japan running news

The Suffolkland Shibetsu Half Marathon took place on July 12 in Shibetsu, Hokkaido, with corporate league runners, collegiate athletes and amateur runners all taking to the city streets under breaks in the cloudy skies. A total of around 1900 people entered the event's 39th edition. In the men's race, Yu Miyazaki of Toyo University won in 1:02:22, the 6th-fastest time in Shibetsu Half history. Kaede Hagitani , a 2021 Tokyo Olympian in the 5000 m, won in 1:13:02 as a step toward next month's Hokkaido Marathon. "This was a good run that helped me figure out what areas I need to work on for the Hokkaido Marathon," she said post-race. "The scenery along the course was relaxing." Miyazaki, who took 3rd on the opening leg at the 2023 National High School Ekiden while at Ibaraki's Toyodai Ushiku H.S. and anchored Toyo at last fall's Izumo Ekiden, took 27 seconds off the PB he had run at November's Ageo City Half Marathon. It was his second PB i...

Two of the year's biggest 10000 m time trial meets went down in miserably cold and wet conditions Saturday in Tokyo's western and southern suburbs as part of the buildup toward the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden and Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden. At Hosei University, the Hachioji Long Distance meet saw Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) lead twelve Japan-based Kenyans under 28 minutes in the fastest heat. No Japanese men did it, but sub-61 half marathoner Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) turned in the fastest Japanese time of the weekend with a 28:06.51 PB to win the A-heat. Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) was almost as fast in the B-heat, winning in a PB of 28:08.80. Komazawa University's star first-year Ren Tazawa made an impressive debut in 28:13.21 for 2nd behind Mogi, the fastest collegiate time of the weekend. Special mention to D-heat winner Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.), and 4th-placer Takato Imai (Ritsumeikan Univ.) whose times of 28:26.37 and 28:31.76 were new regional records for their ...

by Brett Larner photo courtesy marumaruko1201 Record-breaking snowfall in eastern Japan all day Saturday meant the cancellation of virtually every Sunday race in the area, including the elite-level Chiba International Cross-Country Meet , and kept many Tokyo-region runners bound for races in the west at home. Of the races that did go off, in his marathon debut 2008 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 20 km winner Kazuki Tomaru  (Team Toyota) was the star of the day's most important race, the 52nd running of the Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon . With impeccable pacing from former Waseda University standout Yuki Yagi  (Team Asahi Kasei), who split 15:27, 15:26 and 15:26 for the first three 5 km segments, a large pack ran at around 2:10:30 pace, 45 seconds ahead of the event's course record.  The pace slowed slightly from 15 km to Yagi's departure at 25 km, but Tomaru quickly got to work with another 15:26 to get rid of the field.  Only Ryo Ishita  (SDF Academy) went aft...