japan running news

by Brett Larner photos by Tsukasa Kawarai In a career teeming to overflow with double medals at the Olympics and World Championships and an unprecedented triple crown of Great North Run wins earned to varying degrees, Great Britain's Mo Farah staked the ultimate claim to the title of Greatest of All Time with the single most important victory of his career, a win at Saturday's Akasaka 5-Chome Mini Marathon . Running on a hilly 900 m four-loop course around and through broadcaster TBS' Akasaka studios as part of its semi-annual All-Star Kanshasai variety show, Farah overcame a 5 minute, 55 second handicap start to run down a cavalcade of Japan's finest models and comedians for the win, catching the last trio led by entertainer Kenji Moriwaki on the final uphill run up to the studio. 【オールスター感謝祭 TBS】 ファラー速い！💨💨💨🏃 やっぱりファラーはロードでも強かった！😊 pic.twitter.com/tFdpxEXT3K — NOBUKI T&F (@hagechabin123) October 8, 2016 Farah covered the 3.6 km cours...

by Brett Larner 神野大地(コニカミノルタ)@赤坂5丁目ミニマラソン pic.twitter.com/sM95E0dMdN — EKIDEN_MANIA (@ekiden_mania) April 9, 2016 Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage star Daichi Kamino made his pro debut for the Konica Minolta team in surprising style, running Saturday night as part of the 50th edition of the All-Star Kanshasai variety show's twice-annual Akasaka 5-Chome Mini Marathon.  Broadcast live during the show, the race covers four laps of a twisting 900 m course with a steep downhill start, two 180-degree turns, a 200 m-long uphill with a nearly 10% grade, and a section through the TBS studios in front of the hundred or so comedians and TV personalities assembled for the variety show.  Each edition features a well-known pro runner racing several dozen other comedians and celebrities, each carefully handicapped for the staggered start to make the outcome as close as possible.  Past editions have featured Olympic and World Championships medalists including Joan Benoit Samuelson , M...