The 65th running of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon started out with 9C/48F and a humidity of 86%, ask the elite or any of the many participants and they would call it a very light but steady drizzle which in the end significantly played a major role in todays event, but hey, I'm not a meteoroligist. A course record was in the mind of the 24 year old Ethiopian race favourite, Yemane Tsegay. At yesterday's press conference, he was sure of breaking the course record of Spain's Antonio Pena from 2001 at 2.07.34, and if the rain held up, he wanted to run a personal best and break 2.06.
A large group of 30, including 6 pacemakers passed each kilometer in 3.01 or 3.02 basically thru the first half, with a 5km splits of 15.11, 15.11(30.22=10km)15.13(45.35=15km and shortly after the 25 remained until another 15.07 to pass 20km in 60.42 and the half way point in 64:07. This is when Tsegay nudged rabbits Samuel Ndungu(KEN) and Wilson Chebet(KEN) and the race was on.
The trio quickly opened up a gap on that large pack and continued to a 15:00 split(1.15:42=25km), and other 14.50(1.30.32=30km), which put Tsegay ahead by 51 seconds over those last 9kms of the second group. The group had been whittled down to Tomoyuki Sato(JPN), Abraham Tadesse(ERI), Yukihiro Kitaoka(JPN), Naoto Yoneda(JPN), and Kenichiro Setoguchi(JPN) with co-favourite Hendrick Ramaala almost a minute back. Ramaala, "I don't run well in the cold, and I don't run well in the rain, my legs started cramping, in my thighs with the cold water hitting them, I tried to change my stride, and then my calves cramped."
As the rabbits departed at 30km, Tsegay was alone and was having the same water problems, " The course was good, but the weather was so bad that I had foot problems caused by the water. I tried to set a new course record, but the weather was bad for me." He slowed down considerably with a 15.39(1.46.11=35km) and a 16.16(2.02.27) and it seemed if the home crowd was going to get a Japanese champion, as Sato(1.47:21=35km) left his teammates and Tadesse to go after the leader, but he only gained back 37 seconds over the final 7km plus as he was down over One minute and 10 seconds at 35km, to finish second to Tsegay, 2.09:34 to 2.10:07. Sato wins the 2010 Japanese National Marathon Championship and is a candidate for the Asian Games this year.
When asked further about the foot problems, Tsegay responded, "the water was cold and kept hitting my hamstrings as I ran, after 30km, I was on 2.07 pace, but first my hamstrings tightened and then my calves. I am hoping to get invited to the NYC Marathon, that will be my next race. "
1. Yemane Tsegay Ethiopia 2.09.34
2. Tomoyuki Sato Japan 2.10.07
3. Abraham Tadesse Eritrea 2.10.46
4. Yukihiro Kitaoka Japan 2.10.51
5. Naoto Yoneda Japan 2.11.00
6. Kenichiro Setoguchi Japan 2.11.44
7. Satoshi Yoshi Japan 2.12.24
8. Tomoya Shimizu Japan 2.13.25
9. Munehiro Sugaya Japan 2.15.07
10.Takeshi Ueno Japan 2.15.26
11. Hendrick Ramaala S.Africa2.15.29
The trio quickly opened up a gap on that large pack and continued to a 15:00 split(1.15:42=25km), and other 14.50(1.30.32=30km), which put Tsegay ahead by 51 seconds over those last 9kms of the second group. The group had been whittled down to Tomoyuki Sato(JPN), Abraham Tadesse(ERI), Yukihiro Kitaoka(JPN), Naoto Yoneda(JPN), and Kenichiro Setoguchi(JPN) with co-favourite Hendrick Ramaala almost a minute back. Ramaala, "I don't run well in the cold, and I don't run well in the rain, my legs started cramping, in my thighs with the cold water hitting them, I tried to change my stride, and then my calves cramped."
As the rabbits departed at 30km, Tsegay was alone and was having the same water problems, " The course was good, but the weather was so bad that I had foot problems caused by the water. I tried to set a new course record, but the weather was bad for me." He slowed down considerably with a 15.39(1.46.11=35km) and a 16.16(2.02.27) and it seemed if the home crowd was going to get a Japanese champion, as Sato(1.47:21=35km) left his teammates and Tadesse to go after the leader, but he only gained back 37 seconds over the final 7km plus as he was down over One minute and 10 seconds at 35km, to finish second to Tsegay, 2.09:34 to 2.10:07. Sato wins the 2010 Japanese National Marathon Championship and is a candidate for the Asian Games this year.
When asked further about the foot problems, Tsegay responded, "the water was cold and kept hitting my hamstrings as I ran, after 30km, I was on 2.07 pace, but first my hamstrings tightened and then my calves. I am hoping to get invited to the NYC Marathon, that will be my next race. "
1. Yemane Tsegay Ethiopia 2.09.34
2. Tomoyuki Sato Japan 2.10.07
3. Abraham Tadesse Eritrea 2.10.46
4. Yukihiro Kitaoka Japan 2.10.51
5. Naoto Yoneda Japan 2.11.00
6. Kenichiro Setoguchi Japan 2.11.44
7. Satoshi Yoshi Japan 2.12.24
8. Tomoya Shimizu Japan 2.13.25
9. Munehiro Sugaya Japan 2.15.07
10.Takeshi Ueno Japan 2.15.26
11. Hendrick Ramaala S.Africa2.15.29