OITA (Kyodo) Moroccan Adil Annani pulled away from three other runners in the lead pack just past the 37-km mark and went on to win the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon on Sunday.
Annani crossed the finish line at Oita Athletics Stadium in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 15 seconds, and Seiji Kobayashi was 23 seconds behind in second place.
"It was very, very windy today. I just tried to stay with the Kenyan (Peter Kiprotich)," Annani said through a translator. "I'm very happy about my victory. I also set my personal best."