Skip to main content

Kato, Newcomer Maina Win Reborn Sendai International Half Marathon

by Brett Larner

Cancelled following last year's disasters, the Sendai International Half Marathon returned May 13 in a new format putting more emphasis on mass participation and less on the elite race with a notable absence of any foreign competition based outside Japan.

The women's division suffered when former national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) scratched earlier this week, but in her place the young Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) came through with a PB of 1:11:21 for the win over Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera), dropping her late in the race after dueling much of the way.  Misato Horie (Team Noritz) was a distant 3rd in 1:13:21.

In the men's race, Kenyan newcomer Johana Maina (Team Fujitsu) easily won in 1:01:34, going out in front of elder teammate Daniel Gitau (Team Fujitsu) and gradually ratcheting up his pace.  The popular Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) tried to run with Gitau but soon faded back into the all-Japanese chase pack led by Olympic marathon team member Arata Fujiwara (Miki House).  As Gitau faded over the final 5 km Fujiwara surged, catching him at 19 km to take 2nd in 1:03:32.  Kawauchi likewised pushed hard, catching Gitau at the line but given 4th as both Gitau and Kawauchi clocked 1:03:49.  Takashi Horiguchi (Team Honda) was 5th in his first race since his breakthrough 2:09:16 PB at March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.

2012 Sendai International Half Marathon
Sendai, 5/13/13
results via STITCHrunner

Men
1. Johana Maina (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 1:01:34
2. Arata Fujiwara (Miki House) - 1:03:32
3. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 1:03:49
4. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 1:03:49
5. Takashi Horiguchi (Team Honda) - 1:04:15
6. Satoshi Yoshii (Team Sumco) - 1:04:25
7. Keisuke Wakui (Team Yakult) - 1:04:26
8. Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team Honda) - 1:04:28

Women
1. Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) - 1:11:21 - PB
2. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:12:07
3. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) - 1:13:21
4. Sakiko Matsumi (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 1:13:59
5. Rika Shintaku (Team Shimamura) - 1:14:00
6. Mami Furuse (Team Kyocera) - 1:14:27
7. Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) - 1:15:11
8. Miu Kato (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 1:15:12

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters