Skip to main content

First-Years Kubota and Ogura 59:28 and 59:59 to Lead Aoyama Gakuin Sweep at Takashimadaira 20 km

by Brett Larner

Less than two weeks after their unexpected course record win at the Izumo Ekiden, Aoyama Gakuin University fired a serious warning shot across the bows of impending Hakone Ekiden rivals Toyo University, Komazawa University, Waseda University and Meiji University. Despite the absence of captain and course record holder Takehiro Deki, Aoyama Gakuin runners swept the top ten at the Takashimadaira 20 km in Tokyo on Oct. 21. First-years Kazuma Kubota and Yusuke Ogura, key elements in their team's Izumo win, led the way with solid 59:28 and 59:59 clockings for 1-2, but the team as a whole was impressive as its tenth finisher was under 1:00:30. Even without 58:51 man Deki. Any questions about Aoyama Gakuin's ability to translate its improvement over the relatively short distances at Izumo to the longer half-marathon stages of Hakone appear to be answered two and a half months out from the main event.

2012 Takashimadaira Road Race 20 km
Takashimadaira, Tokyo, 10/21/12
click here for complete results

1. Kazuma Kubota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 59:28
2. Yusuke Ogura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 59:59
3. Takuya Fujikawa (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:16
4. Ryotaro Otani (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:17
5. Shunsuke Ishida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:20
6. Isshin Nakai (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:21
7. Daichi Kamino (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:23
8. Yukiho Aihara (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:24
9. Masato Endo (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:26
10. Soshi Takahashi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:29

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
Hope they are not peaking too early.

Most-Read This Week

Ninja Runner Yuka Ando Leads Japanese Women's Marathon Team in London: "I Want to Go For It"

Her form has been dubbed "ninja running." Both arms held straight down with almost no movement. That idiosyncratic style carried Yuka Ando , 23, to the fastest-ever marathon debut by a Japanese woman, 2:21:36, at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon to land at #4 on the all-time Japanese lists. All at once Ando found herself catapulted to the top level of women's marathoning, a candidate for Japan's next great marathoner. When she was younger Ando ran moving her arms like other runners, but she had a bad habit of moving robotically, her upper body and lower body not working in sync. The turning point came in 2014 when she joined Suzuki Hamamatsu AC . Working there with coach Masayuki Satouchi to eliminate the faults in her form, the pair arrived at the ninja running style that let her run relaxed. "Other people keep asking me, "Isn't it hard to run like that?" but for me it's comfortable," she said. The efficient form helped her mai

Yamaguchi 10th at United Airlines NYC Half - Weekend Overseas Results

2024 national cross-country champion Tomonori Yamaguchi was the top Japanese finisher in the men's race at the United Airlines NYC Half , taking 10th in 1:04:36. A 2nd-year at Waseda University , Yamaguchi was one of three collegiate runners running New York in the 11th year of JRN's development program collaboration between the Ageo City Half Marathon and the New York Road Runners, a program that has seen people like future half marathon and marathon NR breaker Yuta Shitara and Paris Olympic team member Akira Akasaki make their international debuts. Yamaguchi's Waseda teammate Taishi Ito started fast, going with the leaders through 5 km in 14:29 before losing touch. Hosei University senior Rei Matsunaga went through in 14:42 in his last race before joining the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team in April. Yamaguchi, who caught COVID after winning last month's National Cross-Country Championships, started more conservatively with a 15:11 first 5km. But where both Ito

Rui Aoki Wins National University Men's Half Marathon - Weekend Results

Yuka Ando 's win at the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the big news of the weekend, but there were other high-level races happening, even in Nagoya. Held in parallel with the marathon, the Nagoya City Half Marathon saw Australians Natalie Rule and Ed Goddard take easy wins by about 2.5 minutes each, Rule in 1:13:57 and Goddard in 1:04:01. The new Biwako Marathon also had a non-Japanese winner, China's Yousheng Guan scoring 1st in 2:14:58 with Japan's Hirohito Sugai next in 2:16:40. Mikiko Ota won the women's race in 2:50:44. The Shizuoka Marathon returned for its first running in five years, with club runner Shumpei Oda leading the top 7 men under 2:20 in 2:15:36. Women's winner Remi Tanaka ran 2:41:23, beating runner-up Ayumi Sano by exactly 7 minutes. And in Tokyo, Rui Aoki continued what has been a great season so far for Koku Gakuin University with a win at the National University Men's Half Marathon . Aoki and Hiro Konda of Chuo Gakuin Unive