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1919 People Run Kinshuko Road Race Led by Boston Winner Kawauchi

The 38th Kinshuko Road Race took place May 27th on a course starting and finishing in front of Nishiwaga Town Hall's Yuda Building. Runners from the town and from other parts of the country enjoyed the fresh greenery along the shores of Lake Kinshuko. A total of 1919 people were entered in the event's 14 divisions, up from 1899 last year. The scenic JAAF-certified course included 30 km, half marathon and 10 km races.

At the time of the start weather conditions measured at race headquarters nearby the start point were 23.1 C with 34% humidity according to race organizers. The 30 km and half marathon divisions started at 10:00 a.m., with the 10 km starting 5 minutes later. Under strong sunshine runners ran in the shade of the springtime greenery along the road, bathing in the sight of Lake Kinshuko. Local supporters cheered participants on from along the roadside.

錦秋湖マラソンスタート！ pic.twitter.com/CMxha4aCMu — yuchiko (@yucchiru178) May 27, 2018
After becoming the first Japanese ath…
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Wambui, Kisaisa and Sekiya Double - Kanto Regionals Day Four Highlights

The final day of the 97th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships kicked off as usual with the D1 and D1 men's half marathon. Logistics of the meet's new location this year at Sagamihara Gion Stadium in Kanagawa meant a complicated course, with the two divisions starting 9 minutes apart with four laps of the track, twelve laps of a 1.58 km road loop, and a track finish. In both divisions the runners-up from Thursday's 10000 m taking the top spot. In D2 Simon Kariuki (Nihon Yakka Univ.) ran the fastest time of the day, 1:03:09, for his second-straight win. In D1 it was Dominic Nyairo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) in 1:03:49, his third-straight D1 Kanto Half title.



The men's 5000 m went to both divisions' 10000 m winners, with D1 champ Patrick Mathenge Wambui (Nihon Univ.) taking the top spot in his race in 13:45.30 to score his third-straight Kanto double and D2 winner Josphat Ledama Kesaisa (Obirin) leading his in 13:49.86. 3rd in the D1 10000 m, Kazuya S…
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'Semenya Dominates, Kigen and Houlihan Surprise in Eugene - IAAF Diamond League'

https://www.iaaf.org/news/report/semenya-kigen-houlihan-eugene-diamond-league

Rina Nabeshima (Japan Post) finished 9th in the Prefontaine Classic women's 5000 m in her Diamond League debut. Her time of 15:10.91 moved her up to all-time Japanese #9.

Congrats to Japan's reigning 5000m champ Rina Nabeshima on PB'ing (15:10.91) at @preclassic today in her first-ever @Diamond_League race. Glad to see Rina & Coach Masa Takahashi take the step up to this next part of her career. pic.twitter.com/bcJ6tp9PiR — Boulder Wave (@BoulderWave) May 27, 2018
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Takekawa Over Ejima for Pole Vault Meet Record - Kanto Regionals Day Three Highlights

Takekawa
Hosei univ.
5m60
7lefts#boutakachannel#polevaultpic.twitter.com/WCuSQ6Qfmr — Boutaka Channel (@BoutakaChannel) May 26, 2018
A great D1 men's pole vault brought most of the entertainment value to the thid day of the 97th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships Saturday at Sagamihara Gion Stadium in the back corners of the Kanagawa badlands. Kosei Takekawa (Hosei Univ.) cleared 5.60 m to set a new Kanto Regionals meet record, beating Kanto Region record holder Masaki Ejima (Nihon Univ.) who could only clear 5.50 m this time out the gate.



The D1 men's 3000 mSC final was also solid, with Takekawa's teammate Ryoma Aoki (Hosei Univ.) running a PB 8:42.11 for the win over Tsubasa Komuro (Toyo Univ.), whose 8:43.62 was a school record. For comparison, at almost the same time the U.S.-based Yusuke Uchikoshi (Boise State Univ.) and Takeshi Okada (UC Berkeley) ran only 8:48.03 and 9:10.41 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round meet in Sacramento.
97th Kanto Region…
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Hirosawa Breaks 400 m Region Record - Kanto Regionals Day Two Highlights

Despite windy conditions that put legal marks out of reach in most events, day 2 of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships saw one notable new record. In the D1 women's 400 m Mae Hirosawa (Nittai Univ.) ran 53.45 to break the meet record by 0.30 and the Kanto Region record by 0.11. Both of the previous records were set by Kazue Kakinuma (Chuo Univ.) back in 1995 before Hirosawa was born. Hirosawa now stands at all-time #6 among Japanese collegiate women.



In its first season without now-graduated national record holder Yoshihide Kiryu, Toyo University showed continued growth in its sprinting. First-year Daisuke Miyamoto (Toyo Univ.) won the D1 men's title in 10.11 (+3.2 m/s), then boosted the Toyo men's 4x100 m team to a 39.03 school record for the win. Toyo's investment in first-rate facilities for Kiryu looks like it will continue to pay dividends in the years to come.



Times were slow across the 1500 m, with indoor mile national record holder Ryoji…
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Kisaisa, Sekiya and Wambui Lead Kanto Regionals Day One

Japan's biggest university meet kicked off Thursday at a new home in the wildlands of suburban Kanagawa. Day 1 of the 97th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships started off hot, humid and sunny, shifting toward cool and windy as the afternoon wore on. Not ideal for the day's main final, the women's and men's 10000 m.

The women's 10000 m was probably the best race of the day. #1-ranked Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.), the only woman in the race with a PB under 32:30, predictably took control early, challenged mid-race by the talented Rino Goshima (Chuo Univ.) but effortlessly dropping her after 7000 m. An unexpected challenge to Sekiya's second-straight Kanto 10000 m title came from unknown mid-33 runner Yukina Ueda (Tsukuba Univ.). As the other competition dropped away Ueda stayed locked to Sekiya looking fresh and ready to go. But in the back straight on the final lap Sekiya inched away, opening a 5-second lead to win in 33:29.53. Ueda shav…
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What Value Does Four-Straight Hakone Ekiden Titles Have for Aoyama Gakuin's Athletes and Staff?

An editorial by Nikkan Gendai.

Nothing rings in the New Year like the Hakone Ekiden. With TV viewership ratings around 30% it's one of the most popular sports programs in Japan. The king of that cash cow is Aoyama Gakuin University, winning four-straight Hakone titles since its first victory in 2015. But no matter how well its students perform, every school in Hakone gets the same share of the proceeds, a uniform 2,000,000 yen [~$18,000 USD at current exchange rates].

The AGU team currently includes 44 athletes on its roster. Although athletes can get preferential admission, their tuition is the same as for other students and there are no exemptions or reductions. First year tuition in the Department of Social and Information Studies is around 1,520,000 yen [~$14,000 USD], and with additional fees including dormitory and training camp expenses the burden upon students' parents is considerable.

By comparison, in the United States the NCAA has made its collegiate sports a succes…
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