OITA (Kyodo) -- Kenya's Vincent Kipchumba pulled away from Aoyama Gakuin University senior Hiroki Wakabayashi with a little more than 1 kilometer to go en route to his Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon victory on Sunday.

Kipchumba crossed the finish line at J-Lease Stadium in a meet record of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, which was 6 seconds ahead of Wakabayashi, under ideal running conditions with a cloudy sky and almost no wind.

"I'm happy that I broke the course record of the Beppu-Oita Marathon," Kipchumba said. "I will know where to go for the next race after I meet my coaches and manager in Kenya."

Wakabayashi ran the fastest time ever by both a Japanese marathon debutant and student-athlete in what he called the last race of his career. It is also the seventh-fastest on record in the country.

"I managed to have a great end to my 10-year athletics career," said Wakabayashi, who helped Aoyama Gakuin win the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay in early January.

"My first full marathon felt so long, but cheers from the roadside kept me going. I'm glad I continued to run without giving up."

Corporate team runner Shohei Otsuka finished third in 2:06:38.

Kokugakuin University's Kiyoto Hirabayashi settled for ninth place in 2:09:13 after running in a leading group of four until around the 35-km mark.

The 73rd edition of the race started in front of Oita Marine Palace Aquarium, also known as Umitamago, and doubled as a selection event for Japanese runners to September's world athletics championships in Tokyo.