Skip to main content

Hokuren Distance Challenge Series Begins June 4

by Brett Larner

The Hokuren Distance Challenge is set to kick off June 4 in Sapporo, sponsored by the Hokkaido-based Hokuren company. The series of six track meets throughout June and July in locations around Japan`s northernmost island of Hokkaido attracts top male and female jitsugyodan and university runners hoping to tune up for the National Championships at the end of June and for the start of the ekiden training season, as well as a number of Korean professional runners. The meets focus on long distance and, to a lesser degree, middle distance events and are scheduled to take place:

June 4: Sapporo
June 8: Shibetsu
June 11: Fukagawa
July 9: Abashira
July 13: Kitami
July 16: Kushiro

Click here for a complete timetable of all six meets. Entry lists are available here.

Today`s Sapporo meet includes men`s and women`s 1500 m, 3000 m, 3000 m SC, 5000 m and 5000 m RW events. A complete start list for all events is available here. The most notable entrant of the day is women`s 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki). Kobayashi is the only Japanese woman to run the Olympic A-standard in the 5000 m so far this year, but she has yet to run even the Olympic B-standard this year in the 1500 m after setting the national record with a B-standard 4:07.87 as a high school student in 2006. Kobayashi is slated to run the 3000 m in Sapporo.

Results will be posted in English following today`s meet.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...
2 comments
Read more

Kuwata Runs Fastest-Ever Half Marathon by Japanese Man Outside Japan at United Airlines NYC Half

When the NYRR changed the United Airlines NYC Half course back in 2018 to more or less its current Boston-style hilly one-way version it seemed like it had been repurposed from a fast course to something more tactical. That went out the window last year with new course records of 59:09 and 1:07:04 from Abel Kipchumba and Sharon Lokedi , and this year's results backed that up. Hellen Obiri ground Lokedi down and took over 30 seconds off her CR, winning in 1:06:33 with Lokedi only 6 seconds off what she ran in 2025 but a distant 2nd in 1:07:10. British road 10 km NR holder Megan Keith rolled up hard late in the race to finish 3rd in 1:07:13 less than 10 seconds off old CR too. The men's race saw a big group of 18 attack the hilly first half on sub-59 pace, American Joe Klecker leading through 5 km in 13:57 and Houston Marathon winner Zouhair Talbi through 10 km in 27:56. Right up in it was Shunsuke Kuwata , a 20-year-old 2nd-year at 2025 National University Ekiden champ Koma...
Post a Comment
Read more

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...
1 comment
Read more