japan running news

After a great season so far that has included a win on the New Year Ekiden First Stage in January and a 1:00:58 PB at the National Corporate Half in February, Shumpei Tomita (Logisteed) added another one with a 1:00:52 CR for the win at the China Airlines Gold Coast Half Marathon . Pacer James Hansen and 2-time winner Brett Robinson went out fast, with Australian 10 km NR holder Sam Clifford and Chuo University student Daichi Fujita closing it up to make a lead quartet that hit 5 km in 14:12. Clifford soon dropped off, and when Hansen stepped off at 10 km in 28:44 it was down to just Robinson and Fujita. Fujita, who came into the race with only a 1:03:57 best, couldn't hang with the more experienced Robinson and faded, although to his credit he hung on for a new PB of 1:02:55 in 12th. Robinson looked like he had a 3rd title down, but by 15 km, hit in 43:33, he'd been run down by the front end of the chase pack, Tomita, veteran Kazuto Kawabata and debuting Australian Ed ...

Australians Isobel Batt-Doyle and Haftu Strintzos turned in record-breaking performances to win the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania. Running with a private male pacer, NR holder Batt-Doyle dusted the field with the fastest half marathon ever by an Australian woman on Australian soil, a 1:08:46 CR that put her 2 and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Genevieve Gregson . Last year's runner-up Yumi Yoshikawa was almost a minute back from Gregson in 3rd in 1:12:03, but was almost run down by club runner Ayaka Shimoyamada . Starting slow in her international debut, Shimoyamada moved up from 7th over the 2nd half of the race to finish 4th in 1:12:06, kicking hard in the home straight to try to catch Yoshikawa and momentarily blacking out after finishing. Kaho Onishi was 7th in 1:12:45 in her own international debut. The men's half had pacing set at 2:53/km to try to deliver the first-ever sub-61 half marathon on Australian soil. CR holde...