Comfortable wins for Nishimura and Csillag, Kitamura 6th in Izu

The 10th anniversary of Izu Trail Journey in Japan, one of the most competitive trail races in the land of the rising sun, was held in relatively warm and for most participants ideal conditions. No snow, no freezing wind, there was hardly a chill factor unless you were not moving. Nevertheless, the 70km long race with approx 3200 hm was basically already decided halfway on the famous Nishina Pass with its majestic views on Mount Fuji. Hirokazu Nishimura, winner in 2019, had already opened up a substantial gap to Yutaro Yokouchi and Hiroki Takashima. Behind the top trio, there was a bigger battle taking place for the positions in the rest of the top 10. In it were Hisashi Kitamura and also former 9 Dragons winner Kazufumi Ose. Eszter Cszillag was in command of the women’s race, leading Yukari Seimija by 9 minutes on the Nishina Pass and ‘cyclist’ Sae Ogawa - who was first at the checkpoint in the early part of the race - by 17 minutes. Csillag would cruise to victory in the final rollercoaster kilometres to the Shunzenji onsen town. For the global trail star, based in Hong Kong, it was her fourth ATM race victory. Finish time 7h10, without having to push a lot.

Nishimura also had a relatively easy run to his second win at Izu Trail Journey. He finished in 6h14, fifteen minutes ahead of Yokouchi and almost twenty ahead of Takashima. Gaps are usually smaller in this race. Fourth place went to Katsuya Ishii, who kept Saturo Geya at bay. Geya is the 80k winer of Deep Japan Ultra in Niigata this season. He was chased by a strong Hisashi Kitamura, who divided his efforts very well during the race and missed Geya and the top five by just 1 minute. His previous best at Izu was tenth in 2019. Signs are that Kitamura will return to his peak form in 2024!

Hirokazu Nishimura wins Izu again after 2019

The top 5 male and female podium of the 2023 Izu Trail Journey