Beppu-Oita, Marugame and More

Beppu-Oita, Marugame and More - Weekend Preview

With championship ekiden season a wrap this weekend gets Japan's winter road racing season up to full steam. The main race of the weekend is Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Everything is about qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics more-or-less one-shot trials right now, and that's obvious with a look at what's probably the strongest-ever Beppu-Oita entry list. Ten men in the field have broken 2:10 in the last three years, five of them Japanese, with last year's top two Desmond Mokgobu (South Africa) and Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima) leading the way.

Sonoda, Daisuke Uekado (Otsuka Seiyaku) and 2018 Hokkaido Marathon winner Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) have already qualified for September's MGC Race trials event, but anyone else in the 2:10 to 2:11 range will have a shot. With a 2:09:36 in Tokyo last year Kohei Ogino (Fujitsu) only needs to run 2:12:24 to qualify, making him the probable favorite to qualify, but the field also features the debuts of sub-61 and sub-62 half marathoners Keijiro Mogi and Shuho Dairokuno of three-time national champion Asahi Kasei.

Along with Mokgobu recent 2:08 runners Hicham Laqouahi (Morocco) and Abdela Godana (Ethiopia) and 2018 Muenster Marathon winner Justus Kiprotich (Kenya) make up the front end of the international field, raising a strong chance of a sub-2:10 winning time if the weather cooperates. Right now the forecast is looking good, with temperatures in the mid-teens and cloudy skies shifting to light rain later in the day. All that remains to be seen are the infamous Oita winds. Beppu-Oita will be broadcast live nationwide on TBS starting at 11:50 a.m. Follow @JRNLive for English-language coverage.

Also Sunday is the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon, one of Japan's top races all around. Last year's Kenyan winners Betsy Saina and Edward Waweru are both on the entry list again, up against tough competition including Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal), Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post), Sinead Diver (Australia) and Sara Hall (U.S.A.) on the women's side and Geoffrey Kirui (Kenya), Shadrack Kiplagat (Kenya) and Evans Cheruiyot (Kenya) on the men's. Suzuki's debut is one of the more exciting parts of the race, along with that of Richard Ringer (Germany), both with great histories in the track 10000 m behind them. The weather in Marugame looks to be similar to that in Oita with temperatures a few degrees cooler.

Along with Marugame, the Kanagawa Half Marathon and Moriya Half Marathon each feature loads of university men, both Hakone Ekiden regulars and B-team runners trying to make the jump to their schools' A-rosters. Kanagawa in particular has grown into a quality race with winning times in the 62-minute range and depth approaching that of some of the higher-level Japanese half marathons. Hakone Ekiden top four programs Aoyama Gakuin University and Komazawa University are Kanagawa regulars, but look for plenty of others to be right there with them. No rain is in the forecast for either race, making for excellent conditions overall.

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Wanjiru Breaks Own MR, Fuwa and Ishida Return - Kanto Regionals Day 1 Highlights

Japan's best college meet kicked off Thursday at Tokyo's National Stadium at the 103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . Looking like she was doing a controlled tempo run, 2nd-yr Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) lapped the entire field to win the women's 10000 m in a meet record 32:02.87, almost 15 seconds under the record she last year in her debut. 3rd-yr Aoi Takahashi (Josai Univ.) was 2nd in 33:29.22 and 2nd-yr Nana Nagashima (Josai Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in a PB 33:30.28, but the other main news alongside Wanjiru's new record was the return of collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) in her first 10000 m in 19 months. Fuwa hung at the back of the chase pack for the first half, made a move to lead it in the second half, and ultimately faded to 9th in 33:40.20. Every comeback has to start somewhere. The D1 men's 10000 m had a tight group up front with the top 6 all finishing within 6 seconds and under 28:10. 3rd-yr Jam

Two-Time Olympic Marathon Medalist Erick Wainaina Referred to Prosectors on Suspicion of Assault

According to investigators, two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina has had his case referred to prosecutors after allegedly injuring a railway employee by striking him in the face at a station in Setagaya, Tokyo. Wainaina, 50, was the bronze medalist in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Wainaina is suspected of assaulting a woman in her late teens and a male Tokyu Denentoshi Line employee by hitting them in the face during an altercation at Komazawa University Station in March this year, resulting in minor injuries to the man's face. According to investigators, the incident began on the train between Wainaina and the woman, and after getting off at Komazawa University Station he hit her in the face when she asked him to go to the station office with her to report it. When the male railway employee responded to the situation Wainaina reportedly hit him too. In response to questioning Wainaina is said to have answered,

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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