Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the 2021-22 fiscal and academic year had some good early-season outdoor track action at multiple meets across the greater Tokyo area. In Chiba, 2016 Rio Olympics steepler Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) met up with 2021 Tokyo Olympics steepler Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) over 3000 m at the Juntendo University Time Trials on Saturday. Last year at another edition of the Juntendo series Miura bettered Shiojiri 7:48.07 to 7:53.68. Shiojiri ran almost the same time, 7:53.44, but this time he took the top spot as Miura ran 7:55.43 for 2nd. Five other runners from the Fujitsu and Juntendo teams were under 8:05, led by Fujitsu's Yuhei Urano in 8:01.78 in his first race since running 2:07:52 for 3rd at the Feb. 28 Osaka Marathon. 1st-year Kenshin Ebisawa (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) took the men's 10000 m in 29:31.42.

どちらも素晴らしいランニングフォームと接地だが、上肢の使い方(筋力含む)が股関節の動きの違いに繋がってる。 pic.twitter.com/70wqHaY4SH
— 林田章紀/Akinori Hayashida (@RindaEX) March 26, 2022

Sub-8 times for 3000 m used to be rare in Japan, but another one happened Sunday at the Tokai University Time Trials. Tomoki Ichimura from hosts Tokai University soloed a 7:58.26 for the win, the only man to go under 8:05. Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) won the men's 5000 m fast heat in 13:52.85, with Tomohiro Chimori (Chuo Univ.) winning the men's 10000 m fast heat in 29:27.57. Yamada Holdings runners went 1-2 in the women's 3000 m, Harumi Okamoto getting the win in 9:21.83 and Sakiho Tsutsui 2nd in 9:27.69.

Saturday's Heisei Kokusai University Time Trials didn't produce any fast times, but the men's 5000 m A-heat was notable mostly for who was in it. All-time Japanese #3 for 10000 m Tatsuhiko Ito won in 14:06.44, with his 2022 New Year Ekiden champion Honda teammates Shoya Kawase and Ken Nakayama 4th and 8th in 14:16.47 and 14:35.74. All-time high school 10000 m #3 Shunsuke Yoshii (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), younger brother of 2022 Hakone Ekiden First Stage winner Yamato Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) was 3rd in 14:12.61, with 2:08:28 marathoner Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) 6th in 14:21.96.

Along with Tokyo Olympian Kosei Yamaguchi's win at the Melbourne Track Classic last weekend, two domestic meets also had good results. On Monday's public holiday, Komazawa University duo Kotaro Shinohara and Chikara Yamano followed up on their incredible runs at February's National Corporate Half Marathon with a 1-2 at the Tokai University Spring Time Trials meet. Shinohara took 1st in 13:45.65, with Yamano next in 13:57.32. Two days earlier, last year's top Japanese half marathoner Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) won the Miyazaki Time Trials men's 10000 m in 28:09.50, a second and a half ahead of teammate Benuel Mogeni Magoma.

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk

Golden Games in Nobeoka Top Results

For everyone not running yesterday's 10000 m National Championships , where the Asahi Kasei corporate team dominated the men's race with four out of four men sub-28 including winner Jun Kasai , 27:17.46, the grand dame of Japan's long distance time trial circuit was happening on AK's home ground in Miyazaki at the Golden Games in Nobeoka . Not including kids' races, a total of 74 women and 227 men ran in 14 heats of 5000 m, with a packed-in crowd of fans lining the track beating on metal sponsor boards with batons. It's a pretty awesome meet, and memorable performances included: National champion Kamimura Gakuen H.S. standout Caroline Kariba continued to kill it in the second month of her corporate league career, winning the 5000 m A-heat in 15:00.95 in a race where 3 out of the top 4 including her ran PBs. National champion Meijo University seemed flat at this point in the season, with none of its people under 16 minutes and star Nanase Tanimoto leading

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