January 2011
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1 JANUARY 2011: NEUJAHRSMARATHON, SWITZERLAND
![](images/2011/jan11_neujahrs1.jpg)
In this first Marathon of the year defending champion Dirk Joos could not keep up with the three leaders, who remained together until 25km. Then one of them, Lasloe Boden (GBR), attacked and only Rafael Wyss followed. However, Joos kept them in sight and he reduced the gap second by second. passing Richard Widmer (the third member of the original leading group) and catching up with Boden and Wyss. As he swept past it was Wyss who tried to keep up as Boden dropped back to eventually finish sixth. Wyss and Joos ran together until the last kilometre in which Joos then pulled out a 35-second advantage. Likewise, 38-year old Swiss Astrid Müller defended her women's title, and missed her own course record only by a few seconds.
MEN: 1 Dirk JOOS GER 2:51:27 2 Rafael WYSS SUI 2:52:02 3 Jorg SCHILLER GER 2:56:52 4 Bernard CYRUS USA 2:57:11 5 Richard WIDMER GER 2:57:19 6 Lazloe BODEN GBR 3:00:43 7 Alain HELFENSTEIN SUI 3:02:05 8 Adrian GROBLI SUI 3:02:29 9 John PARES GBR 3:04:26 10 Diego DI TOMA ITA 3:05:57 WOMEN: 1 Astrid MEULLER-AMSTAD SUI 3:15:53 2 Yvonne HUGELSHOFER SUI 3:28:44 3 Carmen HILDEBRAND GER 3:38:34 4 Kristina TILLE GER 3:40:59 5 Tanja WALTER GER 3:44:58 6 Karrie GREGSON CAN 3:50:19 7 Alice MODIGNANI ITA 4:00:27 8 Simona VOLFSCHUTZ CZE 4:03:33 9 Isabelle VARENNES SUI 4:06:34 10 Sandra WEINBERGER SUI 4:08:39 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 René BOUTELLIER SUI 1:18:00 2 Pascal BIRBAUM SUI 1:19:46 3 Richard STOFFEL SUI 1:20:03 WOMEN: 1 Elisabetta COMERO ITA 1:31:53 2 Lorenza DI GREGORIO ITA 1:34:30 3 Christina D'IGNAZIO SUI 1:36:13
2 JANUARY 2011: XIAMEN INT'L MARATHON, CHINA
On a crisp and windy morning, Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba broke the course record and set a new personal best. He improved from 2:09:54 and chopped 40 seconds off the old record. The women's race was disappointing in terms of times in the less-than-ideal conditions. Winners received $40,000 with Kipchumba collecting an additional $20,000 — $500 for each second he ran under the previous course record.
More than 62,000 runners from 40 countries and regions participated in the Marathon and the various races held with it.
MEN: 1 Robert Kipkorir KIPCHUMBA KEN 2:08:07 2 Mesfin Hailu LEMMA ETH 2:09:50 3 Alemayehu SHUMYE ETH 2:09:58 4 Gilbert Kiptoo CHEPKWONY KEN 2:10:19 5 Siraj GENA ETH 2:11:12 6 Zembaba YIGEZE ETH 2:11:13 7 Paul Kiprop KIRUI KEN 2:12:19 8 Negari Terfa GETACHEW ETH 2:18:18 9 Longfei YAN CHN 2:18:30 WOMEN: 1 Amane GOBENA ETH 2:31:49 2 Alemitu ABERA ETH 2:31:54 3 Jiali WANG CHN 2:32:00 4 Desta GIRMA ETH 2:32:10 5 Tabitha TSTATSA ZIM 2:34:00 6 Asha GIGI ETH 2:34:09 7 Lingling JIN CHN 2:34:10 8 Dehninet DEMAEW ETH 2:37:18
6 JANUARY 2011: TIBERIAS MARATHON, ISRAEL
MEN: 1 Stephen CHEMLANY KEN 2:10:02 2 Patrick WAHOME KEN 2:10:09 3 Julius MURIUKI KEN 2:10:11 4 Gidema Gebremedhin MIRACH ETH 2:10:15 5 Samson Kiptoo BUNGEI KEN 2:10:26 6 John Mutai KIPKORIR KEN 2:11:08 7 Johnstone Kibet MAIYO KEN 2:11:08 8 Jonathan CHESOO KEN 2:12:27 9 Pharis KIMANI KEN 2:12:35 10 Eric CHIRCHIR KEN 2:14:09 WOMEN: 1 Abeynesh SISAY ETH 2:44:31 2 Habtamnesh GASHAW ETH 2:48:45 3 Megra Woldesemayat BIKILA ETH 2:50:13 4 Emma JEPKOSGEI KEN 2:50:51 5 ISR 3:08:09 6 ISR 3:14:30 7 Hiroko OGAWA JPN 3:17:32 8 Erin BANK ISR 3:18:10
9 JANUARY 2011: MIZUNO HONG KONG HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN: 1 Ka Ho CHAN HKG 1:10:11 2 Thomas KIPROTICH KEN 1:10:15 3 Stefano PASSARELLO 1:11:25 4 Gi Kia MAN 1:11:26 5 Colin FISHWICK 1:13:35 6 Hok Lan YAI 1:13:43 7 Yiu Tik QUE 1:14:56 8 Ha Yin YUEN 1:15:26 9 Wang Keung WONG 1:15:30 10 Yiu Cheung WUN 1:15:34 WOMEN: 1 Chi Ngan CHOW HKG 1:22:56 2 Sui Ping WONG 1:24:11 3 Rebecca YAU 1:24:54 4 Kit Ching YIU 1:27:02 5 Sui Ping FAN 1:29:24 6 Ying Suet LEUNG 1:30:09 7 Kit Yee CHAN 1:30:42 8 Christine WANG 1:31:24 9 Ka King FAN 1:31:33 10 Pui Shan CHAN 1:31:36
16 JANUARY 2011: STANDARD CHARTERED MUMBAI MARATHON, INDIA
On a relatively cool — but still warm — Mumbai morning Ethiopians dominated the eighth edition of the Marathon with two close-run races resulting in course records. A large group of men stuck together well past halfway, and only dropped to half a dozen within the last 10km. Five men remained in contention as the race swept along Marine Drive, in the final 5km. Girma Assefa prevailed in a sustained drive for the finish line in front of the Chatrapati Shivaji World Heritage site in the centre of Mumbai. Assefa's time was almost two minutes faster than the previous course record.
The women broke the course record by an even larger margin, improving Mulu Seboka's previous time by over three minutes. A group of eight passed through halfway in 72:55, before most gradually dropped back from the group. The major influence was the exposed 4km-long Sealink section after 25km where, although the air temperature was still relatively low, the strength of the sun began to tell. Merima Mohamed and Koren Yal stuck together right through to the finish and sprinted the final hundred metres shoulder to shoulder. Only right before the line did Yal gain the crucial separation.
MEN: 1 Girma ASSEFA ETH 2:09:54 2 Botor WOLDE ETH 2:09:57 3 Patrick MURIUKI KEN 2:10:00 4 Tariku JUFAR ETH 2:10:08 5 Haile GEMEDA ETH 2:10:28 6 John KELAI KEN 2:11:05 7 Japhet KIPKORIR KEN 2:11:21 8 Justus KIPCHIRCHIR KEN 2:12:13 9 Dereje TULU ETH 2:12:44 10 Bernard ROTICH KEN 2:12:47 WOMEN: 1 Koren YAL ETH 2:26:56 2 Merima MOHAMED ETH 2:26:57 3 Elfenesh ALEMU ETH 2:29:04 4 Meseret LEGESSE ETH 2:32:05 5 Bizunesh URGESSA ETH 2:32:28 6 Makda HARUN ETH 2:32:28 7 Fatuma SADO ETH 2:33:39 8 Irene MOGAKA KEN 2:36:56 9 Meseret DEBELE ETH 2:38:26 10 Sisay MEASSO ETH 2:39:59
16 JANUARY 2011: BAHAMAS MARATHON
MEN: 1 Joel PETIT USA 3:23:19 2 David HOLMAN USA 3:23:33 3 Randy THURSTON USA 3:35:41 4 Lutz DABELSTEIN GER 3:37:30 5 Ronald ALBURY BAH 3:42:12 6 James BODIE BAH 3:42:18 7 Bill ALLAN CAN 3:47:59 8 David RAMIREZ BAH 3:48:25 9 Navin SADARANGANI JAM 3:52:03 10 Wojciech CIESZKOWSKI 3:54:42 WOMEN: 1 Simone MAISSENBACHER GER 3:02:39 2 Susan MAGUIRE BAH 3:29:50 3 Rhonda CLARIDGE USA 3:30:02 4 Cheryl LEVI CAN 3:49:42 5 Kathleen CHARBONNIER USA 4:05:54 6 Alison THOMPSON CAN 4:07:36 7 Kisha JOSIE USA 4:09:08 8 Selena DAVIS BAH 4:18:07 9 Shavaghn BLADES BAH 4:26:26 10 Leesa FOUNTAIN USA 4:26:47 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Carsten BRESSER GER 1:16:40 2 Oneal WILLIAMS BAH 1:20:05 3 Jason WILLIAMS BAH 1:24:07 WOMEN: 1 Kim PAWELEK USA 1:26:59 2 Marija BYRNE CAN 1:33:08 3 Ellen KEY BAH 1:35:06
16 JANUARY 2011: CHINA COAST MARATHON, HONG KONG
Hong Kong's oldest marathon celebrated its 31st edition organized by the Athletic Veterans of Hong Kong (AVOHK).
The race is held in Sai Kung Country Park, providing breathtaking vistas across the eastern coastline of the New Territories, with not a high rise in sight — a stark contrast to the metropolis of Hong Kong island.
Runners started in a comparatively chilly 9°C, but the temperature eventually warmed up 14°C, with humidity low at 50%.
This year's race attracted a record field, with 520 runners crossing the finish line, including John Lane, who has run and finished all 31 CCMs.
The course record of 2:35:35 has stood since 1981, set by Ron Hill and described by him at the time as the toughest marathon he had ever run.
The course uses the High Island Dams service roads and does take in several long climbs between the dams.
This year's race saw an extremely hard fought battle between Cheung Wai Kei and Yung Lit Chung, running shoulder to shoulder until the last climb 3km from home. There Cheung made his break, which he consolidated over the long downhill to the finish.
Catherine Leonard was an extremely popular women's winner. Along with her husband, Stuart, she was the race organiser. As in the men's race, the outcome was not decided until the final climb, when Catherine caught and passed Chan Pui Shan, who won the event in 2009 and was runner up in 2010.
MEN: 1 Wai Kai CHEUNG 2:58:58 2 Lit Cheung YUNG 3:00:22 3 Luen Pui WONG 3:05:38 4 Man Fai CHEUNG 3:07:00 5 Chen Sing FAN 3:07:09 6 Chi Man FONG 3:07:37 7 Chi Ming CHIU 3:09:50 8 Yun Kan LEUNG 3:10:04 9 Arnaud PICUT 3:10:14 10 Ching Fat SIN 3:10:31 WOMEN: 1 Catherine LEONARD 3:21:21 2 Pui Shan CHAN 3:24:44 3 So Han HO 3:27:48 4 Wiwin LEUNG 3:34:53 5 Pu Yi LI 3:36:04 6 Sui Pik POON 3:44:53 7 Titania Ka Wing LI 3:50:21 8 Shuk Yi TSE 3:53:22 9 Li Man LAM 3:53:44 10 Anita Sy FUNG 3:55:11 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Adam HORVATH 1:16:37 2 Martin KENNARD 1:17:26 3 Thomas BOOTH 1:19:15 WOMEN: 1 Claire CHAPMAN 1:35:20 2 Suk-Fun Cindy MA 1:37:06 3 Lai-Yin Flora CHEUNG 1:37:50
16 JANUARY 2011: RUN KINMEN MARATHON, CHINESE TAIPEI
MEN: 1 Peter Kiprotich CHERUS KEN 2:19:22 2 Lawrence Kiptoo SAINA KEN 2:20:49 3 ?? TPE 2:20:51 4 James TALLAM KEN 2:25:01 5 Sammy Kiprop KIPTOO KEN 2:30:17 WOMEN: 1 Viola Chepleting BOR KEN 2:40:56 2 Emily Perpetua CHEPKORIR KEN 2:43:17
20 JANUARY 2011: CORRIDA DE SAO SEBASTIAO 10KM, BRAZIL
MEN: 1 Damiao Ancelmo DE SOUZA BRA 29:55 2 Giovani DOS SANTOS BRA 30:06 3 Jose Leao DA SILVA BRA 30:26 4 Gilmar Silvestre LOPES BRA 30:59 5 Gilberto Silvestre LOPES BRA 31:08 6 Jose Ricardo DA SILVA BRA 31:16 7 Eliezer de Jesus SANTOS BRA 31:27 8 Clodoaldo Azvedo DA SILVA BRA 31:44 9 Valerio Da Souza FABIANO BRA 32:03 10 Elieso Miranda DA SILVA BRA 32:08 WOMEN: 1 Marily DOS SANTOS BRA 34:59 2 Maurine Jelegat KIPCHUMBA KEN 36:10 3 Adriana Aparecida DA SILVA BRA 36:29 4 Rosangela Pereira FARIA BRA 36:54 5 Maria Alves MORAES BRA 37:31 6 Adriana Rosa Pereira DA SILVA BRA 38:10 7 Juliana Paula DA SOUZA BRA 38:16 8 Vianca Pereira ZEBALLOS BRA 38:22 9 Viviana Amorim FIGUEIREDO BRA 38:40 10 Gisele Eliveira RIBEIRO BRA 39:53 5KM MEN: 1 Nelio Marcos DURSO BRA 16:12 2 Thiago Martins DA SILVA BRA 16:24 3 Amauri Jose DOS SANTOS BRA 16:31 WOMEN: 1 Jessica Ladeira SOARES BRA 19:02 2 Juliana TRINIDADE BRA 19:54 3 Regina Wajcman LISBOA BRA 20:23
21 JANUARY 2011: STANDARD CHARTERED DUBAI MARATHON, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
![](images/jan11_dubai2.jpg)
A torrid early pace put paid to a really fast time writes Pat Butcher. After three consecutive victories for the most famous marathoner in the world, Haile Gebrselassie, it was the relatively unknown David Barmasai of Kenya who won.
The women's race was won by Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia, two days short of her 26th birthday. She ran just three seconds outside the course record. Each winner collected $250,000 in prize money. In third place Isabella Andersson set a new Swedish national record.
On a temperate morning for the Emirate, just 21°C with low humidity, it was a strong headwind in the second half of the race that robbed Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia of the women's course record. She won, five seconds outside her best.
![](images/jan11_dubai1.jpg)
The men took off in assault of Gebrselassie's world record, a group of 20, including race favourite Eliud Kiptanui of Kenya were within reach for the first 15km (44:38). By halfway (62.46) the possibility had already gone, as had nearly half the contenders.
Shortly afterwards, pacemaker Stephen Kibet only had Kiptanui and Barmasai for company, and when Kibet throttled back at his allotted 30km Kiptanui shot away. The race looked settled, but the 21-year old suddenly clutched his side less than a kilometre later and dropped out, leaving Barmasai to struggle through the final kilometres alone. Despite his pace dropping the 33-year old had done sufficient damage to his pursuers, to maintain a minute advantage by the end. After two years of injury following his win in Chicago Evans Cheruiyot rallied into the headwind, and finished second, relegating Ethiopian Eshetu Wendimu to a third consecutive third place here.
After winning a bronze medal in the IAAF World Championships in Berlin 18 months ago, Mergia said that she suffered, a lot of leg problems. They were still evident when she finished clutching her left thigh, which went into spasm immediately afterwards. She eased away from Lydia Cheromei with 2km to run but later said that it wasn't until another kilometre later that she knew she would win. Cheromei clocked a personal best by close to three minutes.
MEN: 1 David BARMASAI KEN 2:07:18 2 Evans CHERUYIOT KEN 2:08:17 3 Eshetu WENDIMU ETH 2:08:54 4 Deressa CHIMSA ETH 2:09:08 5 Stephen KOSGEI KEN 2:09:27 6 Berhanu BEKELE ETH 2:09:54 7 Emanuel SAMAL KEN 2:10:27 8 Adil ANANNI MAR 2:11:15 9 Dereje TESFAYE ETH 2:13:26 10 Alebachaw DEBAS ETH 2:13:39 WOMEN: 1 Aselefech MERGIA ETH 2:22:45 2 Lydia CHEROMEI KEN 2:23:01 3 Isabella ANDERSSON SWE 2:23:41 4 Atsede HABTAMU ETH 2:24:26 5 Atsede BAYISA ETH 2:25:08 6 Diana CHEPKEMOI KEN 2:26:53 7 Genet GETANEH ETH 2.27:13 8 Werknesh KIDANE ETH 2:27:15 9 Helena KIROP KEN 2:27:41 10 Feysa BORU ETH 2:30:23
23 JANUARY 2011: KHON KAEN INTERNATIONAL MARATHON, THAILAND
MEN: 1 Kennedy Kiprono LILAN KEN 2:16:44 2 Eliud Kipchanga CHEPTAI KEN 2:16:49 3 David KIPRNO KEN 2:18:05 4 Frederick MATHIU KEN 2:18:52 5 Elisha KIPCHUMBA KEN 2:20:55 6 Edwin Kiprono KIPCHUMBA KEN 2:21:14 7 Amos Kipchirchir BORE KEN 2:23:51 8 Francis KIPROP KEN 2:24:11 9 Edwin Kibor KIPTANUI KEN 2:24:27 10 Joseph NGARE KEN 2:26:36 WOMEN: 1 Fridah LODEPA KEN 2:40:50 2 Jacquline NYEPITEI KEN 2:40:58 3 Immaculate CHEMUTAI KEN 2:44:42 4 Eunice Mwango ORWARU KEN 2:47:23 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Kipchumba KIPROP KEN 1:05:10 2 Josphat KIPTANUI KEN 1:06:56 3 Moses KANDIE KEN 1:07:19 WOMEN: 1 Dorcas CHESANG KEN 1:14:10
23 JANUARY 2011: MAUI OCEANFRONT MARATHON, USA
MEN: 1 Justin GILLETTE USA 2:35:39 2 Michael WOOD USA 2:48:50 3 Jon MCGONAGLE USA 2:49:11 4 Gyorgy GALANTAI HUN 2:56:19 5 Pascal SPINO CAN 2:58:27 6 Gary KRUGGER USA 2:59:00 7 Remy GULRIN CAN 3:00:33 8 Brian HAYES USA 3:00:34 9 Sam WILBUR USA 3:04:43 10 Louis COTE USA 3:07:13 WOMEN: 1 Rachel ROSS USA 3:20:50 2 Tomoko FUKUSHIMA JPN 3:25:47 3 Regina JOYCE USA 3:30:36 4 Theresa GERRY USA 3:34:03 5 Amy STEELE USA 3:38:10 6 Stephanie ARANGO USA 3:40:56 7 Laura MACLEAN USA 3:46:44 8 Patricia ALBERT USA 3:48:25 9 Odette FORTIN CAN 3:48:39 10 Lori TOOMBS CAN 3:53:47 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 James SHEREMETA USA 1:19:25 2 Jamie LOPEZ USA 1:20:07 3 Jason GULLEY USA 1:20:18 WOMEN: 1 Bree WEE USA 1:24:29 2 Rachel JATEN USA 1:28:43 3 Lindsey WILBUR USA 1:29:12
23 JANUARY 2011: MITJA MARATO INT'L DE SANTA POLA, SPAIN
MEN: 1 Azmeraw BEKELE ETH 1:00:32 2 Joseph Kiptoo BIRECH KEN 1:00:40 3 Robert KIPKORIR KEN 1:03:05 4 David KILEL KEN 1:04:31 5 Luis Miguel Martin BERLANAS ESP 1:05:35 6 Ivan Galan BARDERA ESP 1:05:36 7 Juan Cuadrillero BARRANCO ESP 1:05:49 8 Fredrik UHRBOM SUI 1:06:19 9 Andres Mico MARTINEZ ESP 1:06:25 10 Francisco Ballaster MURCIA ESP 1:07:11 WOMEN: 1 Rakiya EL MOUKIM MAR 1:11:49 2 Rita JEPTOO KEN 1:12:02 3 Esther Hildago GARCIA ESP 1:14:06 4 Ma Jose de Toro SAIZ ESP 1:15:54 5 Watiya BENALI ESP 1:19:57 6 Beatriz Molina BAILEN ESP 1:21:00 7 Ma Angela Tetuan ALBELDA ESP 1:21:56 8 Ines Acena HERNANDEZ ESP 1:22:09 9 Sandra Bravo LAGUNA ESP 1:22:10 10 Eva Ruiz PIQUERAS ESP 1:22:28
23 JANUARY 2011: VADODARA HALF MARATHON, INDIA
MEN: 1 Bamzmtebe KEW ETH 1:01:02 2 Tesfaye GIRMA ETH 1:04:03 3 ATSEDU ETH 1:05:04 WOMEN: 1 Berhane ABABEL ETH 1:09:00 2 Merima HASHIM ETH 1:09:50 3 Genet ADEKE ETH 1:11:18
23 JANUARY 2011: TAINAN ANCIENT CAPITAL MARATHON, CHINESE TAIPEI
MEN: 1 Elijah Muturi KARANJA KEN 2:31:37 WOMEN: 1 Caroline Chemutai KOMEN KEN 2:50:36 2 Irene Cherop LOITARENG KEN 2:54:26
23 JANUARY 2011: MARATON INT'L DE CULIACAN, MEXICO
MEN: 1 Mark Kipkosgei CHEPSES KEN 2:23:10 2 Peter Omae AYIENI KEN 2:23:27 3 Festus Kikumu KIOKO KEN 2:23:59 4 Miguel Leon ACOLTZI MEX 2:29:27 5 Jackson Kipngok YEGON KEN 2:30:31 6 Hetor Cesa Martinez RAMIREZ MEX 2:32:38 7 Abraham Mendivil RUIZ MEX 2:34:39 8 Remigio Angel Carera SALAS MEX 2:35:54 9 Valentin Gonzalez ROJAS MEX 2:40:06 WOMEN: 1 Pauline WANJIRU KEN 2:56:12 2 Margarita eynoso VAZQUEZ MEX 3:06:31 3 Maria Rodriguez FONSECA MEX 3:07:32 4 Cristina Ruiz AGUILERA MEX 3:26:17 5 Soledad Hernandez HERNANDEZ MEX 3:33:43 6 Blanca Esthela ACOSTA MEX 3:40:27
28 JANUARY 2011: EGYPTIAN MARATHON
MEN: 1 Mahmoud AWAD EGY 2:43:50 2 Dave OLSON USA 3:05:58 3 Kossenas IOANNIS GRE 3:06:45 WOMEN: 1 Wilma VAN ONNA NED 2:56:01 2 Cassanda HUNT AUS 3:32:02 3 Karlijn ROEST NED 3:38:01 RAMSES RUN 22.3km MEN: 1 Abdullah Abd EL AZZIZ KSA 1:06:20 2 Mokhlid AL OTAIBI KSA 1:06:33 3 Bayazid FAYSAL GER 1:26:32 WOMEN: 1 Claudia WOLFARTH GER 1:40:01 2 Julia PRESTRIDGE GBR 1:51:07 3 Kathleen SHEPPARD USA 1:52:18
30 JANUARY 2011: OSAKA INT'L WOMEN'S MARATHON, JAPAN
Photo: Agence SHOT
![](images/jan11_osaka1.jpg)
Surging away from Mai Ito just before the 39km Yukiko Akaba won the 30th Osaka Women's Marathon writes Ken Nakamura. Times were slow due to strong winds that shifted into headwinds in the second half so although Akaba won she was unable to crack the World Championships qualifying time of 2:26 (for the Japanese team).
The initial lead pack of nine runners was reduced to six (Akaba, Ito, Ryoko Kizaki, Chika Horie and Yoko and Hiroko Miyauchi) by 15km. The initial pace was around 2:24, but this proved too fast for the windy conditions. The final pacemaker, Hungary's Aniko Kalovics dropped out at 25km and Ito, running in only her second marathon, took the lead. Akaba and Kizaki covered her move but Horie and the Miyauchi twins were left behind. Horie soon joined the leaders — Ito, Akaba and Kizaki — and the four stayed together until 30km. Horie then made her move and Kizaki fell behind, but Horie was next to go around 33.5km, leaving Akaba and Ito to fight it out. Their duel continued until 38.7km when Akaba made the decisive move. I wanted to go between 30 and 35km, but the wind was just too strong, said race favourite Akaba, who is planning to chase a faster time in the London Marathon.
After the race Akaba kept emphasizing the strong head wind in the last half of the course, which mostly heads south to Nagai stadium, the venue of 2007 World Championships. Last year, Akaba was forced to drop out around the 39th kilometre so this year's race was redemption for Akaba. Ito's second place gave her a personal best by more than two minutes. Horie held on for third, while Anna Incerti of Italy ran a very smart race and finished fourth with a 2:27:33 personal best. She was eighth at 25km but moved up steadily, to fifth by 35km, and then fourth around 36km to improve her personal best by nine seconds.
1 Yukiko AKABA JPN 2:26:29 2 Mai ITO JPN 2:26:55 3 Chika HORIE JPN 2:27:26 4 Anna INCERTI ITA 2:27:33 5 Ryoko KIZAKI JPN 2:29:35 6 Mika OKUNAGA JPN 2:30:36 7 Adriana PIRTEA ROM 2:32:44 8 Yoko MIYAUCHI JPN 2:36:43 9 Svetlana ZAKHAROVA RUS 2:36:56 10 Hiroko MIYAUCHI JPN 2:38:31 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Naoto MORIMOTO JPN 1:04:39 2 Osamu IBATA JPN 1:05:06 3 Yusuke KATAOKA JPN 1:05:16 WOMEN: 1 Shiori HAYASHIDA JPN 1:15:18 2 Risa HAGIWARA JPN 1:15:42 3 Chihiro TANAKA JPN 1:17:34
30 JANUARY 2011: MARATHON INT'L DE MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
![](images/jan11_marrakech1.jpg)
MEN: 1 Girma Beyene GEZAHN ETH 2:10:22 2 Shumi Gerbaba ETISHA ETH 2:11:08 3 Mourad MAAROFIT MAR 2:11:20 4 David TONIOK KEN 2:11:44 5 Urige Arabo BUTA NOR 2:11:47 6 Berhanu Shiferaw TOLCHA ETH 2:12:12 7 Hailu Abebe DOGAGA ETH 2:12:47 8 Hassan BELKAINOUCH MAR 2:13:00 9 Abunejnedi SULTAN ETH 2:15:07 10 Gosa Tadesse YIRGU ETH 2:15:38 WOMEN: 1 Wudnesh Nega DEBELE ETH 2:37:00 2 Soumia LABANI MAR 2:37:08 3 Demsem Dehinet JARA ETH 2:39:34 4 Gadisa Fita MERGERSA ETH 2:39:41 5 Bayush Abebe SHIFERAW ETH 2:42:29 6 Aselefech TEFERA ETH 2:44:07 7 Meriam KHALI MAR 2:46:26 8 Khadija EL AARIBI MAR 2:49:12 9 Amina MHIH MAR 2:49:15 10 Fatima BIDAYA MAR 2:50:47 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Muluget WENDIMU ETH 1:02:00 2 Kennedy KIMUTAI KEN 1:02:05 3 Mostafa EL AZIZ MAR 1:02:09 WOMEN: 1 Asmae LEGHZAOUI MAR 1:10:47 2 Kareema YASIN BRN 1:11:06 3 Samir RAIF MAR 1:11:10