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Lexicon

Betsudai - the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon
daigaku - university
ekiden - a long-distance relay race
faito - a courseside audience cheer; see ganbatte
ganbatte (ganbare) - a courseside audience cheer; see faito
gasshuku - an intensive training camp
Hakone Ekiden - the annual university men`s championships
jitsugyodan - corporate-sponsored professional running teams
onsen - a hot spring
Q-chan - Naoko Takahashi, the 2000 Sydney Olympics women`s marathon gold medalist, Olympic record holder and first woman to break 2:20 in the marathon
rikujo - track and field, the marathon, and other running events
Rikuren - the JAAF
tasuki - the sash which is handed off during an ekiden
zannen - too bad
otaku - a nerdy, socially awkward person, usually male, who is obsessed with some esoteric topic

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Kiplagat 27:07.59 MR to Win Deepest-Ever 10000 m in Hachioji

2019 African U18 3000 m champ Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) led a 3-way sprint finish to break the meet record at the Hachioji Long Distance meet at Kanagawa's Gion Stadium Saturday, going under the 2023 Budapest World Championships standard for the first time in 27:07.59. 2nd-placer Benson Kiplangat (Subaru) also cleared the 27:10.00 Worlds standard in 27:09.83, 3rd-placer Samwel Masai (Kao) just missing in 27:10.06. With the WaveLight pacing system making its Japanese debut the Hachioji A-heat produced the deepest-ever 10000 m. The first 24 finishers cleared 28 minutes, breaking the previous world record of 21 set at last year's Hachioji meet. 12th-placer Takuya Hanyu (Toyota Boshoku) ran 27:27.49 to come in at all-time Japanese #4 and knock former NR holder Toshinari Takaoka out of the all-time top 10. Led by Takashi Nanba (Toenec) in 27:48.27, another 10 men were sub-28 in the B-heat including 2:06:35 marathoner Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima), 9th in a PB 27:
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Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage Legends Kamino and Kashiwabara Say Thin Shoes Better for Uphill Running

Pro runner Daichi Kamino (Cell Source) has an opinion on today's generation of thick-soled shoes that is getting attention. On Nov. 19 Kamino ran a 13.5 km uphill race on the Hakone turnpike as part of his training, finishing 7th in 54:18. Now 29, Kamino is famous for winning the Hakone Ekiden's legendary uphill Fifth Stage in 2015, earning him the nickname "God of the Mountain III." He has run professionally since 2018. After the Nov. 19 race Kamino tweeted, "I knew I was going to be running up a steep hill, and for that kind of uphill running thin shoes are better than thick ones." In recent years the long distance running world has been caught up in a whirlwind by the new style of thick shoes containing a carbon plate. Since the technology's introduction the Japanese men's marathon national record has been broken four times, and all ten individual stage records at the Hakone Ekiden have been broken at least once. Everyone knows the thick shoes p
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Margaret Akidor Breaks 3000 m JPN All Comers Record at Nittai

Two weeks after running 14:44.83 at Kanagawa's Nittai University Time Trials , 22-year-old Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) continued her rise up the ranks to global relevance with another stellar run at Nittai on Sunday. Running in the fastest 3000 m heat with support from 19-year-old Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera), Akidor took nearly 20 seconds off her best with an 8:32.53 for the win. That was the fastest ever run in Japan by 3 seconds and enough to put her #8 in the world this year. Mwikali was solid too at 8:37.17, almost 10 seconds under her previous best and the next-best ever run in Japan apart from two dodgy early '90s marks by Soviet athletes. 3rd-placer Mizuki Michishita (Rikkyo Univ.) was in another league at 9:13.68. Kazuna Kanetomo (Kyocera) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:56.42, the only woman under 15 minutes. In the men's 5000 m Kenyan Richard Etir won the A-heat in 13:16.20, a time beaten this weekend only by Benard Koech (Kyudenko) at Fukuoka's
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