Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University, Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara, who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone.

Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runner-up Tohoku Fukushi University, Nazuki Sasaki and Amisa Murayama, will race for the first time.

A Japanese athlete hasn't held the CR in Ageo since Ethiopian Gebretsadik Bekele ran 1:01:26 to better Hideaki Date's 1:02:08 back in 2006. But at last November's race Rui Aoki from Izumo Ekiden winner Koku Gakuin University and Shunsuke Kuwata from National University Ekiden champ Komazawa University pushed each other the whole way, the 4th-year Aoki going 2 seconds under the CR in 1:00:45 for the win and the 2nd-year Kuwata just missing in 1:00:48 to score invitations to NYC. Both were PBs, but at Hakone in January they surpassed those marks, Aoki running the equivalent of a 59:54 half marathon to take the First Stage CR and Kuwata running the equivalent of 1:00:35 on the Second Stage.

Both Aoki and Kuwata skipped February's Marugame Half to focus 100% on NYC. Aoki, a native of Gunma, graduates next week, and in a deep field of sub-60 half marathoners he's hoping to prove that Hakone time wasn't a fluke. From Aichi, Kuwata did a lot of his training for NYC on rolling hills in Japan's southern islands and is focused on trying to stay with the debuting Grant Fisher.

24 Japanese collegiate men have run the United Airlines NYC Half over the years, 9 of them from Komazawa, with Komazawa's Kenta Murayama coming back in 2017 as a corporate league runner with the Asahi Kasei team to run the best-ever Japanese placing and time in NYC, 1:00:57 for 5th on the old faster version of the NYC course. Shitara's 1:01:48 on the old course remains the fastest-ever collegiate time, with Komazawa's Kei Katanishi the fastest on the tougher new course at 1:03:05 for 7th in 2018, the best-ever collegiate placing on either course. With 8 men in the field having broken 60 minutes not including Aoki it'll take an A-list performance to beat Katanishi's placing, but it'll be a surprise if his time survives these 2 next-generation talents.

United Airlines NYC Half Men's Field Highlights

New York, U.S.A., 15 March 2026

times listed are athletes' best within last 3 years except where noted

Abel Kipchumba (Kenya) - 59:09

Adriaan Wildschutt (South Africa) - 59:13

Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) - 59:14

Patrick Kiprop (Kenya) - 59:14

Mohammed El Youssfi (Morocco) - 59:21

Alex Maier (U.S.A.) - 59:23

Ryan Ford (U.S.A.) - 59:47

Rory Linkletter (Canada) - 59:49

Patrick Dever (Great Britain) - 1:00:11

Sondre Moen (Norway) - 1:00:11

Zouhair Talbi (U.S.A.) - 1:00:41

Rui Aoki (Japan/Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:45

Shunsuke Kuwata (Japan/Komazawa) - 1:00:48

Alex Masai (Kenya) - 1:00:51

Jack Rowe (Great Britain) - 1:00:53

Joe Klecker (U.S.A.) - 1:01:06

Peter Lynch (Ireland) - 1:01:15

Camren Todd (U.S.A.) - 1:01:23

Hendrik Pfeiffer (Germany) - 1:01:28

Tummy Tsegay (Eritrea) - 1:01:50

Galen Rupp (U.S.A.) - 1:02:01

Jacob Thomson (U.S.A.) - 1:02:26

Joel Reichow (U.S.A.) - 1:02:30

Max Turek (Canada) - 1:02:45

Haftu Knight (U.S.A.) - 1:02:47

Matt Leach (Great Britain) - 1:03:05

Nick Hauger (U.S.A.) - 1:03:06

Kieran Tuntivate (Thailand) - 1:03:19

Grant Fisher (U.S.A.) - debut

Gulveer Singh (India) - debut

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

Akasaki 2nd, Maeda 9th - Berlin Marathon Japanese Results

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Even with a few withdrawals there was a massive group of Japanese athletes at the Berlin Marathon this year, most of the group that typically goes to the Chicago Marathon seeming to opt for Berlin instead. With men's winner Sebastian Sawe taking a shot at the world record, Akira Akasaki , Yuhei Urano and NR holder Kengo Suzuki sat back in a 3rd group targeting the JAAF's 2:06:30 standard for 2028 Olympic marathon trials qualification. The group held steady on that pace, quickly passing and leaving behind Hakone fan favorite Aoi Ota , who went out with a 14:26 opening 5 km only to finish in 2:14:02. Suzuki dropped off, but Akasaki and Urano were together through 30 km until Urano did the same. The top Japanese finisher in the Paris Olympics last year, from there Akasaki had what had to have been an incredibly fun last 12 km, picking faster people off one by one as he rolled on. Ultimately he made it all the way up to 2nd in a 2:06:15 PB. ...

Watching Japanese Race Broadcasts Online

One option for watching Japanese races online from overseas is Keyhole TV . The quality and reliability of the streaming varies, but it is usually at least watchable. A paid premium key usually results in significantly better quality. Go here or here to get the Keyhole TV player, or just Google it to find up-to-date sites offering it. If you have downloaded Keyhole before, make sure you have the most recent version of the player for optimal performance. Another option that looks promising is http://www.jpplayer.com/ This also looks good but takes time to set up so might be a better long-term option: http://www.nihonnamaterebi.com/ A list of these and other options: http://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73546 This site sometimes has some channels not available elsewhere. JRN also offers live English race commentary for some races via Twitter @JRNLive . To use Keyhole, once you have downloaded, installed and o...

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