National Corporate Half Marathon, Nobeoka Marathon and More

National Corporate Half Marathon, Nobeoka Marathon and More - Weekend Preview

It's a relatively quiet weekend ahead in the middle of Japan's busiest road racing season, but there are still four important races going on in the southern part of the country. The biggest is the National Corporate Half Marathon and 10 km Championships in Yamaguchi. Men's national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) is entered in what would be his first race since catching the flu post-Fukuoka and leads the domestic component of a field that includes nine men with recent sub-1:02 times and a million more right on the cusp. If he runs his main competition is sub-60 man Paul Kuira (Konica Minolta). 61:30ish runners Keisuke Nakatani (Nissin Shokuhin) and Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu) will be looking to make comebacks after long periods of injury.

The women's field is split between the half marathon and 10 km. Only three women in the half have broken 70 minutes before, Miho Shimizu (Hokuren) doing it the most recently with a 1:09:27 at Nationals in 2016. Shiori Yano (Canon AC Kyushu) is the most exciting newcomer in the field, one of the six women who cleared the Doha World Championships 10000 m qualifying standard in Yamaguchi in December. Two of the other qualifiers, Harumi Okamoto (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and Yuka Hori (Panasonic) lead the 10 km, where two-time winner Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki) is a DNS. The men's and women's half will be broadcast on delay on TBS starting at 14:00 local time Sunday.

The Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon is the weekend's highest-level full, a developmental-level race that saw its top four finish seconds apart in 2:12 last year. With a lot of 2nd and 3rd-tier men having taken a swing at Olympic trials qualification last weekend in Beppu-Oita the Nobeoka entry list is a bit thin this year, but two-time winner Ryoichi Matsuo (Asahi Kasei) is slated to be back again to try to win Nobeoka for the third time. Next-best on the entry list after Matsuo is Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff), 2nd last October at the Osaka Marathon in 2:14:19, exactly two minutes behind Matsuo's runner-up mark in Nobeoka last year.

The Ehime Marathon is also Sunday, a longstanding mass-participation race with a sub-elite field that sometimes produces times in the top 25 best Japanese marks for the season. 2:15:05 amateur Naoki Inoue (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) leads the men's field, with Hiroki Shoi (Ehime Ginko) leading the women's field at 2:33:04.

The Karatsu 10-Miler rounds out the main action, with an interesting matchup between Jakarta Asian Games marathon gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (MHPS) and Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ahead of their duel at April's Boston Marathon. Sub-62 half marathoners Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) and Takuya Fujikawa (Chugoku Denryoku) and 2:08:59 marathoner Takuya Noguchi (Konica Minolta) are also in the mix. Opting for Karatsu over Nationals, Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) leads the women's 10 km field with a track best of 31:33.33.

© 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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