Skip to main content

Training Where It's Cool - Kanto University Ekiden Training Camps in Full Swing

http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/chiiki4/246285.html

translated by Brett Larner

Across Hokkaido the summer gasshuku training camp season is underway for the top university teams in the ultra-competitive Kanto region. With two new Kenyan recruits in its lineup, Takushoku University arrived in Mombetsu, Hokkaido on Aug. 13. Takushoku is just one of nine schools training in the area as they seek to run the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden. Including athletes and coaches, the 27 members of the Takushoku squad landed at Mombetsu Airport on Aug. 13 and immediately ran their first practice session. Scheduled to be in Mombetsu through the 23rd, the team's training plan calls for runners to average 40 km a day throughout the gasshuku to build a base for October's Hakone Ekiden qualifier Yosenkai 20 km Road Race.

In Mombetsu for the sixth time, assistant coach Keigo Tabata (26) explained why the Mombetsu region is good for training, saying, "The weather is cool here and there isn't much traffic so we can train safely here." Junior Kenta Ishii (21) commented, "Nothing is better for recovering from a hard workout than Mombetsu's delicious local fish."

Thanks to the efforts of the Mombetsu chamber of commerce, between now and mid-September nine Kanto-region universities will hold gasshuku in the area including four schools seeded for the 2011 Hakone Ekiden: Chuo University, Josai University, Aoyama Gakuin University and Meiji University.

Translator's note: Summer gasshuku have a significant impact on the local economies of rural towns across Hokkaido, Nagano and elsewhere in Japan. For a detailed look at Josai University's summer training menus click here (subscription required). For a more general look at a Josai gasshuku click here.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Khishigsaikhan and Kuira Break Ageo City Half Marathon CRs (updated)

Stellar conditions and a solid fields meant times were going to be fast at the Ageo City Half Marathon , and in both the women's and men's races the front end took full advantage of the day. In the midst of the super-deep men's field Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh , the top Mongolian in this summer's Budapest World Championships marathon and in last month's Hangzhou Asian Games marathon, ran steady and strong, splitting 33:29 at 10 km, 1:10:38 pace, before pushing the 2nd half. Khishigsaikhan crossed the finish line 1:10:32, 1:22 under the old course record, 3:35 ahead of 2nd-place Kana Kobayashi , and a massive 4:16 off the Mongolian women's national record. Khishigsaikhan is currently training in Japan and ran Ageo in prep for next month's Taipei City Marathon, where she was 3rd last year. The men's race went out hard, with Kenyan Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), NR holder Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) and the ambitious Rei Matsunaga (Hosei) leading the ...

'Mongolia's Marathon Stalwart Bat-Ochir Remains In It For the Long Run'

https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/news/feature/ser-od-bat-ochir-mongolia-marathon-oregon-paris Mongolia national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir  has been based in Japan since 2014, first running for the NTN  corporate team and as of April now sponsored by Shin Nihon Jusetsu . Photo © 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved.

19-Year-Old Ryuji Miura Breaks 3000m Steeplechase NR to Kick Off Tokyo Olympics Athletics Day One

Juntendo University 2nd-year Ryuji Miura  is the most exciting thing to have appeared on the Japanese scene in the last year, seeming to come from our of nowhere to just miss the 3000 m steeplechase NR last summer at age 18, breaking Suguru Osako 's U20 half marathon national record last fall, and then rewriting the 3000 m SC NR twice since turning 19 in February this year. In his first real race against international competition Miura kicked off track and field action at the Tokyo Olympics by taking 6 seconds off his own 3000 mSC NR to finish 2nd in the opening heat in 8:09.92. Miura's time was fast enough to have medaled at all but two past Olympics and auto-qualifying him for what looks to be a very fast final, making him the first Japanese man to make an Olympic steeple final since 1972 Miura was calm and relaxed throughout the race, staying in the top 5 the whole way and moving to the front when he needed to. Over the last lap he challenged 2019 Doha World Championships ...