It was sunny with temperatures at 16.6 degrees Celsius and 33.0% humidity at the start of the race. The event was held under generally good weather conditions, although the sun was strong.

In the men’s field, the championship race went down to the wire, and TAKELE, Tadese (Ethiopia), the 23-year-old, won the race for the second consecutive year with a time of 2:03:37. “I am thrilled to have come away with a victory again.  The final showdown was amazing,” he cherished the moment. 

Unlike previous years, with a headwind slowing down the main group at the start, HASHIMOTO, Ryuichi (Press Kogyo) set a blistering pace for the first 5km with a time of 14:34 and for the 10km with a time of 29:02. He reached the halfway point in 1:01:29, maintaining his relentless pace. The second pack of international athletes was about 30 seconds behind, looking to catch up to HASHIMOTO. Past the 26km mark, the pack of the international athletes caught up with HASHIMOTO, and a lead pack of nine runners reached the 30km mark together. From the 37km mark, the lead pack was narrowed down to four runners: TAKELE, TOROITICH, Geoffrey (Kenya), MUTISO, Alexander (Kenya) and  MATEIKO, Daniel (Kenya). With less than 1km to go, the four were still neck and neck but MATEIKO dropped with 500 meters to go. With 200 meters remaining, it was still a dead heat among the top three, and in the end, TAKELE broke away to win a grueling neck-and-neck battle. “I had anticipated that everything would be decided in the end, so I thought I’d wait and see until 42km. I made a move with 200 meters left and took the victory,” he explained the reason for his win. 

TOROITICH finished in 2nd place with the same time of 2:03:37, and MUTISO came in 3rd, just one second behind.  

The Japanese pack passed HASHIMOTO just after the 32km point, and around the 33km mark, it turned into a race between four runners: OSAKO, Suguru (LI-NING), a Japanese record holder, SUZUKI, Kengo (Yokohama Athletics Association), a former Japanese record holder, KONDO, Ryota (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) and KUDO, Shinsaku (Waseda University). From the 37km mark, it was a showdown between OSAKO and SUZUKI, the “new and former Japanese record holders. Past the 41km mark, OSAKO pulled away from SUZUKI and came in 12th with a time of 2:05:59. 

“My record was OK, but I wanted a better spot in the standings,” OSAKO looked back on the race. Given he took on the challenge less than three months after setting a new Japanese record at the Valencia Marathon last December, “it’s been a great experience getting this far,” he reaped the rewards. 
 
SUZUKI, who declared to become a pro last fall, finished in 13th with a time of 2:06:09, ten seconds behind OSAKO. “I had expected it to be a grueling race all around.  The race unfolded in a controlled manner.  I got off to a good restart,” he felt a good response.   

Among the Japanese runners, ICHIYAMA, Tsubasa (Sun Bel'x) came in 3rd, KONDO 4th, Kudo 5th and FUJIMURA, Tomohiro (SUZUKI) 6th. HASHIMOTO who took the lead from the start and made the race exciting finished 37th with a time of 2:11:21. 

Unlike the men’s race, the women’s race started at a high pace from the beginning, and KOSGEI, Brigid (Kenya), a former world record holder, set a new race record with a time of 2:14:29, winning for the second time in four years. The wonderful seventh-fastest time in world history became a new national record.  “It was an incredibly fantastic race. I am truly happy to have been able to set a new race record,” she basked up the joy. 

KOSGEI passed the halfway point with a time of 1:07:37, and after that she picked up the pace even more. Past the 30km mark, once she pulled away from KEBEDE, Sutume Asefa (Ethiopia), who was gunning for a third straight title, it was a solo run to the finish. “I felt I had prepared so well, so I just needed to go out there and leave it all on the race,” she said with a smile.  She won by a margin of more than two minutes. “With more training and the right conditions, I can set an even better record,” she expressed confidence in breaking further records. 

WELDE, Bertukan came in 2nd, FEYSA, Hawi 3rd and KEBEDE 4th, with three Ethiopian runners finishing in the top four.

HOSODA, Ai (EDION) who ran the final race of her career, clocked 2:23:39, finishing in 10th place, the highest among the Japanese athletes. The results significantly exceeded last year’s record of 2:27:43.  “My goal was to do better than last year at the very least, and I achieved what I wanted and stayed resilient, and I couldn’t have asked for a better final race,” she finished on a high note and had a look of relief on her face.    

“The morning wind kept the athletes from picking up the pace,” OSHIMA, Yasuhiro, Race Director, said and concluded that “under such conditions, TAKELE’s back-to-back championships are amazing, and 2:03:37 is an impressive time.”  With respect to the women’s race, “KOSGEI showed the dignity of a former world record holder. It was a fantastic race that set a new race record,” he celebrated the outstanding record.