japan running news

by Brett Larner
videos courtesy of Ekiden News

The Fukuoka International Marathon was not the only major event in Japan this weekend. Across the country a string of high-level track and road races took place as high school, university and corporate league runners prepare for national championship ekiden season over the next two months.  The majority of the track action came on Saturday with the Hachioji Long-Distance Time Trials meet in Tokyo, the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama, and the Time Trial in Nagasaki meet further south.



10000 m was the main focus in Hachioji, the last chance for athletes in Japan to get under 28 minutes for the year.  Ethiopian Agato Yashin Hassan (Team Chuo Hatsujo) led six men into 27-minute territory, clocking 27:46.35 for the win over Kenyans Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Steel) and Patrick Muendo Muwaka (Team Aisan Kogyo).  23-year-old Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) ran 27:53.34 for 4th in his first time breaking 28 since running a then…

by Brett Larner

On the quietest weekend of the fall at the cusp of ekiden season, the main action came at track time trials across the country as Japan's coaches sort out their lineups for the upcoming round of regional and national championship ekidens at the end of this month and the beginning of next.

The biggest meet of the weekend took place at Shizuoka's fast Ecopa Stadium.  Fresh from an anchor stage record at the Kanto Regional University Women's Ekiden national championships qualifier, Tsukuba University ace first-year Haruka Kyuma won the women's 5000 m A-heat by four seconds, running a solid best of 15:39.87 to just miss the Japanese top ten for the year.  Her twin sister Moe Kyuma, also of Tsukuba, was 14th, the last woman in the A-heat to break 16 minutes as she crossed the line in 15:58.07 in an off day. Another set of twins, Kaori and Shiori Morita of Eda H.S., also dominated the women's 3000 m A-heat, going 1-2 a step apart in 9:10.97 and 9:11.15.

T…

by Brett Larner

Just six days after winning his second marathon in three weeks, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) did the unexpected and ran 3:50.51, a PB by six seconds, to win the 1500 m A-heat at the first Nittai University Time Trials Meet of the season.  "It wasn't hard at all today," Kawauchi told JRN after the race.  "It reinforced to me that Lydiard was right when he said that marathon training doesn't just give you better stamina but also improves your speed.  The mainstream approach right now is to work on speed, but I want to take the approach of working on distance.  Amateur runners have few opportunities to do high-quality speed training, and the risk of injury is much higher.  A lot of people also think that doing marathon training will make you slower, but if I can show them that that's not true I'll be very happy.  Next spring I'm going to target the 3:48 qualifying time for the National Track and Field Championships 1500 m."



A day l…

by Brett Larner

Somewhat usually, all of Japan's major track action this weekend took place on Saturday.  The biggest meet of the day was the first in the Hokuren Distance Challenge series, held in Shibetsu, Hokkaido.  London Olympics men's marathon team member Arata Fujiwara (Miki House) made news by running both the A and B heats of the men's 10000 m with less than six minutes in between.  Fujiwara won the B-heat in 29:08.00, then ran 29:00.98 in the A-heat where he placed 5th.  With new half marathon and marathon PBs of 1:01:34 and 2:07:48 behind him earlier this year, Fujiwara's three-year-old 10000 m PB of 28:41.05 is no doubt up for renewal whenever he wants it.  Fujiwara will run next weekend's Sapporo International Half Marathon as another tuneup for the London Olympics.

Kenyan Alex Mwangi (Team YKK) won the 10000 m A-heat in 28:12.47 over 2011 World Championships marathoner Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota), who took the runner-up position in 28:40.19.  Kenyans …