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1 JANUARY 2015: 11th NEUJAHRSMARATHON ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

Zurich Marathon

The race took place amid beautiful white scenery. After 5 days of heavy snowfalls, the entire course was covered by 12cm of snow. Fast times were not possible but impressions were unforgettable for the 813 runners, a record number coming from 41 different countries. Frederic Ruberti made it a start-to-finish victory in the men's race.

MEN:
1  Frederic RUBERTI               FRA 2:48:57
2  Philipp ARNOLD                 SUI 2:57:56
3  Manuel LAUB                    GER 3:01:43
4  Paul MOOG                      FRA 3:06:53
5  Manuel HUEGLI                  SUI 3:11:06
6  Dennis MEHLFELD                GER 3:12:05
7  Wolfgang PFEIFFER              GER 3:20:06
8  Peter KNOEDLER                 SUI 3:20:09
9  Marco WITZEL                   GER 3:21:36
10 Jiri KALA                      CZE 3:24:17

WOMEN:
1  Lina-Kristin SCHINK            GER 3:29:33
2  Katrin GOTTSCHALK              GER 3:29:57
3  Tatiana SVIRIDOVA              RUS 3:32:48
4  Melissah GIBSON                AUS 3:43:59
5  Melanie HITZ                   SUI 3:48:39
6  Tamara ADERNEUER               GER 3:50:40
7  Christine FISCHER              GER 3:58:49
8  Brigitta MATHYS                SUI 4:03:06
9  Olga FIKAROVA                  CZE 4:07:38
10 Carmen HILDEBRAND              GER 4:08:44

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Samir BAALA                    FRA 1:20:06
2  Daniel ZWIKER                  SUI 1:21:46
3  Henrik STADLER                 GER 1:22:51

WOMEN:
1  Ezgi AKDESIR                   TUR 1:31:47
2  Katja ZWIKER                   SUI 1:38:21
3  Caroline CEJKA                 SUI 1:45:20

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3 JANUARY 2015: XIAMEN INT'L MARATHON, CHINA

Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba defended her title and improved her course record by one and a half minutes and became only the second woman in the last two years to dip under 2:20. Last year she won best Meseret Legesse by five minutes; this year her winning margin was eight. Legesse was about a minute slower than last year.

The men's race was more competitive. It was only in the last few kilometres that Moses Mosop broke away from Ethiopia's Tilahun Regassa to take more than a minute off the course record set in 2013 by Getachew Terfa Negari. Mosop's recorded the fastest marathon on Chinese soil, bettering the 2:06:32 set by the late Samuel Wanjiru when winning the 2008 Olympic title in Beijing. Regassa was also inside the previous course record.

In total, more than 43,000 runners competed in the marathon and half-marathon races.

MEN:
1  Moses MOSOP                    KEN  2:06:19
2  Tilahun REGASSA                ETH  2:06:54
3  Abrha MILAW                    ETH  2:08:09
4  Robert KWAMBAI                 KEN  2:08:18
5  Tadese TOLA                    ETH  2:10:30

WOMEN:
1  Mare DIBABA                    ETH  2:19:52
2  Meseret LEGESSE                ETH  2:27:38
3  Meriem WANGARI                 KEN  2:27:53
4  Meseret GODANA                 ETH  2:36:11
5  Cao MOJIE                      CHN  2:43:06

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7 JANUARY 2015: SIBERIAN ICE HALF MARATHON, RUSSIA

Siberian Ice Half Marathon Siberian Ice Half Marathon

Six hundred men and two hundred women completed the lap course, with 34 foreigners from 10 countries braving the comparatively mild conditions of -4°C

MEN:
1  Alexander BUTRAMEEV            RUS  1:09:45
2  Denis RYCHKOV                  RUS  1:11:34
3  Konstantin DYAKOV              RUS  1:12:43
4  Dmitry LYSIY                   RUS  1:13:04
5  Leonid TOLMANTSEV              RUS  1:13:36
6  Denis PHILIPPOV                RUS  1:15:36
7  Sergey YURCHENKO               RUS  1:17:44
8  Rashid ISYUMBAEV               RUS  1:18:44
9  Pyotr NAUMOV                   RUS  1:18:49
10 Valery KOSENKO                 RUS  1:19:23
 
WOMEN:
1  Marina KOVALEVA                RUS  1:20:37
2  Natalia DZHOLY                 RUS  1:24:37
3  Natalia SEDYKH                 RUS  1:25:14
4  Elena ABASHOVA                 RUS  1:32:00
5  Lyudmyla DVORYANINOVA          RUS  1:33:04
6  Yulduz ABDULLAEVA              RUS  1:35:16
7  Tatiana NOVOSELTSEVA           RUS  1:37:17
8  Yulia IVANOVA                  RUS  1:40:20
9  Inna GOLIKOVA                  RUS  1:43:01
10 Alena PETROVA                  RUS  1:43:30

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9 JANUARY 2015: WINNER TIBERIAS MARATHON, ISRAEL

On a cold day varying from 6–10°C 1862 runners, including 293 women (a record for Israel) finished the 38th edition.

MEN:
1  Hailu MEKONNEN                 ETH  2:12:30
2  Teshome GELANA                 ETH  2:12:31
3  Botoru TSEGAYE                 ETH  2:12:31
4  Joel KOSITANY                  KEN  2:12:35
5  Thomas EKIRO                   KEN  2:13:04
6  Ezekiel KOECH                  KEN  2:14:11
7  Ayele TARIKU                   ETH  2:14:50
8  Zohar ZIMRU                    ISR  2:18:06
9  Tasma MOGES                    ISR  2:18:26
10 Roman FOSTI                    EST  2:20:23

WOMEN:
1  Riki SALEM                     ISR  2:54:00
2  Birhane MENGESHA               ETH  2:55:19
3  Dikla DRORI                    ISR  3:05:51
4  Shiri FRIEDMAN                 ISR  3:09:11
5  Moran SHABTAI                  ISR  3:09:21
6  Sharon ALMAGOR                 ISR  3:09:29
7  Yael DANK                      ISR  3:11:36
8  Hila GERMAN                    ISR  3:13:57
9  Shimrit GUTMAN-IDAN            ISR  3:14:34
10 Alona EVRIN                    ISR  3:17:00

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11 JANUARY 2015: CEBU CITY MARATHON, PHILIPPINES

MEN:
1  Jackson CHIRCHIR               KEN  2:27:16
2  Julius KIPTALAM                KEN  2:31:31
3  John SAMOEI                    KEN  2:35:43 
4  Noel TILLOR                    PHI  2:44:43
5  Paul James ZAFICO              PHI  2:48:03
6  Jobert CAROLINO                PHI  2:48:37
7  Eugene POSTRADO                PHI  2:53:21
8  Willy TANUI                    KEN  2:58:17
9  Alvirg BUSA                    PHI  3:00:49
10 Michael LARGO                  PHI  3:02:54

WOMEN:
1  Irine Kipchumba                KEN  3:12:04
2  Susan JEMUTAI                  KEN  3:15:03
3  Jennylyn NOBLEZA               PHI  3:16:29
4  Mona Liza AMBASA               PHI  3:24:31
5  Sandi ABAHAN                   PHI  3:32:09
6  Mereeis RAMIREZ                PHI  3:44:16
7  Sandra SOLIANO                 PHI  3:48:49
8  Virginia PARAJINOG             PHI  3:53:53
9  Rhodora OPORTO                 PHI  3:55:26
10 Odiza ABELLANA                 PHI  4:06:02

11 JANUARY 2015: KINMEN MARATHON, CHINESE TAIPEI

MEN:
1  Samal Emanuel PLILAN           KEN  2:21:01
2  Hassan Omanga MOKAYA           KEN  2:24:02
3  Pei-Chang YO                   TPE  2:33:12

WOMEN:
1  Salina JEBET                   KEN  2:44:10
2  Ecler Chelimo LOYWAPEI         KEN  2:44:13

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16 JANUARY 2015: EGYPTIAN MARATHON, LUXOR

MEN:
1  Ahmed Elsayed GABER            EGY  2:48:51
2  Qumar M ELYAMANIE              EGY  2:51:37
3  Abd Alrahman ELZAMILI          EGY  3:03:14
4  Ahmed Moatez ELSAYED           EGY  3:11:16
5  Bernd ZECH                     GER  3:11:40
6  Mina EBRAHEM                   EGY  3:31:34
7  Albert THOENI                  SUI  3:53:50
8  Marco Antonio LOBERTO          BRA  3:58:22
9  Martin BLOMQVIST               SWE  3:59:55
10 Sami M KHATER                  EGY  4:17:30

WOMEN:
1  Yoshie OKAYAMA                 JPN  4:00:03
2  Fernanda MELO                  BRA  4:16:00
3  Gabi LUHN                      GER  4:42:45
4  Tuedon MORGAN                  GBR  4:46:40
5  Ryoko KUITAGAWA                JPN  5:13:16

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Hanna Abou FARHAT              LIB  1:27:23
2  Ahmed Mostafa TAHA             EGY  1:28:59
3  Elias BAYDOUN                  LIB  1:31:45 

WOMEN:
1  Julia PRESTIDGE                GBR  2:02:20
2  Olga FUZESI                    GER  2:03:57
3  Kathryn CASSON                 GBR  2:11:47

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18 JANUARY 2015: MARATHON BAHAMAS

MEN:
1  Julian GILETTE                 USA  2:44:17
2  Leigh SCHMIT                   USA  2:50:45
3  Cleber CASTILHANO              ESP  2:59:03
4  Ronald ALBURY                  USA  3:10:59
5  Joshua KEATING                 USA  3:18:11
6  Christopher SALISBURY          USA  3:24:20
7  Roman LESUEUR                  FRA  3:27:05
8  David HOLMEN                   USA  3:29:10
9  Alexandre AOKI                      3:29:25
10 Adrian MASSIE                  USA  3:29:26

WOMEN:
1  Melissa GILETTE                USA  3:11:47
2  Lauren FINELLI                 USA  3:30:15
3  Aliola MALOOLY                 USA  3:37:29
4  Chrystal BARTON                USA  3:45:44
5  Lynne ROBINSON                 USA  3:53:03
6  Jane LANFORD                   USA  3:53:46
7  Amy TYLER                      USA  3:55:01
8  Christine BILICH               USA  3:59:44
9  Staci HENDERSON                USA  4:02:51
10 Gretchen CLARK                 USA  4:08:36

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Keithrell HANNA                USA  1:17:27
2  Spencer WEST                   USA  1:20:26
3  Will FAIRBAIRN                 USA  1:31:12

WOMEN:
1  Kathy PROVENCHER               USA  1:35:53
2  Christine MCDONALD             USA  1:36:02
3  Crystal STRACHAN               USA  1:37:38

18 JANUARY 2015: GAMMON CONSTRUCTION CHINA COAST MARATHON, HONG KONG

MEN:
1  Junichi FUJIWARA               JPN  3:02:06
2  Isaac Wan Ho YUEN              HKG  3:03:14
3  Wai Kin CHEUNG                 HKG  3:05:34
4  Peng Fei QI                         3:06:35
5  Ka Wai WONG                         3:07:06
6  Ping Chuen WONG                     3:11:36
7  Chi Man FONG                        3:11:42
8  Alex LITWINEK                       3:11:58
9  Wai Kei CHEUNG                      3:12:20
10 Chung Fai WU                        3:20:13

WOMEN:
1  Marcia ZHOU                    HKG  3:38:09
2  Wen MENG                            3:41:58
3  Ching Yee LAM                       3:48:48
4  Siu Pik POON                        3:56:21
5  De Ming CHEN                        4:07:34
6  Ping Ting CHEUNG                    4:12:59
7  Kerri SINGER                        4:19:08
8  Poh Suan PUAH                       4:24:27
9  Eunice Kam Lan HO                   4:25:13
10 Maggie Yan Wah MA                   4:26:16

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Adrian LOWTHER                      1:17:26
2  Jason SKILLICORN                    1:20:49
3  Seth FISCHER                        1:22:06

WOMEN:
1  Claire CHAPMAN                      1:33:46
2  Zein WILLIAMS                       1:35:55
3  Yann Kai OH                         1:36:47

18 JANUARY 2015: CHEVRON HOUSTON MARATHON

MEN:
1  Birhanu GEDEFA                 ETH  2:08:03
2  Gebo BURKA                     ETH  2:08:12
3  Debebe TOLOSSA                 ETH  2:09:07
4  Dominic ONDORO                 KEN  2:09:40
5  Silah LIMO                     KEN  2:10:37
6  Erick MOSE                     KEN  2:12:52
7  Aaron BRAUN                    USA  2:12:54
8  Gadisa SHUMIE                  ETH  2:14:03
9  Craig LEON                     USA  2:14:43
10 Pardon NDHOLVU                 USA  2:16:52

WOMEN:
1  Yebrgual ARAGE                 ETH  2:23:23
2  Guteni IMANA                   ETH  2:23:32
3  Biruktait DEGEFA               ETH  2:23:51
4  Sechale DALASA                 ETH  2:27:12
5  Fatuma SADO                    ETH  2:28:27
6  Kellyn TAYLOR                  USA  2:28:40
7  Serena BURLA                   USA  2:31:46
8  Vianey DE LA ROSA              MEX  2:32:01
9  Lindsay FLANAGAN               USA  2:33:12
10 Taylor WARD                    USA  2:38:32

ARAMCO HALF MARATHON: US CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN:
1  Diego ESTRADA                  USA  1:00:51
2  Jared WARD                     USA  1:01:42
3  Girma MECHESO                  USA  1:02:16
 
WOMEN:
1  Kim CONLEY                     USA  1:09:44
2  Brianne NELSON                 USA  1:10:16
3  Janet BAWCOM                   USA  1:10:46

ARAMCO OPEN HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Lane BOYER                     USA  1:08:52
2  Roberto MORATILLA              ESP  1:09:33
3  Maximo MENDOZA                 USA  1:10:20

WOMEN:
1  Angela SPADAFINO               USA  1:16:20
2  Megan SALOOM                   USA  1:17:19
3  Colleen DE REUCK               USA  1:17:56

18 JANUARY 2015: MAUI OCEANFRONT MARATHON, USA

MEN:
1  Saeki MAKINO                   JPN  2:22:11
2  Dylan WILLIAMS                 USA  2:47:44
3  Victor KOKTA                   CAN  2:50:26
4  Kengo YOSHIMOTO                JPN  3:01:39
5  Dan SULLIVAN                   USA  3:02:36
6  Kim WIWCHAR                    CAN  3:05:38
7  Hiroyuki KURIHARA              USA  3:07:32
8  Terry BAWCOM                   USA  3:07:50
9  Mark SAVAGE                    USA  3:11:30
10 Art KILGOUR                    CAN  3:14:16

WOMEN:
1  Christine SAVAGE               USA  3:11:30
2  Yuko NAKAI                     JPN  3:14:25
3  Caitlin SCHULTHEISS            USA  3:20:38 
4  Yumi HIROSE                    JPN  3:30:25
5  Leah PIPER                     USA  3:32:36
6  Kristi HUNT                    USA  3:32:44
7  Kristen BALL                   USA  3:35:15
8  Kerstin HENKEL                 GER  3:37:27
9  Emi AKUTSU                     USA  3:37:54
10 Julia BENSON                   USA  3:39:33

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  George BJALKEMO                GER  1:12:40
2  Kristopher SWYGERT             USA  1:20:40
3  Gary KEITH                     USA  1:23:32

WOMEN:
1  Rachel JATEN                   USA  1:18:41
2  Liz ANIOS                      USA  1:29:32
3  Miki FUSAKO                    USA  1:32:39

18 JANUARY 2015: STANDARD CHARTERED MUMBAI MARATHON, INDIA

MEN:
1  Tesfaye ABERA                  ETH  2:09:46
2  Dereje DEBELE                  ETH  2:10:31
3  Luke KIBET                     KEN  2:10:57
4  Michael MUTAI                  KEN  2:14:31
5  Peter KOSGEI                   KEN  2:14:38
6  Shume HAILU                    ETH  2:15:04
7  Silas KIPRUTO                  KEN  2:15:37
8  Bernard ROTICH                 KEN  2:16:49
9  Bernard KIHANYA                KEN  2:16:59
10 Evans RUTO                     KEN  2:18:17

WOMEN:
1  Dinknesh MEKASH                ETH  2:30:00
2  Kumeshi SICHALA                ETH  2:30:56
3  Marta MEGRA                    ETH  2:31:45
4  Halima HUSSEN                  ETH  2:35:36
5  Radiya ADLO                    ETH  2:37:06
6  Zeytuna ARBA                   ETH  2:37:26
7  O P JAISHA                     IND  2:37:29
8  Lalita BABAR                   IND  2:38:21
9  Monica WANGARI                 KEN  2:42:12

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Indrajeet PATEL                IND  1:08:09
2  Atwa BHAGAT                    IND  1:08:11
3  Govind SINGH                   IND  1:08:14

WOMEN:
1  Kavita RAUT                    IND  1:19:50
2  Eve BUGLER                     IND  1:22:18
3  Supriya PATH                   IND  1:26:48

18 JANUARY 2015: MITJA MARATO VILA DE SANTA POLA, SPAIN

MEN:
1  Vincent YATOR                  KEN  1:00:15
2  Justus KANGOGO                 KEN  1:01:22
3  John Kipkorir MUTAI            KEN  1:03:04
4  Tom Mutie MWENDWA              KEN  1:03:16
5  Hassane AHOUCHAR               MAR  1:06:33
6  Emmanuel LEJEUNE               ESP  1:06:57
7  Mohamed BOUCETA                ESP  1:07:00
8  Alberto SUAREZ                 ESP  1:07:07
9  Julio DEL VAL GONZALEZ         ESP  1:07:11
10 Modestro ALVAREZ               ESP  1:07:17

WOMEN:
1  Georgina RONO                  KEN  1:11:02
2  Ednah KIMAIYO                  KEN  1:11:59
3  Anasatsia KUSHNIRENKO          RUS  1:16:56
4  Yamilka GONZALEZ               ESP  1:21:31
5  Maria Angeles MAGAN            ESP  1:22:17
6  Shiela SIMAO                   ESP  1:23:40
7  Brox SYNOVE                    NOR  1:23:44
8  Raqel LOPEZ                    ESP  1:23:55
9  Maria RAMIS                    ESP  1:24:45
10 Laura VILLAR                   ESP  1:24:51

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20 JANUARY 2015: CORRIDA DE SAO SEBASTIAO, BRAZIL

MEN:
1  Giovani DOS SANTOS             BRA  29:42
2  Fabiano JOSEPH                 TAN  29:45
3  Joseph Teofil PANGA            KEN  29:56
4  Edwin Kipsang ROTICH           KEN  30:08
5  Edwin Kiprop KIBET             KEN  30:21
6  Robson Pereira DE LIMA         BRA  30:31
7  Antonio Wilson Sosa LIMA       BRA  30:34
8  Rafael Santos DE NOVAIS        BRA  30:39
9  Cosme Ancelmo DE SOUSA         BRA  30:47
10 Eliezer De Jesus SANTOS        BRA  30:51

WOMEN:
1  Delvin Relin MELINGOR          KEN  33:50
2  Nancy Jepkosgei KIPROP         KEN  34:11
3  Joziane Cardoso DA SILVA       BRA  34:24
4  Failuna Abdi MATANGA           KEN  34:52
5  Natalia Elisante SULLE         BRA  35:13
6  Adriana Aparecida DA SILVA     BRA  35:34
7  Roselaine Souza Ramos BENITE   BRA  36:55
8  Viviane Amorm FIGUEIREDO       BRA  36:59
9  Rejane Ester Bispo DA SILVA    BRA  37:12
10 Caroline Jepkemei KIMOSOP      KEN  37:35

5km
MEN:
1  Paulo Machado DOS SANTOS       BRA  15:21
2  Adair Jose HENRIQUES           BRA  15:56
3  Felipe Henrique FERNANDES      BRA  16:06

WOMEN:
1  Solange Maria MARIANO          BRA  19:31
2  Amanda Aparecida DE OLIVEIRA   BRA  19:39
3  Maria De Lourdes DA SILVA      BRA  20:44

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25 JANUARY 2015: DISA GRAN CANARIA MARATHON, SPAIN

MEN:
1  Pahris KIMANI                  KEN  2:14:39
2  Julius KORIR                   KEN  2:14:56
3  Henry CHERONO                  KEN  2:22:51
4  Adislson Fortes SPENCER             2:27:10
5  Yari MUNYARADZI                     2:30:26
6  Maciek MIERECZKO               POL  2:30:28
7  Mulugeta SERBESSA              ETH  2:31:21
8  Danilson Silva PEREIRA              2:33:22
9  Stefan VANDENBROECK            NED  2:35:02
10 Miguel Angel VAQUERO           ESP  2:36:45

WOMEN:
1  Sasho INSERMU                  ETH  2:34:56
2  Tanith MAXWELL                 RSA  2:39:43
3  Aroa Merino BETANCOR           ESP  2:43:56
4  Beshadu BEKELE                 ETH  2:46:34
5  Philippa TAYLOR                GBR  2:55:54
6  Johanna NILSSON                SWE  3:01:21
7  Mari Del Pilar RAMOS           ESP  3:14:23
8  Angela DE POI                       3:17:33
9  Anita ERHARDT                  GER  3:20:12
10 Heini PAPINSAARI               FIN  3:21:17

HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1  Jose Carlos HERNANDEZ          ESP  1:04:32
2  Pablo VILALOBOS                ESP  1:04:46
3  Nelson Epifano NIEVES          ESP  1:06:29

WOMEN:
1 Daniela RYF                     ESP  1:18:20 
2  Patricia DIAZ                  ESP  1:20:45
3  Tamara SANFABIO                ESP  1:21:50

25 JANUARY 2015: MARATON INT'L DE CULIACAN, MEXICO

MEN:
1  Benjamin KIPLIMO               KEN  2:19:00
2  Mathew Kipruto KANGOGO         KEN  2:35:11
3  Candido AYALA                  MEX  2:36:46
4  Remmigio Angel CARERA          MEX  2:38:23
5  Roman GARCIA                   MEX  2:38:40
6  Abel GARCIA                    MEX  2:40:14
7  Paul Alberto TREJO             MEX  2:40:30
8  Daniel Pastrana HERNANDEZ      MEX  2:46:09
9  Valentin GONZALEZ              MEX  2:51:25
10 Desiderio XOCONTECATL          MEX  2:52:39

WOMEN:
1  Hyvon NGETICH                  KEN  2:53:54
2  Maria Guadalupe SANTANA        MEX  2:54:28
3  Agnes Jepchumba CHELEGAT       KEN  2:59:01
4  Claudia JUAREZ                 MEX  3:00:19
5  Maria Luisa SANCHEZ            MEX  3:05:44
6  Anahi RIVERA                   MEX  3:10:32
7  Margarita REYNOSO              MEX  3:11:11
8  Irma PEREZNEGRON               MEX  3:29:29
9  Maria Magdalena CASTREJON      MEX  3:31:04
10 Blanca Estela ACOSTA           MEX  3:34:19

25 JANUARY 2015: CORRIDA FIM DA EUROPA (16.??km), PORTGAL

MEN:
1  Bruno LORENCO                  POR  1:00:09
2  Mario FERREIRA                 POR  1:00:46
3  Tiago LOUSA                    POR  1:01:45
4  Vitor OLIVEIRA                 POR  1:03:14
5  Rodrigo NOIVO                  POR  1:04:19
6  Joao JORGE                     POR  1:04:29
7  Ricardo CABO                   POR  1:05:18
8  Enric GOMEZ                    ESP  1:05:50
9  Joao INNOCENCIO                POR  1:05:59
10 Ricardo SILVA                  POR  1:05:59

WOMEN:
1  Sandra TEIXEIRA                POR  1:11:46
2  Laura SANZBELLO                ESP  1:13:01
3  Chantal XHERVELLE              FRA  1:13:48
4  Patricia RIVOTTI               ITA  1:14:58
5  Sheila MARQUES                 POR  1:16:45
6  Mariana MOREIRA                POR  1:16:54
7  Teresa FARINA                  POR  1:16:54
8  Isabel SILVA                   POR  1:18:17
9  Ana DUARTE                     POR  1:18:34
10 Sara MARINHO                   POR  1:19:05

25 JANUARY 2015: STANDARD CHARTERED HONG KONG MARATHON

Hong Kong Marathon

North Korea's Kim Hye Gyong beat the otherwise all-conquering East Africans, won the Asian championship being run concurrently and put herself in line for selection for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing this summer writes Pat Butcher. Once 22-year old Kim made a break at 30km on a relatively cool (15–18°C), but windy and humid morning, it became clear that no one was going to catch her. She went on to win by over two minutes.

Hong Kong Marathon

The men's runaway leader, Shingo Igarashi of Japan was overtaken by the East African pack at 32km. Sentayehu Merga only got the better of Ethiopian compatriot, Fikre Assefa in the final kilometre. Former world junior cross and 10,000m champion Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba, who led the chase for Igarashi, couldn't hold the Ethiopians in the final stages but so tight was the pack then that the top 10 finished within 50 seconds. Igarashi, who makes a habit of leading early in marathons, finished outside the top ten, but his effort was good enough to win the Asian men's title.

The Pyongyang Marathon, held in the North Korean capital in April, serves as the selection race for the world championships. But North Korean team officials accompanying Kim in Hong Kong said that since she had won Pyongyang last year, and finished eighth in the previous world championships in Moscow in 2013, this victory might prove sufficient to warrant her pre-selection for Beijing.

Kim's twin sister Kim Hye Song, who was second in Pyongyang last year, was unable to compete because of a hamstring injury. The Kim twins originate from Sariwon City, in north Hwanghae province in the DPRK, and began running at middle school when they were 14. After showing early promise they transferred to Pyongyang two years later and have been part of the distance running squad since then.

MEN:
1  Senteyehu MERGA                ETH  2:13:00
2  Fikre ASSEFA                   ETH  2:13:05
3  R Kipkorir KIPCHUMBA           KEN  2:13:07
4  J Kiplimo MASEI                KEN  2:13:13
5  Abdisa SORI                    ETH  2:13:16
6  Gosa GIRMA                     ETH  2:13:30
7  Tefera WEGAYEHU                ETH  2:13:32
8  Felix KANGOGO                  KEN  2:13:36
9  Josphat CHOBEI                 KEN  2:13:37
10 Elias KEMBOI                   KEN  2:13:50

WOMEN:
1  Hye Gyong KIM                  PRK  2:31:46
2  Meskerem ASSEFA                ETH  2:33:57
3  Tsehay DESALEGN                ETH  2:34:06
4  Letebhran GEBRSELASEA          ETH  2:34:11
5  Rael KIYARA                    KEN  2:34:22
6  Rehima KEDIR                   ETH  2:34:53
7  Serkalem TAYE                  ETH  2:35:13
8  Zehara KEDIR                   ETH  2:36:04
9  Mi Gyong KIM                   PRK  2:36:08
10 Fridah JEPKITE                 KEN  2:38:00

ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
MEN:
1  Shingo IGARASHI                JPN  2:14:29
2  Chol PAK                       PRK  2:16:09
3 Olonbayar JAMSRAN               MGL  2:22:49

WOMEN:
1 Hye Gyong KIM                   PRK  2:31:46
2 Mi Gyong KIM                    PRK  2:36:08
3 Gulzhanat ZHANATBEK             KZK  2:38:36

25 JANUARY 2015: KHON KAEN INT'L MARATHON, THAILAND

MEN:
1  Alex MELLY                     KEN  2:22:42
2  Charles Kimutai KIGEN          KEN  2:23:20
3  Gemechu Bedilu ALEMU           ETH  2:24:17
4  John Kiprop SAMOEI             KEN  2:25:32
5  Tadese Getu GUDISA             ETH  2:25:35
6  Onesmus MUINDI                 KEN  2:27:17
7  Henrik JANNVBORG               SWE  2:27:26
8  Hillary Kipkeny KOECH          KEN  2:28:04
9  Daniel Negussie KASSAHUNE      ETH  2:28:34
10 Bernard Mwendia MUTHONI        KEN  2:28:46

WOMEN:
1  Rahel Kebede SHIFERAW          ETH  2:49:12
2  Viola Jepchirchit KIMELI       KEN  2:59:20
3  Gladys Jepchirchir CHERUIYOT   KEN  3:00:11
4  Sally Chelagat KIPYEGO         KEN  3:04:42
5  Dorcas Jebotip TARUS           KEN  3:11:47
6  unknown                        THA  3:22:11
7  Kun KUSUWAN                    THA  3:26:42

HALF MARATHON:
MEN:
1  Gideon KIPKEMBOI               KEN  1:04:03
2  Zablon Kipngetich ROTICH       KEN  1:04:37
3  Silas GICHOVI                  KEN  1:04:46

WOMEN:
1  Senayit Yirga WELDEMARYAM      ETH  1:17:35
2  Mary KIGURU                    KEN  1:18:56
3  Jackline NZIVO                 KEN  1:19:45

25 JANUARY 2015: OSAKA INT'L WOMEN'S MARATHON, JAPAN

After passing 5km in 17:05, race favourite Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko, going for a hat-tick of victories in Osaka, started to push the pace and began to leave the pack behind writes Ken Nakamura. After 8km, while Yuko Watanabe drifted back, Risa Shigetomo started to bridge the gap and caught Gamera, both passing 10km in 33:41, with the chase pack nine seconds behind. With Shigetomo making the pace and Gamera on her shoulder, they passed 15km (50:37) 53 seconds up and had increased this to 1:08 at 20km. But after Halfway (1:11:15) Shigetomo started to drop back so that by 25km Gamera had a lead of 24 seconds with Jelena Prokopkuka in third and Chieko Kido in fourth. Prokopcuka caught Shigetomo just after 30km to go into second place. The only further change in top positions was when Watanabe, running strongly in the final stages, worked her way back up to fourth place.

WOMEN (ONLY):
1  Tetiana GAMERA-SCHMYRKO        UKR  2:22:09
2  Jelena PROKOPCUKA              LAT  2:24:07
3  Risa SHIGETOMO                 JPN  2:26:39
4  Yuko WATANABE                  JPN  2:28:36
5  Chieko KIDO                    JPN  2:29:08
6  Rika SHINTAKU                  JPN  2:29:27
7  Mari OZAKI                     JPN  2:29:56
8  Yukiko OKUNO                   JPN  2:32:41

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