Kenya Runner Ruth Hepngeti Wins First Place Two Years In a Row
The Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2023 was held Sunday and organizers announced the official results of 300 participants with Ruth Hepngeti, Kenya, taking first place with a time of 2:18:08, 50 seconds slower than her record time in 2022. Second and third place winners respectively were Ayuko Suzuki, Tokyo, at 2:21:52, and Honami Maeda, Okayama, 2:22:32, giving both new personal best times.
Conditions were excellent for running with an average temperature of 20˚C and clear skies which helped many runners achieve new personal best times. The course which started and finished in Vandelin Dome Nagoya, took runners past some of Nagoya’s top spots, such as Nagoya City Museum, Nagoya Castle, Mirai Tower, and City Hall.
The top athlete from an English speaking country was invited runner Isobel Batt-Doyle, Australia, at 10th place with a time of 2:27:54, beating her previous best time set in Melbourne at 2:28:10 last year.
The top eight finishers received cash prizes, with the first place prize of 250,000 yen. All 300 professional finishers received other prizes including a Tiffany designed medallion.