Kato, Herrick and Okamoto Lead Ome 30 km Elite Field

One of the Tokyo area's most popular races, the Ome 30 km and 10 km Road Race has long had a relationship with the U.S.A.'s Boston Marathon with top-placing runners from each event being invited to the other. For the first time in recent memory Ome will bring an American woman instead of a man. Off a 2:34:53 in Boston last year Danna Herrick will face 2015 Rotterdam Marathon winner and two-time Ome champ Asami Kato (Panasonic) and, fresh from a win at Sunday's Osaka Half Marathon, Maki Ashi (Kyudenko) in her 30 km debut.

On the men's side 2:12 marathoner Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) and the Koichi Morishita-coached Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) top the bill. Track specialist Naohiro Domoto (JR Higashi Nihon) and university men Daisuke Horiai (Komazawa University) and Kota Oki (Waseda University) round out the invited athlete list with their 30 km debuts, with deeper competition to be expected at the front end of the general division.

The top Japanese female and male finishers will join John Hancock Elite Athlete Team members Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki), 2018 Katsuta Marathon winners Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) and Kansuke Morihashi (Raffine), and others in the biggest and strongest Japanese contingent in Boston in decades.

52nd Ome 30 km Road Race

Ome, Tokyo, 2/18/18
click here for complete field listing
times listed are best within last three years except where noted

Women
Asami Kato (Panasonic) - 2:26:30 (Rotterdam 2015)
Danna Herrick (U.S.A.) - 2:34:53a (Boston 2017)
Maki Ashi (Kyudenko) - 1:11:12 (Nat'l Corp Half 2017)

Men
Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:12:56 (Beppu-Oita 2015)
Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:31:16 (Kumanichi 30 km 2016)
Daisuke Horiai (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:53 (Ageo City Half 2017)
Naohiro Domoto (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:04:22 (Nat'l Univ Half 2010)
Kota Oki (Waseda Univ.) - 1:06:00 (Nat'l Univ Half 2017)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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