half is not exactly the fastest course in Japan and often suffers from warm conditions, including today. But this year's results had it approaching the same tier as the other super-deep Japanese half marathons, including yesterday's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai:

sub-60: 2
sub-61: 9
sub-62: 23
sub-63: 46
sub-64: 65
sub-65: 74
sub-66: 89
sub-67: 98

Expect that to grow in the next couple of years with the introduction of a seeded bracket to the New Year's Ekiden, eliminating the need for the top bracket teams to run a regional qualifier ekiden at the beginning of November.

5th Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon

Tokyo, 18 October 2026

Women
1. Agnes Ngetich (Kenya) - 1:04:23 - CR
2. Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Kenya/Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:08:28
3. Kazuna Kanetomo (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:10:17 - PB
4. Fridah Ndinda (Kenya) - 1:10:29
5. Kaede Hagitani (Saku T&F Assoc.) - 1:10:49 - PB
6. Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:11:09
7. Ayaka Shimoyamada (TT Runners) - 1:12:10
8. Ai Kaneko (Suzuki) - 1:13:20
9. Sora Shinozakura (Yokohama T&F Assoc.) - 1:14:37
10. Rebecca Mwangi (Kenya) - 1:14:57

Men
1. Alexander Mutiso (Kenya) - 59:51 - CR
2. Kiprono Sitonik (Kenya/Kurosaki Harima) - 59:56 - PB
3. James Mutuku (Kenya/Aichi Seiko) - 1:00:08 - PB
4. Amos Kiprotich (Kenya/SGH) - 1:00:11 - PB
5. Itta Tameike (SGH) - 1:00:13 - PB
6. Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:26 - PB
7. Shunya Kikuchi (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:00:35 - PB
8. David Neiyiai (Kenya/NTT ExC) - 1:00:40
9. Shota Shiode (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:55 - PB
10. Edwin Kisalsak (Kenya/Fujisan GX) - 1:01:03 - PB
11. Bedan Karoki (Kenya/Toyota) - 1:01:09
12. Benard Langat (Kenya/Honda) - 1:01:15
13. Aron Rutto (Kenya/Josai Univ.) - 1:01:15 - debut
14. Amos Bett (Kenya/Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 1:01:29
15. Kanta Shimizu (Subaru) - 1:01:37
16. Paul Kuira (Kenya/JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:01:38
17. Go Kiriyama (Suzuki) - 1:01:44
18. Taiju Nakashima (Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:01:45 - PB
19. Yuito Yamamoto (Subaru) - 1:01:46
20. Hideyuki Tanaka (Toyota) - 1:01:47
21. Yuma Hattori (Toyota) - 1:01:49
22. Ren Yonemitsu (Konica Minolta) - 1:01:51
23. Ryuya Kajitani (Subaru) - 1:01:54 - PB
24. Jinya Ozaki (NTT ExC) - 1:02:03
25. Kazumoto Iwasa (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:02:08 - PB

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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Anonymous said…
61:46 for Yuito Yamamoto. Not bad at all.
October 18, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Anonymous said…
Kazuna Kanetomo's time is a positive and somewhat surprising result. Not only a PB but a very respectable time, one that puts MGC race ambitions to the fore if it is something she is considering. Surely Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo are going to be one of the Queen's Ekiden favourites with so many in form and uninjured athletes including Seira Fuwa, Wakana Kabasawa, Minami Nishiyama! (Provided Kabasawa doesn't have an off day like she did last year in the 1st leg!) I know Kaede Hagitani is attempting to qualify for the MGC race so her 1:10:49, which is an improvement by over 1 minute from last year's time, is a big step in the right direction.

Off topic, but how good was Miu Saito's anchor leg run for Panasonic in yesterday's Princess Ekiden. I believe she smashed the course record by 29 seconds (held by Wakana Kabasawa) and went from 13th to 5th place. It's a shame the team doesn't have the depth of talent to challenge for a victory. They relied heavily on Janet Nyiva, Yuki Nakamura and Miu Saito yesterday. I have to applaud Miu Saito's efforts yesterday in a race where she could have easily settled, simply ensuring Panasonic qualified for Queens. She decided to challenge herself in extremely tough conditions and looked rather distressed at the end too. I hope she and all athletes are okay. Heat stroke was a concern.
October 19, 2026 at 5:43 AM
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