OITA (Kyodo) Morocco's Ahmed Baday broke away from Daniel Njenga of Kenya past the 40-km mark and held on for his first Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon victory on Sunday.
Baday crossed the finish line at Oita Athletic Stadium in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 14 seconds. Njenga was the runnerup for the second straight year, clocking 2:10:24.
"I am happy for this race because it is the first time I have raced in Japan," the 37-year-old Baday said. "I am very happy for my best time."
In the race which doubled as a selection event for this summer's world athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea, Kazuhiro Maeda won a duel with Atsushi Fujita for the top finish among Japanese runners, placing third in 2:10:29.