Skip to main content

Yoko Shibui runs 40km PB in training for Tokyo International Women`s Marathon

http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2007/10/16/0000698768.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

On October 15th, former Japanese women`s marathon national record holder Yoko Shibui (2:19:41, Berlin 2004) broke her 40km PB during a training run as part her preparation for the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon on November 18th. In Tokyo, one of Japan`s Olympic selection races, Shibui will face defending Olympic gold medallist and current Japanese national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (2:19:12, Berlin 2005).Shibui ran this 40km training run to simulate staying with Noguchi, who is heavily favored to win Tokyo. The next day, Shibui left Japan for a high-altitude training camp in Kunming, China.

-----That`s it for the translation. This looks like it`s going to be an incredible race if both Shibui and Noguchi make it to the starting line intact. With Reiko Tosa having secured a spot on the Beijing Olympic team by medalling at the World Championships there are only two slots left but three qualifying races, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. It`s very unlikely that whoever comes in second in Tokyo will be selected and also probable that the winner will not be selected if the winning times in Osaka and Nagoya are faster. Thus it seems like neither of these sub-2:20 women can afford to run a conservative race. The Tokyo Int`l course is pretty challenging with large uphills in the last few km, but Eri Yamaguchi ran 2:22:12 and Gert Thys ran 2:06:33 there in `99 so fast times are possible. I think that they`ll be going for the course record (Yamaguchi`s time) at an absolute minimum, possibly sub-2:20.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

Batt-Doyle and Strintzos Break Records at Launceston Half

Australians Isobel Batt-Doyle and Haftu Strintzos turned in record-breaking performances to win the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania. Running with a private male pacer, NR holder Batt-Doyle dusted the field with the fastest half marathon ever by an Australian woman on Australian soil, a 1:08:46 CR that put her 2 and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Genevieve Gregson . Last year's runner-up Yumi Yoshikawa was almost a minute back from Gregson in 3rd in 1:12:03, but was almost run down by club runner Ayaka Shimoyamada . Starting slow in her international debut, Shimoyamada moved up from 7th over the 2nd half of the race to finish 4th in 1:12:06, kicking hard in the home straight to try to catch Yoshikawa and momentarily blacking out after finishing. Kaho Onishi was 7th in 1:12:45 in her own international debut. The men's half had pacing set at 2:53/km to try to deliver the first-ever sub-61 half marathon on Australian soil. CR holde...

CHN and JPN National Records Go Down - Weekend Track Update

There weren't any Japanese athletes in action at the Rabat Diamond League meet Sunday, but 2 lower-tier domestic meets produced new national records. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama, Samuel Kibathi (Toyota) led the top 5 in the men's 10000 m under 28 minutes in 27:39.97. In 3rd, China's Wenjie Wang took just over a second off his own NR from the same meet last year, setting a new record of 27:47.53. His teammate Haoran Tang was 6th in a 28:27.44 PB, with the top Japanese time in the race being a 28:33.39 for 8th from Jin Yuasa (Toyota). Amazingly, Wang and Tang were back the next day on day 2 of the Nittai meet, Wang running a PB of 13:35.58 for 4th in the A-heat and Tang winning the B-heat in a PB of 13:38.80. Isaac Ndiema took the A-heat in 13:26.49, with the fastest Japanese time going to Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu) with a 13:35.94 for 5th behind Wang. Other Nittai highlights: Deborah Chemutai (Univ. Ent.) won a photo finish against Yua Nagamori ...