It was noted that the women’s race does not have an elite field.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Michael Githae will kickstart his season at the Nagano Marathon scheduled for Sunday, April 23.
Githae is the fastest in the men’s elite field with a personal best time of 2:07:28, a time he ran to settle for third place at the 2022 Fukuoka Marathon.
He will be the only Kenyan fighting for top honours in the star-studded field that has also attracted four runners with sub 2:09:00 performances.
Japan’s Kento Nishi will be lining up as the second fastest in the field with a PB of 2:08:11. The 24-year-old has already competed two races this year and will pose as a threat to Githae’s chances of taking top honours despite the dismal show in both events.
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Omanyala will be lining up as the fastest in the field with a personal best time of 9.77, the African record time.
He ran at the Yamaguchi Half Marathon where he settled for 18th place in 1:01:52 and went on to place 19th at the Osaka Marathon.
He will enjoy the company of fellow Japanese’s Kensuke Horio and Daisuke Hosomori who are placed third and fourth respectively. Horio lines up with a PB of 2:08:25 and he placed 44th at this year’s Tokyo Marathon. Hosomori has a life time best of 2:08:28.
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Kipruto will be keen to make the cut to the national team for the World Championships.
Another elite athlete in the field will be Japan’s Kenji Yamamoto who has a PB of 2:08:38.
It was noted that the women’s race does not have an elite field.