Harumi Hiroyama winning the 2006 Nagoya Women's Marathon (© Kazutaka Eguchi/Agence SHOT)
Breaking away from defending team champions Mitsui-Sumitomo just before entering the Nagaragawa stadium, the Shiseido team anchored by Harumi Hiroyama, the 2006 Nagoya Women's Marathon champion, won today’s Japan Corporate team Women’s Ekiden Championship in Gifu, Japan, over the six-stage marathon distance in a time of 2:14:00.
For the Shiseido team it was their first victory in this most prestigious women’s ekiden, their previous best finish was third, in 2003 and 2004.
The battle was tight all the way. Shiseido and Mitsu-Sumitomo were always running close to each other, and by the fourth stage, they were fighting for the lead. Twice, in stage four and five, Mitsui-Sumitomo broke away in first place from Shiseido but each time Shiseido’s runners were able to bridge the gap on the next stage. At the end, it was 38-year-old Harumi Hiroyama, who came from behind and turned a 10 seconds deficit into a 7 seconds advantage in the sixth and final stage.
“It was really great,” said Manabu Kawagoe, who coaches Shiseido. “The race was close, but I wasn’t worried. I trusted Harumi.”
Mitsui-Sumitomo finished second, and thus failed in their attempt to win four championships in a row, the feat only Wacoal had accomplished previously. Tenmaya, who led in stage 2 and 3, finished third.
How the race unfolded:
First Stage: Winfridah Kebaso of Kenya and DeoDeo led from the start covering the first 1Km in 3:10 and 3Km in 9:06. Noriko Matsuoka of Suzuki tried her best to keep her team close to the lead, but by 4Km, she was caught by the chasing pack and eventually finished seventh in the stage, although only five seconds behind second place. Kebaso covered the 6.6Km first stage in 20:22, eleven seconds ahead of Hitomi Niiya, who was 13th at the World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, is one of the most promising young runners in Japan. After the first stage, Shiseido was in fifth 15 seconds behind the leader DeoDeo, while defending champions Mitsui-Sumitomo were another four seconds behind in eighth. Running the first stage for Shiseido was Yoshiko Fujinaga, 1999 World Junior Cross bronze medallist.
Second Stage: Tenmaya, third place after the first stage, took over the lead at 1.2Km into the second stage. Akemi Ozaki of Shiseido, second in the recent Tokyo Women’s Marathon, was running in second place but was almost caught at the end by runners from three teams – Wacoal, Toyota textile machine and Mitsui-Sumitomo. At the end of the second stage, 9.9Km into the race, the Tenmaya team led Shiseido by seven seconds, while Mitsui-Sumitomo, Wacoal and Toyota textile machine were all one second behind Shiseido.
Third Stage: Early in the 10Km third stage, Tenmaya led a chasing pack of four teams (Mitsui-Sumitomo, Shiseido, Wacoal and Toyota textile), but 2Km into the stage, Toyota fell off the pace, followed by Wacoal a Km later, leaving just Mitsui-Sumitomo and Shiseido as close pursuers. At 7Km into the stage, Suzuki with Lucy Wangui running the stage moved into fourth.
Many teams placed their Kenyans on this 10Km third stage. Evelyne Wanbui of Yutaka Tech ran the fastest 10Km stage, 32:12, followed by Ongori Philes of Hokuren in 32:14. Yoko Shibui of Mitsui-Sumitomo was the fastest non-Kenyan. She was fifth fastest in the 10Km third stage in 32:29, followed by Yumi Sato of Shiseido in 32:31.
Fourth stage: At 2Km into the fourth stage, the teams from Shiseido and Mitsui-Sumitomo finally caught Tenmaya, and one Kilometre later, Mitsui-Sumitomo broke away from Shiseido. Running alone in front by the end of the stage Mitsui-Sumitomo were five seconds ahead of second place Shiseido.
Fifth stage: 800m into the fifth stage, Shiseido re-caught Mitsui-Sumitomo. These teams ran together for the next five Kilometre, but 6Km, Mitsui-Sumitomo moved ahead of Shiseido to establish a 10 seconds advantage by the end of the stage. Kayako Fukushi, with a brilliant run moved her team Wacoal into third place, 11Km into the stage. She covered 11.6Km stage in 36:14, forty-two second ahead of Kayo Sugihara.
Sixth stage: Just before 2Km into the stage Harumi Hiroyama of Shiseido caught-up with Chisato Osaki of Mitsui-Sumitomo. They run together until just before entering the Nagaragawa stadium (5.9Km into the stage), when Hiroyama broke away from Osakai to bring her team home first by 7 seconds. Hiroyama, who was fourth at 10000m in the 1999 World Championships, covered 6.595Km in 20:18.
Meanwhile 2.5Km into the final stage, Tenmaya had caught Wacoal and moved into third place, finishing 51 seconds behind the winners.
“I trusted that my teammates would be close to the leaders all the way, and I am sure they trusted me that I would be able to bring a victory to the team,” said Hiroyama after the race.
“The victory is really sweet,” commented Shiseido’s second stage runner Akemi Ozaki.”I wanted (Harumi) Hiroyama to cross the finish line in first place. Watching the race on the TV monitor, I was very emotional at the end, and was really moved by her (Hiroyama) run.”
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Assisted by Akihiro Onishi
Results: Weather at the start: Sunny, 11C, 72% humidity, 2.7m/s wind from west
1) Shiseido 2:14:00
(Yoshiko Fujinaga, Akemi Ozaki, Yumi Sato, Yumi Hirata, Yuri Kano, Harumi Hiroyama)
2) Mitsui-Sumitomo 2:14:07
3) Tenmaya 2:14:51
4) Wacoal 2:15:14
5) Panasonic 2:16:40
6) Toyota Textile 2:17:01
7) Hitachi 2:17:12
8) Suzuki 2:17:28
9) Hokuren 2:17:35
10) Kyudenko 2:18:01
Best Stages:
Stage - Distance - Time - Name
1 6.6Km 20:22 Winfridah Kebaso DeoDeo
2 3.3Km 10:20 Kaori Urata Tenmaya
3 10Km 32:12 Evelyne Wambui Yutaka Tech
4 4.1Km 12:50 Ayumi Hashimoto Mitsui-Sumitomo
5 11.6Km 36:14 Kayoko Fukushi Wacoal
6 6.595Km 20:18 Harumi Hiroyama Shiseido
