Weekend Track and Road Roundup

The Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon aside, a quick roundup of results from this past weekend:

At the Nittai University Time Trials, aka the Nittaidai Challenge Games, Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) led a great men's 10000 m A-heat in 27:20.05, with the top six men all going under 27:28. James Mutuku (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) was the only other collegiate runner among them at 3rd in 27:23.09, with 2:06 marathoner Hidekazu Hijikata (Asahi Kasei) the top Japanese finisher at 8th in 28:23.27.

Mutuku's YGU teammate Brian Kipyegon won the 5000 m A-heat in 13:30.88, James Karuri (Aomori Yamada H.S.) next in 13:33.67 and Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) 3rd in 13:48.44. Soya Katayama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) had the fastest 1500 m with a 3:46.19 to win the A-heat.

In the women's races at Nittai, Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was the only one to clear 16 minutes in the 5000 m A-heat, running 15:27.12 for the win. Lucy Nduta (Aomori Yamada H.S.) was likewise the only one under 9 minutes in the 3000 m A-heat at 8:57.59, Runa Shoji (Kantaiheiyo Univ.) taking the 1500 m A-heat in 4:19.30 by 0.12 over Yuma Yamamoto (Sekisui Kagaku). Yamamoto was also 2nd behind Nduta in the 3000 m, running 9:08.38.

Like last year, heavy rain hit Hiroshima's Oda Memorial Meet on Monday, but there were still a lot of good performances. Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) led the top six under 13:30 in the men's 5000 m A-heat in 13:24.06, with Taishi Ito (Waseda Univ.) running in the 13:20s for the first time at 13:28.67 for 5th.

Just-graduated 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Subaru) and perpetual rival Philemon Kiplagat (Aisan Kogyo) both went under Kiplagat's meet record from 2021, Miura winning in 8:22.07 and Kiplagat 2nd in 8:23.35. On the way up this season, Yutaro Niinae (Aisan Kogyo) was 3rd in 8:28.54, his first time under 8:30. Three men broke the MR in the 1500 m, all under 3:40, led by Abraham Guem (Ami AC) in 3:39.17. Ryoji Tatezawa (DeNA) was 2nd in 3:39.55 and Masato Saiki (Fujisan no Meisui) 3rd in 3:39.88.

Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) was less than a second off the MR in the women's 5000 m, winning by over 20 seconds in 15:04.71. Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was 2nd in 15:25.30, with Ireland's Jodie McCann 4th in a PB 15:30.20. Tomoka Kimura (Sekisui Kagaku) shaved 0.19 off the women's 1500 m MR dating way back to 1994, winning 4:10.75 over Rose Wangui (Sera H.S.), 2nd in 4:12.85. Overseas, NR holder Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) was slightly faster at the Penn Relays, running 4:08.32 for 3rd.

Also overseas, a massive crew of nine Adidas-sponsored Japanese men ran the 5 km at the adizero Road to Records in Germany, where they duly filled up the back half of the field, jogging in a pack and finishing 15th through 22nd and 24th of 24. Kosei Atomura (Koku Gakuin Univ.) was the only one to run relatively seriously, clocking 14:00 for 15th. The 16th through 21st-placers all ran between 14:30 and 14:38, 14:38 being the time run by women's winner Medina Eisa.

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...

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