Mogusu and Noguchi Win Sendai International Half Marathon – by Brett Larner – Japan Running News

Past greats returned to the top of the 23rd Sendai International Half Marathon on May 11, as Moscow World Championships marathon team member Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) won the women's race in a virtually solo 1:10:36 and sub-60 Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) took a hard-earned 1:01:54 win over 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) and defending Sendai champion Johana Maina (Kenya/Team Fujitsu).

Noguchi easily outdistanced 2011 Tokyo Marathon winner Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) for her third Sendai title and first win since 2008, one of her last races before the injury that knocked her out of the Beijing Olympics and far beyond.  Coming on the heels of her strong 2:24:05 for 3rd at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon her win suggests that Noguchi is still on the way back up to her former greatness leading on to Moscow.

For Mogusu, winner of most of Japan's other top-level half marathons during his college career including Marugame, Sapporo International and Ichinoseki, Sendai was an elusive goal, a race where he had never managed to finish better than 2nd.  The title marked the first of his pro career, his last half marathon victory coming at the 2009 Marugame International Half Marathon just before his graduation from Yamanashi Gakuin University.  Having beaten Gitau and Maina to get there the likeable Mogusu may also be on the way back to living up to his own past.

Further back in the men's race, Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru), one of the most promising new Japanese marathoners of 2012 with a 2:10:40 PB in Chicago at age 23 in only his second marathon, took the top Japanese men's position at 4th overall in 1:03:13 ahead of a dense pack.

Moscow World Championships marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) was near the tail of that pack, taking 10th overall in 1:03:30.  Kawauchi will double up at next week's Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon before continuing his World Championships preparations at the June 2 Chitose JAL International Marathon.

23rd Sendai International Half Marathon
Sendai, Miyagi, 5/12/13
click here for complete results

Women
1. Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) – 1:10:36
2. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) – 1:11:28
3. Yuka Hakoyama (Team Wacoal) – 1:12:05
4. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) – 1:12:25
5. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) – 1:12:36
6. Asami Furuse (Team Kyocera) – 1:13:13
7. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) – 1:13:34
8. Aiko Sakata (Ritsumeikan Univ.) – 1:13:49
9. Saki Tabata (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) – 1:14:03
10. Chihiro Takato (Team Wacoal) – 1:14:19

Men
1. Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) – 1:01:54
2. Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) – 1:02:07
3. Johana Maina (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) – 1:02:53
4. Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) – 1:03:13
5. Kenya Sonota (Komazawa Univ.) – 1:03:19 – debut
6. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) – 1:03:23
7. Masaki Shimoju (Team Konica Minolta) – 1:03:23
8. Hiroaki Sano (Team Honda) – 1:03:24
9. Masanori Ishida (Team Sagawa Express) – 1:03:26
10. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) – 1:03:30

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

by Brett Larner – Japan Running News