Harumi Hiroyama winning the 2006 Nagoya Women's Marathon (© Kazutaka Eguchi/Agence SHOT)
The 2007 Nagoya International Women’s Marathon, which doubles as the last selection race for the Japanese women’s marathon team for the World Championships in Osaka is scheduled on Sunday 11 March. The race also counts as the national championships for 2007.
As with the previous selection races, the first Japanese in the race will be automatically selected for the marathon team provided she breaks 2:26. So far only Yumiko Hara, who won the 2007 Osaka Ladies Marathon with 2:23:48, has been automatically selected for the World Championships marathon team. Mari Ozaki, who finished second in 2:24:39 and Yuri Kano, who was third in 2:24:43, are likely to be selected unless, of course, several runners run very fast in the upcoming Nagoya Women’s Marathon.
Five runners from abroad as well as eight domestic runners are invited to Sunday’s race. Six top finishers from the last year’s race – Harumi Hiroyama (first), Alina Gherasim (fourth), Yuko Machida (fifth), Yasuko Hashimoto (sixth), Ayumi Hayashi (seventh) and Maya Nishio (twelfth) – are returning again this year.
There will three pace makers – Alevtina Ivanova and Volha Krautsova and Lyubov Denisova who has a personal best of 2:25:18.
Luminita Zaituc of Germany is the fastest foreign runner, having recorded 2:26:01 at the 2001 Frankfurt Marathon. Zaituc won the 2006 Koln marathon with 2:28:30. Gherasim, who recorded a personal best of 2:28:18 in the 2000 Paris Marathon, is a prolific runner. Last year, in addition to finishing 17th at the marathon in the 2006 European Championships and finishing fourth in Nagoya, the Romanian was fifth in both Paris (2:31:16) and Istanbul (2:32:13), and won in Sacramento (2:34:23).
Hiroyama will be public’s favourite
The fastest runner in the field is Harumi Hiroyama, who recorded a personal best of 2:22:56 in the 2000 Osaka Ladies Marathon. Hiroyama excels at both track and the road. She once held the national record at 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, and was fourth at 10,000m in the 1999 World Championships. She won last year’s Nagoya Women’s Marathon in 2:23:36.
Having finished second at the 2007 Marugame Half Marathon a month ago in 1:10:23, Hiroyama is ready for another fast marathon. At 38 years of age, she is a sentimental favourite of the marathon fans in Japan.
Takami Ominami, who has a personal best of 2:23:43 from the 2002 Rotterdam Marathon, is the second fastest runner in the field. Takami was eighth at the 2005 Nagoya Women’s Marathon with 2:31:16 and sixth in the 2004 edition of the race with 2:30:15. More recently, last November, she won the Nagoya half marathon with 1:11:03 and finished second in the 2007 Osaka Half Marathon in January.
Yasuko Hashimoto has a personal best of 2:25:21, recorded at the 2005 Nagoya Women’s Marathon when she finished fourth. Hashimoto, who won the 2003 Berlin Marathon with 2:26:32, was sixth at the 2006 Nagoya Women’s Marathon with 2:29:53. More recently Hashimoto was third in the 2007 Marugame Half Marathon with 1:11:08.
Aforementioned runners are all experienced marathon runners. On the other hand, Yuko Machida and Mika Okunaga are almost rookie marathon runners. On their respective debut marathons both cracked the 2:30 barrier. Machida was fifth at the 2006 Nagoya Women’s Marathon with 2:29:48, while Okunaga finished seventh in the 2006 Osaka Ladies Marathon with 2:29:56.
Ayumi Hayashi is not exactly a rookie, for she has completed three marathons in her career. She was twelfth in the 2005 Nagoya Women’s Marathon before finishing seventh at the 2006 Nagoya Women’s Marathon with 2:29:59. However, on her last marathon, the 2006 Tokyo marathon, she was only 27th with 2:52.18. More recently, Machida and Hayashi were 11th in 1:12:31 and 13th in 1:12:57 at the Miyazaki Half Marathon respectively, while Okunaga was 12th in the Miyazaki Half Marathon with 1:12:49.
Mikie Takanaka has completed two marathons – 2003 and 2006 Tokyo marathons - but she failed to break 2:40 in both occasions. More recently, Takanaka was sixth in the 2006 Great North Run with 1:11:41, 15th in the 2006 Sapporo Half Marathon with 1:12:55, and eighth at the 2007 Marugame Half Marathon with 1:12:18. Since Takanaka has a half marathon best of 1:08:32 from 2002, she is capable of running much faster marathon.
Other top runners, although not invited, will be running the Nagoya Women’s Marathon. Among them, Haruko Okamoto has a marathon best of 2:27:01, while Aki Fujikawa has a marathon best of 2:27:06.
Although Okamoto was ninth at 10,000m in the 2001 World Championships, she has been troubled with a series of injury problems since 2002. She is finally back, having run 1:12:16 half marathon at Marugame. She is hoping to improve her marathon personal best of 2:27:01.
Finally, Julia Mombi of Kenya may be a runner to watch. Although she only recorded 2:37:50 in her debut marathon, 2006 Beijing Marathon, in the opinion of Yoshio Koide, former coach of Naoko Takahashi, an Olympic gold medalist, Mombi is a great talent.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Invited Runners
Name Personal Best Venue
Lyubov Denisova (RUS) 2:25:18 2004 New York
Luminita Zaituc (GER) 2:26:01 2001 Frankfurt
Alina Gherasim (ROM) 2:28:18 2000 Paris
Meseret Kotu (ETH) 2:30:26 2002 Amsterdam
Violetta Uryga (POL) 2:34:44 2003 Nagoya
Japanese
Harumi Hiroyama 2:22:56 2000 Osaka
Takami Ominami 2:23:43 2002 Rotterdam
Yasuko Hashimoto 2:25:21 2005 Nagoya
Yuko Machida 2:29:48 2006 Nagoya
Mika Okunaga 2:29:56 2006 Osaka
Ayumi Hayashi 2:29:59 2006 Nagoya
Maya Nishio 2:30:16 2004 Nagoya
Mikie Takanaka 2:42:52 2003 Tokyo
Pace Makers
Alevtina Ivanova (RUS) 2:29:05 2003 Nagano
Volha Krautsova (BLR)
Other top runners
Haruko Okamoto 2:27:01 2002 Osaka
Aki Fujikawa 2:27:06 2004 Nagoya
Nami Kurosawa 2:36:26 2006 Nagoya
Julia Mombi (KEN) 2:37:50 2006 Beijing
Miki Ohira Debut
Yuko Manabe Debut
