There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and
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I'm looking for running groups to join. I wondered if you had suggestions of running groups around the Tokyo area that welcome others to explore japan through running! Your help is much appreciated!
April
Namban Rengo is a good place to start if you are new to Japan as it is international in nature and free to newcomers. If you want something more Japanese, try Harriers, Restart or Second Wind, but all three of those are paid clubs with only Japanese-language staff. All four should come up with a google search.
I just moved to Shizuoka (closest city is Kakegawa) and I was just wondering if you knew of any running clubs or groups in the area that are more into long distance running.
Any advice on how I might go about finding a club in this area would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Maho
http://smileyangel-ac.com/
Hope that is helpful.