Today, two high-profile marathon events were held in Japan, namely the 78thMarugame Half Marathon and the 74thBeppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon.

The former featured Chinese runner Jia Erenjia, while the latter included Asahi Kuroda from Aoyama Gakuin University.

Leading the field wasthe Marugame Half Marathon in Kagawa. Last year the race produced Japan's fastest half-marathon time, Tomoki Ota 59:27. Komazawa University's Kotaro Shinohara ran 59:30, also faster than the previous Japanese record. It was also the first time an Asian runner ran a half in under one hour.

At this year's race, Richard Etir of Tokyo International University won in 59:07, breaking the course record and setting a personal best. To deliver that performance in windy conditions proves he is truly Japan's top collegiate runner.

The third-place Uruguayan Santiago Catrofe, ran 1 hour and 21 seconds, setting the Uruguayan national half marathon record.

The fastest Japanese was Hiroya Ogikubo, with a time of 1 hour and 22 seconds, and as many as 21 Japanese runners posted net times under 61 minutes.

Jia Erenjia ran the first 5 km in 14 minutes 15 seconds, but then slowed, ultimately finishing in 1:03:08 in 143rd place, recording the second-fastest half marathon of his professional career.

On the women's side, Kenyan runner Omare Dolphine Nyaboke won the women's title, in 1:06:15. British runner (Eilish McColgan) finished second in 1:07:08 and Japanese runner Kana Kobayashi finished fifth in 1:09:28.

At 12:00 local time the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon got underway. It drew attention thanks to the presence of Aoyama Gakuin University graduate Yuya Yoshida and a contingent of current students including Asahi Kuroda.

After a fierce battle, Li-Ning-sponsored athlete Masresha Getachew won in 2:06:49.

The overall runner-up and top Japanese finisher was Yuya Yoshida, with a time of 2:06:59. Asahi Kuroda took third in 2:07:03.

Fourth: Sota Fukutani — 2:07:11;

Fifth: Ohito Inoue — 2:07:36;

Sixth: Junshi Koga — 2:07:46;

Seventh: Ichita Tameike — 2:07:59, fifth-fastest ever among students and a Chuo University record;

9th: 聞谷賢人 2:08:17;

10th: 白川陽大 2:08:48.

At the same time, the top six Japanese runners qualified for the MGC.