The Sanyo Women's Half Marathon, also known as the Sanyo Women's Road Race (), is an annual road running competition for women held in December in Okayama, Japan. It features both a 10K run and half marathon race (21.1 km/13.1 miles). Sanyo Shimbun, a daily newspaper, is the title sponsor for the event.Larner, Brett (2013-11-30). Akaba, Davila and Watanabe Headline 32nd Running of Sanyo Women's Road Race. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
The day's events previously included an inter-prefectural competition (1985 to 1999) and a junior 3 km race in the 1990s. The half marathon race attracts top level Japanese and Japan-based foreign runners, as well as a smaller number of other international runners.Nakamura, Ken (2007-12-24). Kimwei sets course record to win Sanyo road race. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.Nakamura, Ken (2004-12-25). Ruth Wanjiru wins Sanyo Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.Nakamura, Ken (2006-12-23). Benita Johnson wins Sanyo Half Marathon with new course record. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23. The race is occasionally used as the Japanese women's selection race for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.Mulkeen, Jon (2013-12-24). Chepyego smashes course record in Okayama. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23. Japanese entrants in both events are mostly collegiate athletes or members of corporate running teams.Larner, Brett (2010-12-23). Nishihara Sets 10 km National Collegiate Record at Sanyo Women's Road Race. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
The course starts and finishes at Kanko Stadium in the centre of Okayama city. The half marathon is known as the Yuko Arimori Cup, in honour of the two-time Olympic medallist in the marathon, who was born in the city. The 10K is referred to as the Kinue Hitomi Cup in respect of the Okayama-born athlete who won Japan's first ever women's Olympic medal. Typically, the half marathon features about 100 entries and the 10K attracts around 200 runners. The 2011 edition had a record high of 366 entrants into the top level races.Larner, Brett (2012-12-06). Akaba, Chepyego Top Sanyo Road Race Field of 364. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.
The course record for the half marathon is held by Sally Kaptich Chepyego with her time of 1:08:17 hours set in 2015 – the second time she had broken the record.Larner, Brett (2015-12-23). Chepyego Breaks Sanyo Ladies' Half Course Record. All-Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-22. The 10K record of 31:54 minutes was set in 2007 by Tiki Gelana. Historically, the winners of both races have been Japanese. There were several Chinese winners in the 1990s and since 2000 Kenyan women based in Japan have increasingly reached the top of the podium. Yukiko Akaba is the only runner to win consecutive half marathon titles. Kenyans Chepyego and Evelyn Kimwei and Japan's Mizuki Noguchi (the 2004 Olympic marathon champion) are the only other women to win the race twice.Shigenobu Ota et al. (2013-12-27). Sanyo Women's Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2014-02-22.
Past winners Key:
Half marathon EditionYearWinnerTime (h:m:s)1st1982 1:12:392nd1983 1:17:233rd1984 1:12:164th1985 1:14:475th1986 1:14:006th1987 1:08:597th1988 1:07:578th1989 1:09:029th1990 1:08:5910th1991 1:10:1411th1992 1:10:3712th1993 1:12:3913th1994 1:12:0514th1995 1:12:0415th1996 1:12:0016th1997 1:11:1417th1998 1:10:0818th1999 1:12:1419th2000 1:09:4420th2001 1:11:0421st2002 1:11:0922nd2003 1:10:0423rd2004 1:10:2324th2005 1:10:4725th2006 1:10:0126th2007 1:09:2027th2008 1:10:5428th2009 1:11:1329th2010 1:11:4130th2011 1:09:1631st2012 1:09:5632nd2013 1:08:2433rd2014 1:12:0134th2015 1:08:1735th2016 1:10:0436th2017 1:08:0437th2018 1:09:1238th2019 1:08:45
10K run EditionYearWinnerTime (h:m:s)1st1982 35:262nd1983 35:343rd1984 36:134th1985 35:295th1986 34:226th1987 34:157th1988 34:018th1989 33:109th1990 33:4410th1991 33:0411th1992 33:0212th1993 33:1013th1994 33:0314th1995 33:1915th1996 33:1316th1997 33:1317th1998 32:4718th1999 32:5119th2000 33:2920th2001 32:1021st2002 32:3822nd2003 32:4623rd2004 32:2024th2005 32:2625th2006 32:3326th2007 31:5427th2008 32:1928th2009 32:2729th2010 32:1330th2011 32:4731st2012 32:1632nd2013 32:2433rd2014 32:0534th2015 32:03
References
List of winners Shigenobu Ota et al. (2013-12-27). Sanyo Women's Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2014-02-22.