Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

by thebestworldevents.com 20 March 2024 · Running

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Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April’s Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday’s Niigata Half Marathon. Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed.

By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. “This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target,” he said post-race. “Everything went as planned. I’m looking forward to racing some of the world’s best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits.”

Just back from training in Kenya, Koike was 2nd a PB 1:03:26, with Yamazaki 3rd in 1:03:47. Also headed to Boston, Kento Otsu (Sunbelx) was 8th in 1:04:19. Running the Copenhagen Marathon on May 5 in one last shot at firming up his Paris Olympics spot, Mongolian national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir was 10th in 1:04:36 after organizers let him enter just a week beforehand. Local college student Neneka Kamitani of Niigata Iryo Fukushi University took the women’s race in 1:21:34.