japan running news

In a lot of ways this was one of the more interesting races in National Men's Ekiden history. 2 of the country's current top high schoolers, Fukushima 's Yota Mashiko and Hyogo 's Haruki Niizuma , made sure the race got off right with a CR-pace attack from the beginning. Everyone went with them, but it quickly shook down to the 2 of them and Miyagi 's Hiroto Suzuki , a relatively unknown factor. Niizuma was fresh back from running last weekend's World XC Championships in Florida and showed the fatigue from that race and the travel, dropping off just before 5 km on the 7.0 km opening stage. Mashiko and Suzuki hit it in 13:37, a head-to-head battle between runners from the top 2 teams at December's National High School Ekiden . Mashiko, who ran the fastest-ever Japanese time on the opening leg for winner Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. there, had better credentials than Suzuki, 3rd on the third leg for runner-up Sendai Ikuei H.S. and opened up with 1 km to go. But ...

The 2025 National Sports Festival wrapped Tuesday with a short day of only 5 races. Kain Inagaki (Rakunan H.S.) won a good junior men's 3000 m , out kicking Toa Fujita (Toyokawa H.S.) by less than 2 seconds for 1st 8:11.75 to 8:13.95. The junior women's 3000 m was even better, as Nodoka Ashida (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) held off a chase pack of 5 to win in 9:02.90. Nami Kawakami (Nagano Higashi H.S.) was 2nd in 9:04.22, with 3rd through 6th place all within 0.90 seconds of her. With NR holder Ko Ochiai having opted for the senior race, the junior men's 800 m wasn't especially fast. Felix Muthiani (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) had an easy win over Rakunan's Atsuki Watanabe , running 1:48.65 to Watanabe's 1:49.23. Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) dominated in the senior women's 800 m , winning in 2:02.56. The mixed 4x400 m relay was a lot of fun, with the top 3 teams all within 0.18 and all 3 breaking the meet record. Featuring Osuke Hasegawa , Riko Ono , Akira ...

At the 68th Fukushima Prefecture Junior High School Track and Field Championships, Haru Tsuburaya won the boys' 800 m to qualify for his first National Junior High School Championships. Kokichi Tsuburaya , 1964 Tokyo Olympics marathon bronze medalist and a native of Sukagawa, was the younger brother of Haru's great-grandfather. Haru admits that he "doesn't really know much" about his famed relative, but was enthusiastic about his own performance, saying, "I ran a PB of 1:59.43 at the Prefectural Championships, and I want to run about 1:56 at Nationals to go for the win." Haru started running with the Kagamiishi Sports Club track team his first year of elementary school. In junior high he joined the basketball team in addition to running track. He started running the 800 m last fall, and even though he started off in only 2:07~09 range he trained steadily with the goal of making Nationals. As a result of that diligent training his times got better. ...

It's hard to beat the numbers, and with a whole team of current students at 2024 National High School Ekiden winner Saku Chosei H.S. , Saku Chosei alumni, and junior high schoolers bound to go there, 3-time National Men's Ekiden defending champ Nagano had enough of them to score a record 4th-straight win Sunday in Hiroshima. Saku Chosei's Yamato Hamaguchi got it off with a 19:33 win on the 7.0 km opening leg just 2 seconds off the CR, and even though second and third runners Taisei Masuda and Hiroto Yoshioka underperformed enough for Nagano to fall to 7th, a new 23:32 CR by Saku Chosei's Tetsu Sasaki on the 8.5 km Fifth Stage put them back out in front and far enough away that nobody could catch them. Anchor Taishi Ito brought Nagano home for the win in 2:16:55, 5 seconds under the overall CR for the 48.0 km race that Nagano set last year. Chiba spent the first half of the race back in the middle of the field of 47 teams from each of Japan's prefectures, but...

The members of the Japanese men's and women's marathon teams for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics appeared at a press conference Mar. 12 at Koriyama View Hotel in Koriyama, Fukushima to talk about their hopes and aspirations for the home soil Games. The team members also visited the grave of 1964 Tokyo Olympics men's marathon bronze medalist Kokichi Tsuburaya in Sukagawa, Fukushima, praying and swearing to medal. The JAAF chose Fukushima as the starting point for Team Japan's quest to become Tsuburaya's Olympic inheritors. At the press conference JAAF marathon development project leader Toshihiko Seko , 63, said, "Tsuburaya's run formed the bedrock upon which the marathon stands today." Appearing at the press conference were men's team member Yuma Hattori (26, Toyota), women's team members Honami Maeda (23, Tenmaya), Ayuko Suzuki (28, Japan Post) and Mao Ichiyama (22, Wacoal), along with men's alternates Shohei Otsuka (25, Kyudenko) and Ry...

video highlights via NHK Two and a half weeks after delivering the standout performance of the 2019 Hakone Ekiden , Toyo University third-year Akira Aizawa did it again, just missing the stage record as he anchored the Fukushima team to its first-ever National Men's Ekiden title. The season-ending national championship ekiden for Japanese men, the race features teams made up of the top junior high school, high school, university, club and pro runners from each of Japan's 47 prefectures, an entertaining format that often produces the national debuts of future stars from the next two generations alongside the best of the current one. No team from the Tohoku region, Japan's northeastern area that was hit by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, had ever won the National title before today. Fukushima started well in 4th, but over the next two stages it dropped to 12th as 3rd man Hiroki Abe , the only Japanese collegiate man to break 28 minutes for 10000 m last ye...

Back in 2010 JRN spotted 17-year-old high school student Minami Yamanouchi at a local 14 km road race in northern Ibaraki, where she beat the high school boys' course record by more than four minutes. At the time we wrote , "If Yamanouchi keeps running post-high school and lands at the right team, university or pro, we may have been lucky to see the first appearance of a future great." Now 25 and coached by former half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato at the Kyocera corporate team, in the last few weeks Yamanouchi has really come into her own. Minami Yamanouchi (Kyocera) took the top Japanese spot at 4th overall in the 5000 m at the April 28 Oda Memorial Meet in Hiroshima, one of the top-level track meets in Japan. A former amateur runner, she only joined the corporate leagues last August. Seeing her progress in less than a year of serious training, her coach Atsushi Sato , the 6th placer in the 2009 World Championships marathon, called her "exce...

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20170501/ddl/k07/050/032000c translated and edited by Brett Larner 川内優輝選手は昨年に続いてゲスト選手。すれ違うとき物凄いスピードだったけどハーフ1時間ちょい…とかスンゴイ。目の前でみても良い人でカッコいいし^^。 pic.twitter.com/dVJhyD0jHp — okarinman あやこ (@okarinman) April 30, 2017 The second running of the Kawauchi no Sato Kaeru Half Marathon took place April 30 in the village of Kawauchi, Fukushima. 1500 runners from across the country traversed the roads through mountains in full spring bloom and enjoyed the villagers' hospitality. The event had its beginnings in a local elementary school student saying, "I want to do something to convey the goodness of our village to the outside world." 1200 people took part in its first running last year. As a result of the huge response to its success, 300 locals joined the village cheering section this year. The welcome runners receive from every member of the local community is unique to the village of Kawauchi. Along the course local elementary school studen...

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170411-00000009-sph-spo translated by Brett Larner Long distance runner Hyuga Endo , 18, joined the Sumitomo Denko corporate team this month after graduating from Fukushima's Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.  Endo won the National Sports Festival 3000 m his first year of high school and the 5000 m both his second and third years.  A leading candidate to become the star of the next generation, Endo has suppressed the desire to run the Hakone Ekiden and instead chosen to go the corporate road in a quest "to win a medal" at the Tokyo Olympics.  Sumitomo Denko head coach Yasuyuki Watanabe , 43, is planning in the long-term, saying, "I want him to have a long career." Wearing a brand-new suit, Endo took part in the company's entrance ceremony for new employees.  "I'm glad that's over," he laughed afterward. Thanks to a phenomenal last kick, Endo was undefeated at the National Sports Festival all three years of h...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/fukushima/news/20140804-OYTNT50390.html translated by Brett Larner With goal of deepening the bonds between the disaster-hit northeast and the rest of the country before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the "Road to Tomorrow 1000 km Relay 2014" passed through Fukushima on Aug. 4.  The day started at Misaki Park in Iwaki and featured Fukushima native Ryuji Kashiwabara (25, Team Fujitsu), famed for his blazing course records on the Hakone Ekiden's Fifth Stage.  Kashiwabara ran a 2.6 km leg to Aquamarine Park and took part in a 1 km friendship run, smiling as he said, "The sea breeze was cool.  I'm glad I did it.  I hope that my running helps inspire someone to do something." Last year Kashiwabara injured his right Achilles tendon and could not run for four months.  "I wanted to do something to say thank you to everyone who supported me back home," he said.  With regard to his plans for preparing for his marathon debut he...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20131208-00000056-nksports-spo http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20131209-OHT1T00063.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner click here for a photo of the attack The civil servant runner has been attacked by a bear.  Marathoner Yuki Kawauchi  (26, Saitama Pref. Gov't) appeared as a special guest at a Dec. 8 community event in the town of Kawauchi, Fukushima to help support the village's reconstruction efforts from the 2011 Fukushima disaster.  From 10 a.m. to well into the evening he took part in a series of events one after another.  After running with local children, the main street in town was renamed 'Yuki Kawauchi Commemorative Road.'  The final event of the evening was the planting of a memorial tree.  After the tree was safely planted, up from behind Kawauchi came..... Also taking part in the event were town mascots from across the country including 2013 National Mascot Grand Prix champion Sanomar...

http://www.minpo.jp/news/detail/2013110812011 translated by Brett Larner Known as Japan's #1 amateur runner, two-time World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) will appear in Kawauchi village on Dec. 8 to help launch the town's new Mini-Marathon race. Never giving up and clenching his teeth as he runs with all his strength, Kawauchi resonates with the people of the village as they face the future and take steps forward toward reconstructing from the TEPCO Fukushima #1 Nuclear Reactor disaster. Mayor Yuko Endo has long shared a sense of affinity with the athlete with the same name as the town under his stewardship, and when he approached the famous marathoner with an invitation to run Kawauchi was quick to accept. "I've always been curious about this town that shares the name of Kawauchi with me," he said. At 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 8 Kawauchi will give a talk in the Iwananosato area of the town. Afterward, Kawauchi will help la...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20130918-OHT1T00105.htm translated by Brett Larner At a meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 18 to set the schedule for the 2014 season, the Japanese athletics federation Rikuren voted to hold the 2014 National Championships June 6-8 at Fukushima's Toho Minna no Stadium, with mixed events to be staged May 31 and June 1 at the Nagano Municipal Track and Field Grounds.  The Golden Grand Prix meet featuring a range of top international athletes is planned for May 11 pending coordination with the IAAF.  Final details will be announced at a later date following securing of the meet venue.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/olympics/summer-olympics/2020/1015849-we-are-not-worried-about-fukushima-insists-adamant-takeda-once-again

http://www.minyu-net.com/sport/sport/0502/sport2.html translated by Brett Larner On leave from the Hiroshima-based Chugoku Denryoku company team, this month half marathon national record holder and Beijing Olympian Atsushi Sato , 34, marks two years since relocating his training base back to his native Fukushima.  "I want to do my part in helping rebuild Fukushima," he said of his move back to his hometown of Aizubange-machi.  For the last year Sato has been busy, coaching training sessions and giving lectures for local athletes, studying as a research fellow at Fukushima University, and getting coaching advice from Fukushima University head coach Kazuhisa Kawamoto . Last November Sato finished 3rd at the Osaka Marathon, but after developing problems with his right leg he was unable to race at 100% and missed his goal of making this year's World Championships marathon team.  He is now focused on being ready to race December's Fukuoka International Marathon. As...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=soc_30&k=2013042900266 translated by Brett Larner At around 10:05 on April 29th, a 27-year-old man running the 20th Koriyama 10-Mile Road Race in Koriyama, Fukushima was struck by a car that had entered the course, sustaining minor injuries to his head and chest.  Prefectural police arrested the driver of the car, local resident Masatake Watanabe , 73, on suspicion of accidental infliction of injury while driving.  Watanabe ignored race staff who told him the roads were closed, saying, "I have urgent business in town and have to get there quickly," before driving onto the course.  According to police, the accident occurred at a place where the road had narrowed to a single lane and traffic was blocked.  Watanabe drove around race volunteers onto the shoulder of the road to get onto the course.  He did not notice the runner, who was moving in the same direction, and struck him from behind.

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/120926/fks12092602030000-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner Under the leadership of director Toshio Katahira , the Fukushima Prefecture Track and Field Association made a formal request to the prefectural government on Sept. 25 to back a bid to host the 98th National Track and Field Championships in 2014.  Delivering his petition to lieutenant governor  Masao Uchibori , Director Katahira told him, "We want to show the whole country that even though we're in a tough situation because of the nuclear disaster, Fukushima is still alive and well."  The lieutenant governor responded, "We have to closely examine to what degree the prefecture can prioritize the Championships as we continue to deal with recovery efforts." In Olympic and World Championships years the National Championships serve as the selection race for the Japanese national team.  According to Fukushima Prefecture Track and Field Association officials...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201204270091.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On April 26 it was announced that Beijing Olympics men's marathoner Atsushi Sato  (33, Team Chugoku Denryoku) will take an indefinite leave of absence from the Chugoku Denryoku team to relocate his training base to his native Fukushima.  Sato will remain affiliated with Chugoku Denryoku but will enter Fukushima University in October as a research student. Born in Aizu, Fukushima, last year's disasters were a major turning point for Sato.  Becoming a driving force in helping to alleviate the region's misery in the wake of the nuclear accidents has given him new motivation.  With the understanding of his company, he chose to return to his hometown.  At Fukushima University he will be researching the physiological effects of low-oxygen training while training in his hometown of Aizu as he targets next year's World Championships.  Among the many others who have b...