Shimahara, Njenga Hokkaido marathon champs

Asian Games silver medallist Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan won the Hokkaido marathon on Sunday with Kenya's Daniel Njenga taking the men's title.

Shimahara, whose previous best finishes were second in the 2004 Tokyo and 2005 Hokkaido marathons, pulled away from teammate Akemi Ozaki at the 12-km mark and crossed the finishing line in two hours 25 minutes and 10 seconds.

Ozaki was never in a position to challenge Shimahara's lead and had to settle for second place in 2:27:23, ahead of Satoko Uetani in 2:33:55.

"I feel relieved that I finally won a race," said Shimahara after setting a new personal best and meet record.

Njenga upped his pace after passing the 10km point and finished in 2:12:03, beating Japan's Ryo Yamamoto into second in 2:12:10 and Laban Kagika of Kenya into third in 2:12:24.

Njenga was at one point sitting on a more than 30-second lead, but Yamamoto and Kagika steadily closed the gap in the last two kilometre.

AFP