Skip to main content

Japan Running News Dominates Tokaimura Half Marathon

by Brett Larner

Windy conditions prevailed at the 36th Tokaimura Shinshun Half Marathon on Jan. 12, where a freak early-morning rain shower combined with sub-zero temperatures to coat sections of the hilly course with a slick layer of ice. Japan Running News founder Brett Larner (Harriers AC) took the overall win in the men’s race with a course-record 1:16:02. Larner led from the 300 m point all the way to the finish, dropping a chase pack of three on the course’s long uphill after the 8 km point. Japan Running News co-editor Mika Tokairin (Namban Rengo AC), the top Japanese woman at the 2007 London Marathon, was 3rd overall in the women’s race behind Team Hitachi’s Sayaka Yamaguchi, who ran a substantial course-record 1:18:48 in her half-marathon debut.

Both Tokairin and Larner reported being 3 minutes behind their expected times, an indication of the difficulty of the course and conditions. Tokairin will race the Jan. 25 Osaka International Women’s Marathon, while Larner will run the Feb. 1 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon.

© 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Congrats on the victory! I remember the first time I won a race in Japan. They gave me four trophies!
January 13, 2009 at 12:52 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi Brett, I sent an email and received no reply, so could u please send me an email to all4data[at]gmail.com please

Gavin
January 13, 2009 at 1:13 AM
by7 said…
Brett, congratulations

a gaijin winning a race makes some sensation.
But Beppu-Oita is not only for sub-2h30' ? (or I mess up with something else...)
January 13, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Brett Larner said…
Thank you all. The course was much tougher than I expected.

Gavin--
Sorry to let your message slip.

Bryan--
I think you are thinking of Biwako. Beppu-Oita's standard is only sub-2:50.
January 14, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Hakone Champ AGU Hits 50 km a Day in Spring Break Training Camp

Having scored its 3rd-straight Hakone Ekiden win this past January, Aoyama Gakuin University spent the Golden Week spring holidays training on the Myoko Plateau in Niigata from May 2-6. Along with the champion men's ekiden team, the first 2 members of AGU's new women's long distance team Nodoka Ashida and Kairi Ikeno , and AGU alumni and 2026 New Year Ekiden champion GMO team members Yuya Yoshida and Asahi Kuroda also took part in the training camp. Depending on the day's training schedule, mileage at the camp was over 50 km a day. AGU men's captain Kaito Nakamura confidently said, "This Golden Week training camp is where we lay the foundations for our 4th-straight Hakone title." A lot of people spend Golden Week on vacation, but the AGU ekiden team spent their time working hard on Myoko's rolling land amid the sprouting leaves of spring. On the 2nd day of the camp, May 3, team members woke up at 5:00 a.m. to do their warmup. The team assembled a...
1 comment
Read more

Ochiai, Kawamura, Usuki and Mishima Set NR - Golden Week Track Roundup

There was a lot of action on the track over Japan's Golden Week holidays. Highlights: Shizuoka International Meet - Fukuroi, 3 May Men's 800 m NR holder Ko Ochiai (Komazawa Univ.) broke his own record with a 1:43.90 win. Daigo Usuki (18 Ginko) and Gakuto Mishima (Nippatsu) both broke the NR in the T20 men's 400 m, Usuki getting the win in 49.08 and Mishima 2nd in 49.15. Lauren Bruce (New Zealand) threw a meet record 67.44 m on her final attempt in the women's hammer throw, but even her shortest throw of 64.31 m was over 3 m better than the rest of the field. Kazuki Kurokawa (Sumitomo Denko) got the men's 400 mH meet record with a 48.50 for the win. Women's 3000 mSC NR holder Miu Saito (Panasonic) won the steeple in 9:31.83, the 2nd-best time in her career so far, despite falling. 2nd through 4th all broke 10 minutes. National University Men's Ekiden Kanto Region Qualifier - Hiratsuka, 4 May The top 8 teams at November's National University Men...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more