November 2018 Results Roundup

• At the New York Marathon, Ryudo Tsukizaki ran his second fastest marathon: 2:42:16, Satoshi Hashimoto enjoyed the NYC atmosphere with a 3:15:07 and Yumi Kato enjoyed herself despite the tough hills in the second half of the race. Paul Allen was also there.
• In Japan, Rika Homma ran the Gumma Marathon as a kind of a training run, but finished in a not-slow 3:19:46.
• On the 10th, Yuta Suda won a 30K race on the Tamagawa, in the time of 1:47:43. That’s 3:36 per km. Wow!
• Yuki Fukushima, Emmanuel Obser and Rika Homma ran the Setagaya 246 Half Marathon on the 11th. Yuki blazed a nice 1:17:28, Emmanuel was 1:24:51 and Rika ran intervals to a 1:37:09. Meanwhile, Mike Trees was at the Nittai U. 5,000m time trial on the 11th, and dipped under 17:00 with a 16:55. And Yoko Kuwada participated in the International Friendly Run 20K at Odaiba.
• November marathon season began with the Kobe Marathon on the 18th. Ken Pechter gave it a thumbs up.
• The Toda Half and 10K, Bob’s favorite race, was a big hit with many other Nambanners as well, thanks to the flat course and perfect weather conditions. Prize winners were: Yuki Fukushma, 1st in the 5K in 16:14; Anna White, visiting from Sydney and 1st in the 10K in 38:00; Jay Johannesen, 2nd 10K AG in 37:15; Eliza Swedberg, 2nd in the Half AG (3rd overall) in 1:27:53; Faith Geragthy, 3rd in the Half AG in 1:32:13; Chika Kanai, 3rd Half AG in 1:33:44; and Bob Poulson, 4th AG in 1:34:14. Also running, and running well in the 10K were Eric Lebrasseur, Yuki Seshimo, Edward Louth, Niall Murtagh and Taeko Hara; and in the Half: Satoshi Hashimoto, Yoann Potiron, Andy Drought, Paul Redbourne, Ash Harvey, Sarah Morgan, Hiro Terada, Charlie Cook, Emma Riley and Yuri Kambara. Thanks to James Williams and Rachel Bleustein for cheering.
• Vidya Rasthri challenged 50K at the hilly Fun Trials 50K in Saitama and did great, finishing in 11:11:09.
• Chris Winter took part in the Victoria State 5K Championships and finished 10th in the D div. with a quick 16:36.
• The Otawara Marathon was held on the holiday of Friday the 23rd. Good weather, but windy as usual. Nick Coyle 3:29:31, Padraig MacColgain 3:41:42, and Terry Minegishi, Yuichi Kanamori and Rie Onodera.
• Yuki Fukushima set another PB, this time at 10K at Meguro City, with a 34:18 good for 4th place. Congratulations!
• More marathons on the 25th. Osaka drew a good Namban crowd:, Gareth Evans 3:08 (really?),Tim Barnstable 3:15, Tony Collins 3:21:35, Sylvain Dufros 3:44:18, Makiko Hosokawa 3:53:23, Mika Kume 3:54:10, Rika Homma, Stan Chow, Steve Karnas and SeungGi Hong. The flat Tsukuba Marathon attracted Eric Lebrasseur 3:06:06, Yuki Seshimo 3:32:21 (8:21 PB!) Yasuo Hayakawa 3:43:27 Hiro Terada 3:53:35, Andrew Farmer who almost broke 4 hrs with a 4:00:19 and Rui Natsuka 4:11:23. New members Justin Boyan 3:37:00 and David Voltas enjoyed stunning views of Mt. Fuji and its lakes at the, yes, Mt. Fuji Marathon.
• And…Mary Eckstein ran the Hong Kong Disney Half Marathon. It’s a small world after all.

Monthly Haiku

It’s winter at last.

But I say, with each cold blast,

Please winter, go fast.