japan running news

  The JA Irumano farmers' collective has donated 100 kg of locally-grown rice to the Waseda University ekiden team in support of the team's preparations for the 100th Hakone Ekiden on Jan. 2-3 next year. The JA Irumano, which represents an area of 13 municipalities including Kawagoe and Tokorozawa, donates local rice every year to Hakone-bound schools that have campuses within the collective's domain as a way of wishing the athletes good luck. On Nov. 29, JA Irumano regional director Toshio Ishii and managing director Yoji Shimizu went to Waseda's campus in Tokorozawa to present the team with 100 kg of Kinmemai, a commercial brand produced from Saitama prefecture's proprietary sainokizuna variety of rice and polished using original techniques. "Our athletes are in heavy training right now and I told them that it's important to eat a lot of rice, so I'm really grateful for this," commented Waseda head coach Katsuhiko Hanada . "We want to del...

This ekiden season is all about the lead-up to the 100th running of the legendary Hakone Ekiden in January. But a big part of making this year what it is is Komazawa University trying to cap the centenary by accomplishing something no team has ever done. Last year Komazawa became one of only five teams in history to pull off the triple crown, winning October’s Izumo Ekiden, November’s National University Ekiden, and Hakone in the same season. This year they’re trying to go one better and achieve the first double triple crown. At the Izumo Ekiden a month ago Komazawa kicked off its campaign with a definitive win, breaking its own overall course record from last season by 41 seconds and winning by double the margin it did that time, all despite the loss of star senior Ren Tazawa to graduation. Sunday they look to ride that momentum to a fourth-straight win at the National University Ekiden , 106.8 km from Nagoya to Ise in eight stages. TV Asahi will broadcast the race live starting a...

Ekiden season is back with the first of the Big Three University Ekidens, Monday's Izumo Ekiden in Shimane. Last year Komazawa University became one of the few schools to win all three, Izumo, November's National University Ekiden, and January's Hakone Ekiden, in a single season. This year Komazawa is aiming to become the first school to win the triple crown two years in a row, and with Hakone celebrating its 100th running that means something even more. But it won't be easy. Izumo is shorter and faster than the other races, with 6 stages totaling 45.1 km and an average stage length of 7.5 km. Komazawa is in its top tier for sure, with the 2nd-best 6-man 5000 m average in the field, 13:35.86. U20 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , who trained in Boulder and St. Moritz this year with OAC , leads that average and is set to double in Izumo after running the Asian Games 5000 m on Wednesday. But with the graduation of fastest-ever Japanese-born collegiate 10000 m man Ren Tazawa...

Saturday is the official qualifying event for the 99th running of the world's greatest road race. Back on its regular course after two years as loop around a runway, the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai half marathon has the 11th through 53rd-ranked men's university teams in the greater Tokyo area racing it out to be in the top 10 and score a place in Hakone in January. All 43 teams field from 10 to 12 runners with their first 10 finishers scoring and teams ranked on their scoring runners' total combined times. It's tense, dramatic, and every second from every runner really does count. Sometimes the difference between 10th and 11th in the team scoring comes down to a fraction of that per runner. NTV will be broadcasting it live starting at 9:25 a.m. local time Saturday. It doesn't need to be said that proven half marathon ability is the best predictor of half marathon success, but given that teams can qualify runners via 10000 m best that's what organizers KGRR list in ...

Having officially taken over as head coach of the Waseda University track and ekiden program as of June 1, on June 2 Katsuhiko Hanada held a press conference at the school's campus in central Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. "I want to develop athletes who will represent Japan," he said. In his own days as an athlete at Waseda, Hanada played a role in the school's win at the 1993 Hakone Ekiden. After graduating he joined the SB Foods corporate team, going on to run for Japan at both the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics. His coaching experience includes leading Jobu University to its first Hakone in 2009, and helping to found the GMO corporate team. Central to Hanada's selection as new head coach was his former coach at both Waseda and SB, Toshihiko Seko , 65. After Hanada announced his resignation from GMO earlier this year, Seko called him about his alma mater, which had finished only 13th at this year's Hakone. Hanada went to observe the team...

After falling out of the top 10 for the first time in 3 years to 13th at this year's Hakone Ekiden, Waseda University is set to name Olympian, former GMO corporate head coach and Waseda alum Katsuhiko Hanada , 50, as its new head coach. Former head coach Yutaka Sagara , 41, is expected to remain on as head coach. Under the new arrangement Waseda hopes to regain its former stature. Having left GMO at the end of March, Hanada is already overseeing Waseda team training at the university's Tokorozawa campus in Saitama. Asked about his role, Sagara commented, "Nothing has been finalized yet." But according to an involved source, the decision about Hanada is final and only a few last details are still under discussion. Hanada ran well at the Hakone Ekiden during his collegiate years and was part of Waseda's winning team his third year at the school. After joining the S&B corporate team, he competed on the track at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympi...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20160705-OHT1T50100.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160705-00000225-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner Former teammates at 2012 National High School Ekiden champion Toyokawa H.S. and now two of the biggest stars on the Hakone Ekiden circuit, 2015 National University Half Marathon champion Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin University) and 2015 National University 5000 m champion Hazuma Hattori (Toyo University) are set to follow unconventional paths post-graduation. At a press conference this week GMO Internet announced that Isshiki will join its new GMO Athletes team after his graduation next spring.  Isshiki finished as the third Japanese man overall and second university finisher in his marathon debut at February's Tokyo Marathon, running 2:11:45 to position himself as a hopeful for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  Having received recruitment offers from ten different corporate league teams, after careful consideration...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160229-00000191-sph-spo translated by Brett Larner On Mar. 1 the major telecommunications company GMO Internet announced the launch of a new GMO Athletes corporate running team in April.  Resigning from his position at Jobu University, Katsuhiko Hanada , 44, will be the team's first head coach, with two-time Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University head coach Susumu Hara , 48, serving as adviser.  The team's initial lineup includes current Aoyama Gakuin University fourth-years Ryo Hashimoto and Toshinori Watanabe , both of whom made their marathon debuts Sunday at the Tokyo Marathon . Hanada graduated from Waseda University and ran for the S&B corporate team, running at both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.  Becoming head coach at Jobu University in 2004, he developed the brand-new Jobu team into Hakone Ekiden regulars.  The GMO team marks the launch of the Hara Project, a concept aimed at developi...

http://www.jomo-news.co.jp/ns/2014532978453725/news.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160121-00000179-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner After leading Jobu University to eight-straight Hakone Ekiden appearances, head coach Katsuhiko Hanada , 44, has announced that he will step down from his position and leave Jobu University at the end of March following the end of the academic year.  In an interview with the Jomo Newspaper coach Hanada said, "In the future I would like to continue to be involved with developing athletes," but he declined to discuss the reason for his resignation or his specific future plans. Jobu finished last at this year's Hakone Ekiden. During his time as an athlete at Waseda University Hanada set the stage record on the Hakone Ekiden's Fourth Stage, contributing to Waseda's overall win.  At the S&B corporate team he ran the 10000 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics.  After his retirement as ...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/event/sports/news/20101213-OHT1T00247.htm translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 13 Jobu University's ekiden team held a workout session at the school's track in Isesaki, Gunma prefecture as it prepares for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden. Speaking to the media at the workout, the team's captain and senior ace Yusuke Hasegawa , holder of the fastest 10000 m time of the year by a Japanese university student, revealed that he has signed to join the elite Team S&B following his graduation in March. Hasegawa, the national university 1500 m champion as a sophomore, is a top-class speed runner among university athletes. At November's Nittai University Time Trials meet he ran a 10000 m PB of 28:07.47, the best of the year by a Japanese student and all-time #8 on the collegiate 10000 m rankings. Having led Jobu from scratch to Hakone in a remarkably short time, head coach Katsuhiko Hanada , a former S&B star himself, will continue to serve as Hasegawa...

by Brett Larner Click here for an explanation of scoring for the Hakone Ekiden qualifying race. Aided by ideally cool, cloudy and windless conditions, Tokai University first-year Akinobu Murasawa, the star runner of 2008 national high school champion Saku Chosei H.S., served notice to the big guns at the Oct. 17 Hakone Ekiden-qualifying Yosenkai 20 km road race with a 59:08 win, just 28 seconds shy of the best mark ever recorded at the race by a Japanese athlete. Running in his first university road race and his first-ever longer than 10 km, Murasawa took down defending champ Kazuki Tomaru (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) and two other ace seniors, Yuta Takahashi (Josai Univ.) and Takuya Fukatsu (Komazawa Univ.), over the final five kilometers to seal his win. In a race which rarely sees more than one or two runners break the hour mark, eleven athletes succeeded this year with another two just a second off from joining them. It may well have been the most competitive race in Yosenkai history. Beyo...

http://mainichi.jp/area/gunma/news/20081113ddlk10050045000c.html translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner "I want to nurture athletes who can compete on the national level." --Jobu University Head Coach Katsuhiko Hanada In qualifying for the ultimate stage in university distance running, the Hakone Ekiden, Jobu University's ekiden team, the first from Gunma Prefecture to make Hakone, has become an inspiration for high school and junior high school distance runners who hope to make it to the national level. This incredible achievement, coming less than five years since the team's establishment in 2004, is due to the leadership provided by head coach Katsuhiko Hanada (37) and to the dedication of Jobu's athletes. "I want to nurture athletes who can compete in the top class of national races," says Hanada. His team shares this dream. "Would you coach us?" In 2004, Daisuke Ono (24), the first captain of Jobu's ekiden team, send an email to...

by Brett Larner The late fall and early winter ekiden season is the cornerstone of the Japanese running year, and nowhere is this more true than in university men's running. The university season comprises a series of 3 major ekidens culminating in the Biwako University Ekiden for schools from western Japan and the Hakone Ekiden for those in eastern Japan. It's one of the peculiarities of the Japanese distance running world that the major race of the season for university men is a regional event which takes place after the National Championships. There's no question that Hakone is the most important distance running event in Japan, but November's All-Japan University Men's Ekiden Championships offer a rare opportunity to see schools from other areas of Japan take on the famed powerhouses of eastern Japan. The National Ekiden covers an 8 stage, 106.8 km course from Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture to Ise in Mie Prefecture. October's Izumo Ekiden offers the season...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/gunma/news/20081021-OYT8T00099.htm?from=nwlb translated by Brett Larner At the Oct. 18 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai [Qualification Race], Jobu University's ekiden team finished 3rd to qualify for the 85th Hakone Ekiden in only the team's 5th year of existence. On Oct. 20 Takasaki city mayor Yukio Matsuura held a reception in the Jobu ekiden team's honor, heartily congratulating them and urging the team on to success in the Jan. 2-3 main event. Head coach Katsuhiko Hanada and 20 runners from the team appeared at the reception. Mayor Matsuura addressed them, smiling as he told them, "You are the first [team] from Gunma Prefecture to run the Hakone Ekiden. Show us all something special when we see you on TV." Coach Hanada discussed the team's performance at the Yosenkai and its goals for Hakone, saying, "Our runners believed in themselves, and they ran outstandingly. We're aiming for the seeded bracket [top 10] in Hakone, and ...

by Brett Larner Relative newcomer Josai University had a strong showing at the 2008 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai , a 20 km road race held Oct. 18 in western Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park to select non-seeded teams for the 2009 Hakone Ekiden. Josai won the Yosenkai for the 2nd year in a row despite a mediocre run by its ace, 3rd year Yuta Takahashi. 12 other teams likewise qualified for January's Hakone, the Kanto regional men's university 2-day ekiden championships and the most popular race in Japan. In a typical year, Hakone features 19 university teams and 1 select team made up of top runners from Kanto-area schools which failed to qualify. The top 10 finishing schools are seeded for the following year's Hakone with the remaining teams having to run the Yosenkai to requalify. In the Yosenkai, universities may field teams of up to 12 runners. All runners run an open 20 km race, with the aggregate time of a school's top 10 finishers determining the team finishing order. For th...