Hokkaido Marathon - Preview

The 2005 Hokkaido Marathon will be held on Sunday 28 August in Sapporo, the largest metropolis in the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. 

The Hokkaido Marathon is the only summer elite Marathon in the country.  It is also one of the two marathons where elite runners join the masses in the same race.  The original intent of the Hokkaido Marathon was to give elite runners a chance to experience the hot weather marathon.  Around 1990, with the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in mind, exercise physiologists collected hot weather marathon data during and after the race.

MEN

The fastest runner in the field is 36-years-old Koji Shimizu, who has a personal best of 2:08:28 from the 2003 Lake Biwa Marathon, where he finished fourth.  He thus became the oldest Japanese to crack the 2:09 barrier.  A three-time participant in the World Championships Marathon, the highlight of Shimizu’s long and illustrious career includes a seventh place finish in the 1999 World Championships, and a silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games.

Muneyuki Ojima is another 2:08 marathon runner in the field. His personal best, 2:08:43, however, is from the 1998 Lake Biwa Marathon.  His most recent good performance was at the 2004 Lake Biwa Marathon, where he was eighth with 2:10:07.  Two other 2:09 runners – Tomoyuki Sato and Tomonori Watanabe – are also in the field. Sato recorded 2:09:43 in the 2004 Tokyo Marathon, while Watanabe won the 1999 Hofu Marathon in 2:09:40. 

Invited foreign runners

Samson Kandie of Kenya is the second fastest marathon runner in the field.  He recorded his personal best, 2:08:31, when he finished third in the 1999 Berlin Marathon.  More recently Kandie won the 2004 Vienna Marathon in 2:08:35, only four seconds short of his personal best.  Kandie has run in Sapporo before, having won the 2002 Hokkaido Marathon with 2:15:12.  His other marathon in Japan is the 2000 Beppu-Oita Marathon with 2:11:28 where he finished second.  The other invited runner from abroad is Taye Moges of Ethiopia, who has a marathon personal best of 2:09:21, which was recorded in the 1998 Vienna Marathon.  More recently Moges was fourth in the 2004 Praha marathon with 2:12:51, and third in the 2002 Venice marathon with 2:10:06. 

Three Kenyans living in Japan are making a much anticipated marathon debut.  They are Ombeche Mokamba, Julius Maina and David Kariuki and they all run for Japanese corporate track & ekiden teams.  Their credentials at the shorter distances like track 10,000m and half marathon are quite respectable.  For example, the half marathon bests of Mokamba, Maina and Kariuki are 1:01:39, 1:02:08 and 1:02:22 respectively.  In addition, James Wainaina, who was seventh in the 2004 Tokyo Marathon with 2:11:00 is likely to a factor in the race. 

WOMEN

Turning our attention to the women’s side, the defending champion Masako Chiba will return to Sapporo.  She has twice won the Hokkaido marathon. She won the 2004 and 2001 edition in 2:26:50 and 2:30:39 respectively. With the marathon best of 2:21:45 from the 2003 Osaka Ladies Marathon, Chiba is the fastest runner in the field.  Chiba, who used to be coached by Soh brothers, and then Yoshiko Koide, is now self coached. 
The invited runners from abroad, Lioudmila Kortchaguina and Fatima Silva, are not fast enough to challenge Chiba.

Domestic challenge

Thus the main challengers to Chiba seem to be Kiyoko Shimahara, who finished second in the 2004 Tokyo Women’s Marathon with 2:26:43 and Aki Fujikawa, who finished third in the 2004 Nagoya Women’s Marathon with 2:27:06. 

For Shimahara, who was third with 2:31:10 at the 2003 Tokyo Women’s Marathon, 2004 was her breakthrough year.  First in the Miyazaki Half marathon in January of 2004, Shimahara recorded a huge personal best, 1:10:51.  She also recorded a personal best at 10,000m, 32:54.03, before her marathon personal best in the Tokyo Women’s Marathon. 

Unlike Shimahara, who joined Shiseido track team immediately upon graduation from the university, Fujikawa originally joined the LaLaLa track team upon graduation from high school.  She recorded 2:27:42 in her marathon debut at the 1999 Osaka Ladies Marathon. In 2002, her team was dissolved; she then joined Asahi Kasei.  While with Asahi Kasei, Fujikawa was third at the 10,000m in the national championships with 31:59.06, a personal best.  However, she was forced to leave Asahi Kasei at the end of 2003.  Running without a team, Fujikawa recorded a marathon personal best in the 2004 Nagoya Women’s Marathon.  She then joined Shiseido track team. 

Ken Nakamura for the IAAF

The elite start list

Men:
Samson Kigen Kandie (KEN)  2:08:31
Taye Moges (ETH)  2:09:21
James Wainaina (KEN)  2:11:00
Ombeche Mokamba (KEN)  debut
Julius Maina  (KEN)   debut
David Kariuki  (KEN)  debut

Koji Shimizu    2:08:28
Tomoyuki Sato   2:09:43
Muneyuki Ojima  2:08:43
Yasuaki Yamamoto  2:10:44
Tomonori Watanabe  2:09:40
Katsuhiko Fukunaga  2:13:29
Akihiro Oshikiri  2:15:09
Ken Konishi  debut
Tatsuya Hoshi  2:14:03

Women:
Lioudmila Kortchaguina (CAN)  2:29:53
Fatima Silva (POR)  2:33:46

Masako Chiba  2:21:45
Kiyoko Shimahara  2:26:43
Aki Fujikawa  2:27:06
Ayumi Hayashi  2:33:37
Rika Tabashi  2:33:52
Mika Hikita  2:34:22
Yoshimi Hoshino  2:36:19
Ayumi Noshita  2:33:52
Yoshiko Watanabe  debut