Nagoya International Women's Marathon Releases Elite Field for Final Running

by Brett Larner

After a delay to allow four top Japanese women caught in Christchurch, New Zealand during last week's major earthquake time to decide whether they are ready for a competitive marathon, on Mar. 2 the Nagoya International Women's Marathon announced the elite field for the Mar. 13 race. The final edition of the elite-only race before the race changes formats next year to a mass-participation women-only event, Nagoya features the deepest domestic field of the three selection races for this summer's World Championships marathon team. To prevent any unnecessary stress to the runners, Rikuren officials have taken the unusual step of forbidding journalists from asking any questions related to the New Zealand earthquake until after the race.

The last three Nagoya winners, defending champion Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), '09 winner Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) and '08 victor Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) return. They will face 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.), 2011 Ome 30 km winner Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC) and former pro XC skiier Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) along with a raft of talented runners in the 2:26-2:29 range. Of particular interest are the marathon debuts of 2010 Nagoya Half Marathon winner Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), Chizuru Ideta (Team Daihatsu), a teammate of Yokohama runner-up Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu), and ekiden star Risa Shigetomo of 2010 national champion Team Tenmaya.

The top Japanese woman will earn a guaranteed spot on the World Championships team if she breaks 2:26. Currently only Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) has secured a place on the team. Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Yokohama runner-up Nakazato are very likely to be named based on the strength of their performances. The second Japanese woman in Nagoya must break the time clocked by Osaka runner-up Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), 2:26:55, to have a chance of being considered. A realistic goal for at least four of the Japanese women in Nagoya, this means the race is likely to be fast and competitive.

The overseas field of five consists of two veterans, Romania's Lidia Simon and Russia's Albina Mayorova, whose best times, although dated, would put them in range of the top Japanese women on the entry list, along with three runners with more recent marks who could step up and factor into the front of the race, Lithuanian Diana Lobacevske, Ethiopian Tiki Gelana, and Kenyan Rose Kerubo Nyangacha.

Nagoya will be broadcast live. Check back closer to race date for more info on watching online and JRN's live coverage.

2011 Nagoya International Women's Marathon Elite Field

click here for complete field listing

1. Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:22:54 (Osaka '00)

2. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:25:35 (Chicago '03)

3. Diana Lobacevske (Lithuania) - 2:28:03 (Capri '10)

4. Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia) - 2:28:28 (Los Angeles '10)

5. Rose Kerubo Nyangacha (Kenya) - 2:29:22 (Hamburg '07)

11. Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC) - 2:23:26 (Berlin '04)

12. Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) - 2:24:27 (Tokyo Int'l '08)

13. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:25:38 (Tokyo '09)

14. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 2:25:51 (Nagoya '08)

15. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 2:26:55 (Osaka '08)

16. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 2:28:13 (Nagoya '09)

17. Yukari Sahaku (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:28:55 (Tokyo '09)

18. Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:29:12 (Osaka '10)

19. Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 2:29:35 (Nagoya '09)

20. Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 2:29:54 (Nagoya '10)

21. Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - debut - 1:11:13 (Nagoya Half '10)

102. Seika Iwamura (Team Daihatsu) - 2:33:15 (Osaka '10)

105. Chihiro Tanaka (AthleC AC) - 2:29:30 (Nagoya '02)

106. Eri Okubo (Second Wind AC) - 2:35:34 (Nagoya '10)

108. Nozomi Iijima (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:36:46 (Sapporo '09)

111. Chizuru Ideta (Team Daihatsu) - 1:12:34 (half)

112. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) - 1:12:45 (half)

113. Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) - debut - 1:13:28 (half)

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog