Sanyo Women's Half Marathon

A statue in Okayama of Yuko Arimori, after whom the half marathon prize is named

The Sanyo Women's Half Marathon, also known as the Sanyo Women's Road Race (Japanese: 山陽女子ロードレース), is an annual road running competition for women held in December in Okayama, Japan. It features both a 10K run and half marathon race (21.1 km/13.1 miles). Sanyo Shimbun, a daily newspaper, is the title sponsor for the event.[1]

The day's events previously included an inter-prefectural competition (1985 to 1999) and a junior 3 km race in the 1990s. The half marathon race attracts top level Japanese and Japan-based foreign runners, as well as a smaller number of other international runners.[2][3][4] The race is occasionally used as the Japanese women's selection race for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.[5] Japanese entrants in both events are mostly collegiate athletes or members of corporate running teams.[6]

The course starts and finishes at Kanko Stadium in the centre of Okayama city. The half marathon is known as the Yuko Arimori Cup, in honour of the two-time Olympic medallist in the marathon, who was born in the city. The 10K is referred to as the Kinue Hitomi Cup in respect of the Okayama-born athlete who won Japan's first ever women's Olympic medal. Typically, the half marathon features about 100 entries and the 10K attracts around 200 runners. The 2011 edition had a record high of 366 entrants into the top level races.[7]

The course record for the half marathon is held by Sally Kaptich Chepyego with her time of 1:08:17 hours set in 2015 – the second time she had broken the record.[5][8] The 10K record of 31:54 minutes was set in 2007 by Tiki Gelana. Historically, the winners of both races have been Japanese. There were several Chinese winners in the 1990s and since 2000 Kenyan women based in Japan have increasingly reached the top of the podium. Yukiko Akaba is the only runner to win consecutive half marathon titles. Kenyans Chepyego and Evelyn Kimwei and Japan's Mizuki Noguchi (the 2004 Olympic marathon champion) are the only other women to win the race twice.[9]

Past winners

Key:       Course record       20 km distance

Half marathon

Edition Year Winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1982  Rumiko Kaneko (JPN) 1:12:39
2nd 1983  Mafune Hori (JPN) 1:17:23
3rd 1984  Izumi Kitamura (JPN) 1:12:16
4th 1985  Mayumi Matsumoto (JPN) 1:14:47
5th 1986  Yuki Tamura (JPN) 1:14:00
6th 1987  Lee Mi-Ok (KOR) 1:08:59
7th 1988  Katsuyo Hyodo (JPN) 1:07:57
8th 1989  Yuko Arimori (JPN) 1:09:02
9th 1990  Chen Qingmei (CHN) 1:08:59
10th 1991  Wang Xiuting (CHN) 1:10:14
11th 1992  Wang Yenmei (CHN) 1:10:37
12th 1993  Yoshiko Yamamoto (JPN) 1:12:39
13th 1994  Megumi Setoguchi (JPN) 1:12:05
14th 1995  Sachiyo Seiyama (JPN) 1:12:04
15th 1996  Liang Ying (CHN) 1:12:00
16th 1997  Kanako Haginaga (JPN) 1:11:14
17th 1998  Rie Matsuoka (JPN) 1:10:08
18th 1999  Tomoko Motohira (JPN) 1:12:14
19th 2000  Mizuki Noguchi (JPN) 1:09:44
20th 2001  Nami Kurosawa (JPN) 1:11:04
21st 2002  Derartu Tulu (ETH) 1:11:09
22nd 2003  Mizuki Noguchi (JPN) 1:10:04
23rd 2004  Ruth Wanjiru (KEN) 1:10:23
24th 2005  Evelyn Kimwei (KEN) 1:10:47
25th 2006  Benita Johnson (AUS) 1:10:01
26th 2007  Evelyn Kimwei (KEN) 1:09:20
27th 2008  Pauline Wanguru (KEN) 1:10:54
28th 2009  Yumi Hirata (JPN) 1:11:13
29th 2010  Shoko Mori (JPN) 1:11:41
30th 2011  Yukiko Akaba (JPN) 1:09:16
31st 2012  Yukiko Akaba (JPN) 1:09:56
32nd 2013  Sally Chepyego Kaptich (KEN) 1:08:24
33rd 2014  Asami Furuse (JPN) 1:12:01
34th 2015  Sally Chepyego Kaptich (KEN) 1:08:17

10K run

Edition Year Winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1982  Chiemi Kashiwagi (JPN) 35:26
2nd 1983  Chiemi Kashiwagi (JPN) 35:34
3rd 1984  Mikiko Oguni (JPN) 36:13
4th 1985  Yuki Tamura (JPN) 35:29
5th 1986  Ikuko Takahashi (JPN) 34:22
6th 1987  Mi-Ja Chung (KOR) 34:15
7th 1988  Tsugumi Fukuyama (JPN) 34:01
8th 1989  Yoshie Terazawa (JPN) 33:10
9th 1990  Yoshie Terazawa (JPN) 33:44
10th 1991  Wang Yongmei (CHN) 33:04
11th 1992  Makiko Okamoto (JPN) 33:02
12th 1993  Makiko Okamoto (JPN) 33:10
13th 1994  Sachiyo Seiyama  (JPN) 33:03
14th 1995  Kazuko Kusakabe (JPN) 33:19
15th 1996  Yoshiko Ichikawa (JPN) 33:13
16th 1997  Kaoru Shibata (JPN) 33:13
17th 1998  Yuri Kano (JPN) 32:47
18th 1999  Keiko Fushimiya (JPN) 32:51
19th 2000  Miki Oyama (JPN) 33:29
20th 2001  Miwako Yamanaka (JPN) 32:10
21st 2002  Emi Ikeda (JPN) 32:38
22nd 2003  Chieko Yamazaki (JPN) 32:46
23rd 2004  Winfrida Kebaso (KEN) 32:20
24th 2005  Benita Johnson (AUS) 32:26
25th 2006  Ai Seike (JPN) 32:33
26th 2007  Tiki Gelana (ETH) 31:54
27th 2008  Winfrida Kebaso (KEN) 32:19
28th 2009  Nanae Kuwashiro (JPN) 32:27
29th 2010  Sally Chepyego Kaptich (KEN) 32:13
30th 2011  Ann Karindi Mwangi (KEN) 32:47
31st 2012  Felista Wambui Wanjuku (KEN) 32:16
32nd 2013  Grace Mbuthi Kimanzi (KEN) 32:24
33rd 2014  Grace Mbuthi Kimanzi (KEN) 32:05
34th 2015  Rosemary Monica Wanjiru (KEN) 32:03

References

  1. Larner, Brett (2013-11-30). Akaba, Davila and Watanabe Headline 32nd Running of Sanyo Women's Road Race. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  2. Nakamura, Ken (2007-12-24). Kimwei sets course record to win Sanyo road race. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  3. Nakamura, Ken (2004-12-25). Ruth Wanjiru wins Sanyo Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  4. Nakamura, Ken (2006-12-23). Benita Johnson wins Sanyo Half Marathon with new course record. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  5. 1 2 Mulkeen, Jon (2013-12-24). Chepyego smashes course record in Okayama. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  6. Larner, Brett (2010-12-23). Nishihara Sets 10 km National Collegiate Record at Sanyo Women's Road Race. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  7. Larner, Brett (2012-12-06). Akaba, Chepyego Top Sanyo Road Race Field of 364. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
  8. Larner, Brett (2015-12-23). Chepyego Breaks Sanyo Ladies' Half Course Record. All-Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-22.
  9. Shigenobu Ota et al. (2013-12-27). Sanyo Women's Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2014-02-22.
List of winners
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