Japan's two major April marathons returned Sunday for the first time since pre-pandemic, both smaller than usual but a welcome step forward even as other races this summer and beyond continue to cancel. The Nagano Marathon saw an exciting men's race with local amateur Junichi Ushiyama surging hard with 5 km to go to break Akihiro Kaneko and Yuya Yamashita and win in a PB 2:14:42. Kaneko and Yamashita, who run for rival northern Tokyo supermarket chains Comodi Iida and Sunbelx , were head-to-head almost to the end before Kaneko broke free, taking 2nd in 2:15:22 to Yamashita's 2:15:26. The top nine men all went sub-2:20. Yamashita's teammate Akane Sekino led solo in the women's race , running 2:41:20 to win by almost three minutes over corporate leaguer Kasumi Yoshida of the Aichi Denki team, 2nd in 2:44:19. Tokyo-based club runner Asami Morino was 3rd in 2:44:35 with the top five women all sub-2:50. At the Kasumigaura Marathon , Kotaro Motonaga , a 4th-year...
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