Running News Daily

Ethiopian Fatuma Sado won the 38th edition of Osaka International Women’s Marathon

Surging away from Rei Ohara after 38 kilometers, Fatuma Sado won the 38th Osaka International Women’s Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday clocking  2:25:39.

“I was very happy, but the time was not fast enough to be selected for the Olympic team,” said the 27-year-old Ethiopian who became just the fourth African to win the race after Lornah Kiplagat, Catherine Ndereba and Amane Gobena. “I want to run faster time in the next race.”

Rei Ohara of Japan was second, seven seconds behind the winner, with Bornes Jepkirui another 15 seconds behind in third.

“I wanted to make my move at 30 kilometers,” Ohara said, “but I could not do it right. I tried my surge again at 35K, but it was far from decisive. I wanted to win, but could not close the gap at the end of the race.”

The pacemakers did an admirable job, bringing the lead pack through five kilometers in 17:00, 10 kilometres in 33:59, and 15 in 51:02. At 15 kilometers, the lead pack consisted of three pacemakers, an Ethiopian trio of Sado, Asefa Sutume and Abebech Afework, Kenyans Jepkirui and Jeptoo and Japanese Ohara, Fukushi and Hatsuki Omori.

Between kilometers 17 and 20, Jeptoo, Afework and Omori lost contact with the leaders. By half way, the lead dwindled to the pacemakers, Jepkirui, Sado, Fukushi and Ohara. After 25 kilometers, the pace started to slow, but Fukushi began to drift back anyway. At 30 kilometers, the final pacemaker dropped out and Ohara surged ahead, followed by Sado and Jepkirui.

(01/28/2019) Views: 1,844 ⚡AMP

Prague Marathon winner Bornes Chepkirui says her campaign to win a ticket to the World Championships may depend on her performance at the Osaka International women's marathon on Sunday

Chepkirui will return to Osaka after she posted a slow time back in 2015 when she was placed in position 14, clocking 2:41:47.

She has since evolved and will be the athlete to beat having improved her best time to 2:24:19 from her Prague victory.

"It is a crucial year to me because we have the World Championships. I will run in Osaka and probable defend my title in Prague in May. But the target is to get to the Kenya team and compete at the Doha World Championships in Qatar in October," said Chepkirui.

Kenya's Eunice Jeptoo will also be back in the run after failing to finish this race in last year's contest.

The 36-year-old took more than six minutes off her best time to win the recent Eindhoven Marathon in 2:26:13. However, the two Kenyans should not expect a walk in the park.

They will be up against Ethiopian Sutume Asefa Kebede, who has the best recent time among the internationals in the field with a 2:24:00 in Dubai 2016.

Three other Africans are positioned at the 2:26 to 2:27 level, perfect to help pace the Japanese women along to marathon qualification marks.

Japan are using the race as part of its trials and qualifier for the 2020 Olympic Games. Absent are last year's debut winner Mizuki Matsuda but there will be the 2016 winner Kayoko Fukushi, who will be running her first marathon since the Rio Olympics.

There is also the duo of Tomomi Tanaka and Rei Ohara, who went head-to-end until the final meters of the 2016 Nagoya Women's Marathon.

Ohara is already in for trials for Japan's Olympic team while China will have HE Yinli, who holds a fast time of 2:30:26 from the 2017 race in Wuxi.

(01/26/2019) Views: 2,084 ⚡AMP

South African Nolene Conrad will face some of the world’s best at Osaka Marathon

Nolene Conrad faces a defining moment in her impressive running career on Sunday when she lines up against some of the world’s best at the start of the Osaka Marathon in Japan.

Japan is right up with Kenya and Ethiopia in women’s marathon running, boasting four athletes in Sunday’s race with marathon best times faster than two hours and 24 minutes. And with several top east Africans also in the mix, a top-15 finish in a personal best time would represent an outstanding result for Conrad.

The diminutive athlete from Blue Downs has risen to the top echelon of South African distance running in recent years and led her compatriots home at last year’s world half marathon championships in Spain, where she earned IAAF gold label status for her top-25 position.

But an elite standard marathon time still eludes Conrad, although her 2:34:39 at last year’s Cape Town Marathon came close.

Her half marathon best of 1:11:44 suggests that a five-minute improvement, which will lift her into world-class sub-2:30 territory, may not be beyond her.

“I’m definitely aiming for a big improvement on my best of 2:34:39 I achieved in last year’s Cape Town Marathon,” admitted Conrad. “My coach (Ernie Gruhn) believes that I can get close to 2:30. 

I was rather cautious at Cape Town, not wanting to risk anything. That earned me a solid performance, but perhaps not quite what I could have achieved.

“I’m adopting a new fierce approach for Japan. I’m going for it - let’s see how it works out. I should be comfortable going through half way in 75 minutes, which will be a few minutes slower than my half marathon best. The course is pancake flat, so hopefully I’ll be able to hold on in the second half.”

(01/24/2019) Views: 1,717 ⚡AMP

Prague Marathon champion Bornes Jepkirui will be heading the Kenyan runners at the Osaka Women’s Marathon

Jepkirui ran a well calculated first half of the race to take leadership from Amane Gobena of Ethiopia, who had crossed the 25km marker in 1:24.40 in Prague, clocking 2:24:19.

She crossed the finish line ahead of Ethiopians Belaynesh Oljira (2:25:13) and Amane Gobena, who finished third in 2:27:43. 

Jepkirui will be running alongside her compatriot Eunice Jeptoo.

Last year’s Osaka Marathon was dominated by Japanese women, with Mizuki Matsuda taking the title and Honami Maeda and Yuko Ando coming in second and third respectively.

Jeptoo, the defending champion of the Eindhoven Marathon in Netherlands, will be the athlete to beat at the Osaka Women’s Marathon, having clocked 2:26:13 in October in her win at the Eindhoven Marathon.

The 2019 Osaka race is also part of Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship series, a group of qualifying races for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon team trial race.

There will also be Izabela Trzaskalska of Poland, who has a marathon best of 2:29:56. Japanese athletes are led by Nagoya marathon silver medalist Yuko Ando (2:21:36), Honami Maeda and Mizuki Matsuda.

(01/22/2019) Views: 2,017 ⚡AMP

Strong field is expected at Osaka Women´s Marathon

2016 winner Kayoko Fukushi, who will be running her first marathon since the Rio Olympics, and the duo of Tomomi Tanaka and Rei Ohara, who went head-to-end until the final meters of the 2016 Nagoya Women's Marathon are running too.

Ohara is already in for the MGC Race (Marathon Grand Championship), but the rest of the home crowd will have to be under 2:28:00 if among the top three Japanese women and under 2:27:00 if in the next three.

Hanae Tanaka has a slightly easier route, only needing to clear 2:28:20 to get in via the two-race sub-2:28:00 average the same way Ohara did in Berlin this year. With only eight women qualified so far versus twenty-one men hopes are high for a few more to join the list and bring the women's numbers up at least half the men's. Highest potential among the first-timers is Natsuki Omori, a team mate of last year's winner Matsuda.

Ethiopian Sutume Asefa Kebede has the best relatively recent time among the internationals in the field with a 2:24:00 in Dubai 2016, but the probably favorite to push the front end of the race is 2018 Prague Marathon winner Bornes Chepkirui of Kenya with a 2:24:19 best from her Prague victory. Three other Africans are positioned at the 2:26 to 2:27 level, perfect to help pace the Japanese women along to MGC marks. Look for more coverage closer to race date.

(12/20/2018) Views: 1,366 ⚡AMP

Matsuda Dominates in Osaka Women´s Marathon debut

Mizuki Matsuda caught and passed Honami Maeda with 12 kilometres remaining of the Osaka International Women’s Marathon before going on to win in 2:22:44 on her debut at the distance. The lead pack of two pace makers, three Japanese – Mizuki Matsuda, Honami Maeda, Yuka Ando – and Ethiopian Goytatom Gebreselassie covered the first half of the race in 1:11:59. Gebreselassie fell off the pace just after half way and it soon became clear that there would be a Japanese winner. (01/29/2018) Views: 1,405 ⚡AMP

Yuko Ando commands the spotlight at Osaka Women´s Marathon

Yuko Ando leads the field for the 37th Osaka Women’s Marathon, The race serves as the 102nd women’s marathon national championships and one of the Japanese marathon team’s qualifying races for the 2018 Asian Games. It’s also part of Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship series, a group of qualifying races for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon team trial race. In order to qualify for those trials, runners must finish in the top three with times under 2:28. (01/26/2018) Views: 1,453 ⚡AMP

Iwade and Ishii Withdraw From Osaka marathon

On Jan. 16 the organizers of the Osaka International Women's Marathon announced that invited elites Reia Iwade (Dome) and Hisami Ishii (Yamada Denki) have withdrawn from the Jan. 28 race with injuries. Iwade has developed discomfort in the rear of her right thigh, while Ishii has sustained a stress fracture in the left side of her pelvis. (01/16/2018) Views: 1,406 ⚡AMP

Yuka Ando, hoping for a comeback

All-time Japanese #4 in the marathon at 2:21:36 in her debut earlier this year in Nagoya, Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) leads the elite field for the Jan. 28 Osaka International Women's Marathon. Hoping for a comeback after an ineffectual run at the summer's London World Championships, Ando faces former under-20 Japanese record holder Reia Iwada (Dome) and debuting 10000m national champion Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) as her main competition. (12/20/2017) Views: 1,690 ⚡AMP