The winners of the 2026 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Sunday are Kenyan Richard Etir, with a new personal best and course record of 59:07, and fellow Kenyan Dolphine Omare, who took the women’s race in 1:06:15.
Etir clocking 59:07 bettered fellow Kenyan Emmanuel Maru, who rolled in at 60:06 on the clock. Taking third was Santiago Catrofe of Uruguay in a new national record of 60:21.
Surprisingly, the former European marathon record-holder Sondre Moen of Norway finished eighth in 60:46. His best is 59:48, a national record set in Valencia in 2017.
Women’s race
Omare won Marugame for the third consecutive year with her Kenyan teammate Susan Kamotho third in 67:56. Taking second was Scottish runner Eilish McColgan in her first race since breaking the European 10km record with 30:08 in Valencia. She finished in 67:08.
McColgan ran mostly alone as there was a gap between the top runners. The conditions were windy on the day. While many personal bests were set, it is debatable whether the conditions favoured the athletes.
Eilish McColgan 2nd ~1:07:10 pic.twitter.com/rYj5o20hpZ
— Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) February 1, 2026
“I was on my own a lot of the time. Men kept coming back to me, which gave me something to target, but they had all gone out too fast and were dying, so I kept passing them. There wasn’t anyone I could latch onto,” McColgan told Japan Running News.
Amazingly, all but two of the top-25 men ran new personal best times. Six of the top-20 women did the same.
Top results
Men
| Pos | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Etir | KEN | 59:07 CR PB |
| 2 | Emmanuel Maru | KEN | 1:00:06 |
| 3 | Santiago Catrofe | URU | 1:00:21 NR |
| 4 | Tomoya Ogikubo | JPN | 1:00:22 PB |
| 5 | Yuma Nishizawa | JPN | 1:00:26 PB |
| 6 | Neo Namiki | JPN | 1:00:29 PB |
| 7 | Daisuke Sato | JPN | 1:00:40 PB |
| 8 | Sondre Moen | NOR | 1:00:46 |
| 9 | Haruka Yamamoto | JPN | 1:00:46 PB |
| 10 | Takuma Ohama | JPN | 1:00:48 PB |
| 11 | Hiromichi Nonaka | JPN | 1:00:51 PB |
| 12 | Sodai Shimizu | JPN | 1:00:52 PB |
| 13 | So Kawasaki | JPN | 1:00:53 PB |
| 14 | Itsuki Takaishi | JPN | 1:00:53 PB |
| 15 | Kazura Munakata | JPN | 1:00:53 PB |
| 16 | Shota Yamaguchi | JPN | 1:00:54 PB |
| 17 | Yuta Asakawa | JPN | 1:00:54 PB |
| 18 | Ryo Goda | JPN | 1:00:55 PB |
| 19 | Riku Tamame | JPN | 1:00:56 PB |
| 20 | Takuya Hanyu | JPN | 1:00:58 PB |
| 21 | Daichi Shibata | JPN | 1:01:00 PB |
| 22 | Kyosuke Kogure | JPN | 1:01:00 PB |
| 23 | Tatsuya Tsunashima | JPN | 1:01:01 PB |
| 24 | Masanori Sumida | JPN | 1:01:01 PB |
| 25 | Takuma Akiyoshi | JPN | 1:01:01 PB |
Women
| Pos | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolphine Omare | KEN | 1:06:15 |
| 2 | Eilish McColgan | GBR | 1:07:08 |
| 3 | Susan Kamotho | KEN | 1:07:56 PB |
| 4 | Isobel Batt-Doyle | AUS | 1:08:51 |
| 5 | Kana Kobayashi | JPN | 1:09:28 |
| 6 | Hikaru Kitagawa | JPN | 1:10:29 PB |
| 7 | Sarah Wanjiru | KEN | 1:10:50 PB |
| 8 | Yuka Ando | JPN | 1:11:00 |
| 9 | Ayumi Morita | JPN | 1:11:16 PB |
| 10 | Kaho Onishi | JPN | 1:11:38 PB |
| 11 | Charlotte Purdue | GBR | 1:11:57 |
| 12 | Sakura Yumiki | JPN | 1:12:33 PB |
| 13 | Munkhzaya Bayartsogt | MGL | 1:12:43 PB |
| 14 | Azusa Sumi | JPN | 1:12:53 |
| 15 | Chisato Kagaya | JPN | 1:14:24 |
| 16 | Rebecca Lowe | AUS | 1:15:24 |
| 17 | Hanami Koga | JPN | 1:15:29 |
| 18 | Mirai Waku | JPN | 1:16:10 |
| 19 | Manami Takami | JPN | 1:18:11 |
| 20 | Portia Olsen | AUS | 1:21:22 |
