japan running news

by Brett Larner

This Sunday the Fukuoka International Marathon celebrates its 70th running.  Once upon a time playing the role of the men's marathon world championships in a day before there were World Championships, Fukuoka has seen its importance worldwide dwindle in the face of modernity and the changes it has brought in the sport.  It still manages to put together good-quality, interesting fields from a spectrum of nationalities, but it has been a while since Fukuoka could really pull in the type of talent who now head to the World Marathon Majors.  On the home front too, despite serving as the first of three main selection races for Japanese national teams at the major international championships, its timing a bit less than four weeks before the increasingly important New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships means that more and more top level Japanese man now pass it over in favor of February's Tokyo Marathon or March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. …

by Brett Larner

Japanese athletes raced in three European road races in three different countries on Sunday, 2015 Zurich Marathon winner Yoshiko Sakamoto (Y.W.C.) leading the way at Germany's Volksbank Muenster Marathon.  Starting off at a conservative pace that left her 20 seconds behind the lead group at 5 km and over a minute and a half behind by 15 km, over the second half she overtook three women, Ethiopian Belaynesh Yigezu, then Kenyans Janet Cheruiyot and Salina Jebet, to move into 2nd.  2015 Nairobi Marathon winner Elizabeth Rumokol of Kenya, the only woman in the field to have broken 2:30, took 1st in 2:33:01, Sakamoto next in 2:38:46 and Jebet 3rd in 2:42:27.  "I wanted to try to run with the lead group, but they went out too fast," Sakamoto said post-race.  "I was hoping for a faster time but I'm really, really happy to have gotten 2nd.  This was the first time I've ever enjoyed myself while racing seriously."

In the Muesnter men's race 2…

Japanese distance runners didn't exactly impress in Rio, but the next month or two will see quite a few racing on the roads overseas in search of  keiken, that ever-elusive experience that is somehow going to someday transform them into Olympic marathon medalists.  A few of the road races with Japanese athletes on their entry lists:

Sept. 11: Muenster Marathon, Germany
men: Shingo Igarashi (Josai University Coaching Staff)
women: Yoshiko Sakamoto (Y.W.C.)

Sept. 11: Great North Run, U.K.
men: Kazuhiro Maeda (Kyudenko)

Sept. 18: Sydney Marathon, Australia
men: Sota Hoshi (Fujitsu)

Sept. 18: Porto Half Marathon, Portugal
men: Hiroshi Ichida (Asahi Kasei), Shun Inoura (Yachiyo Kogyo), Yusei Nakao (Smiley Angel AC)
women: Nao Isaka (Hitachi), Ayumi Kubo (Kagoshima Ginko)

Sept. 25: Berlin Marathon, Germany
men: Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't)
women: Reia Iwade (Noritz)

Sept. 25: Warsaw Marathon, Poland
men: Akiyuki Iwanaga (Kyudenko)

Oct. 9: Chicago Marathon, U.S.A.
men: Takuya Fukatsu (Asahi K…

by Brett Larner

The elite field for the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the last selection race for the Japanese men's Rio Olympics team, is finally out, and it is a monster.  Fifteen men with sub-2:10 times in the last three years including nine Japanese men.  Tadese Tola leads the six quality internationals with a 2:04:49 at the 2013 Dubai Marathon, with the other five perfectly positioned from 2:06:43 to 2:08:55 to pull the massive Japanese field along to fast times.

2:08 men Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki) lead the nine sub-2:10 Japanese men, but there are dozens more one level down from that who could step up including 2015 Sydney Marathon winner Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa) and 2014 Riga Marathon winner Yu Chiba (Team Honda). 

More potential can be found on the list of runners taking a second shot at the marathon after failed debuts.  Former Hakone Ekiden stars Shinobu Kubota (Team Toyota…

by Brett Larner

For the first time since 1997 no Japanese men made the top 10 in a World Championships marathon.  With the withdrawal of Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu), the favorite to clear the JAAF's top 8 requirement for a place on the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team, and no alternate in place to take his spot, Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) and Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), both 34 and with sub-2:09 bests, had a chance of making it on paper, but neither proved up to the task.  Looking heavy in stride, Maeda was out of the lead pack early in the race.  Fujiwara looked more comfortable and lasted longer but likewise could not cope when the race really began.  Fujiwara ultimately finished 21st in 2:21:06, just ahead of the only Kenyan athlete to finish the race, with Maeda 40th out of 42 finishers in 2:32:49, seconds behind Mongolia's Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Team NTN).  Chol Pak (North Korea), who had an unfortunate fall late in the race at last year's Asian Games, was the top …

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2015/08/19/kiji/K20150819010962120.html

translated by Brett Larner

Concerned about the potentially serious impact of Beijing's air pollution, most of the Japanese team arriving for the upcoming World Championships were wearing surgical masks.  Running in the Championships' first event, the men's marathon, Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) commented, "I'm a bit nervous since we're up first, but I want to try to get things off to a good start."  Looking toward the guaranteed place on the 2016 Rio Olympic team available if he finishes in the top 8, Maeda's marathon teammate Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) said, "I'm going to run in the lead group right from first half."

Competing in his third-straight World Championships, sprinter Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) spoke confidently as he said, "This is the best shape I've been in up to now.  More than anything I want to produce good results."  Along wi…

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20150803/ath15080315270001-n1.html
http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLSSXK10346_T00C15A8000000/

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Aug. 3 the JAAF announced that Beijing World Championships men's marathoner Masato Imai (31, Team Toyota Kyushu) has withdrawn from the Beijing team due to meningitis.  According to his corporate management, Imai began to complain of a fever and headaches while training in Hokkaido and was diagnosed with meningitis.  He was hospitalized on July 30 and is expected to remain in the hospital for treatment for roughly two weeks.

In a statement released through the JAAF Imai said, "For myself, I am devastated after all my training for the World Championships has gone perfectly with the single goal of finally being competitive on the world level.  But this doesn't mean that the road to the top is closed now.  I want to get better as soon as I can and make a fresh start toward my next marathon with a refreshed an…

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20150429-OHT1T50341.html

translated by Brett Larner

2015 Beijing World Championships team member Masakazu Fujiwara (34, Team Honda) ran in the 5000 m at the Apr. 29 Heisei Kokusai University Time Trials meet.  His first race of the season, he finished in 14:22.76.  "That was about what I expected," he said.

Along with World Championships teammates Masato Imai (31, Team Toyota Kyushu) and Kazuhiro Maeda (34, Team Kyudenko), if Fujiwara makes the top 8 in Beijing and is the top Japanese finisher he will be named to the Rio Olympics team.  "I definitely want to seal up a place on the Olympic team in Beijing," he said.  Anticipating a battle between veterans he added, "The other two guys are probably thinking the same thing.  If we don't do it in Beijing it will be hard to make the team.  We're all in our 30s so we can't keep running lots and lots of marathons."

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2015/04/14/0007915752.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

2015 Beijing World Championships men's marathon team members Masakazu Fujiwara (34, Team Honda), Masato Imai (31, Team Toyota Kyushu) and Kazuhiro Maeda (33, Team Kyudenko) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on April 13 for a tour of the World Championships race course.  Along with the course, a major concern is the increasingly serious problem of air pollution in Beijing.  Steeling himself for the worst, Imai commented, "There's nothing I as an individual can say that will improve the situation, so you just have to accept it as normal and run.  The conditions will be the same for everybody."

by Brett Larner

The JAAF announced its men's and women's Beijing World Championships marathon teams, staying true to its word that members of its hand-picked National Team oversight program would receive priority over non-members who performed better in the official selection races.  Left off the team are Hiroaki Sano (Team Honda) with a 2:09:12 PB for 9th in Tokyo last month, and Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei), winner of November's Yokohama Women's Marathon in 2:26:57.  Those selected for the team:

Women

Sairi Maeda (Team Daihatsu) - age 23
PB/SB: 2:22:48 (Nagoya 2015)

Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) - age 27
PB: 2:23:23 (Osaka Int'l 2012)   SB: 2:26:39 (Osaka Int'l 2015)

Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - age 30
PB/SB: 2:24:42 (Nagoya 2015)

Men

Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - age 30
PB/SB: 2:07:39 (Tokyo 2015)

Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - age 33
PB: 2:08:00 (Tokyo 2013)   SB: 2:11:46 (Biwako 2015)

Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) - age 34
PB: 2:08:12 (Biwa…

by Brett Larner

Having left Japan's corporate team system, 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon winner Samuel Ndungu (Kenya) was back to take the top spot again in Biwako's cold and rainy 70th edition.  With a target pace of 3:00/km for the front group including last year's winner Bazu Worku (Ethiopia), 2014 European champion Daniele Meucci (Italy), Mongolian national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Team NTN) and Japanese World Championships hopefuls Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) and Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta), Kenyan pacers Kimutai Kiplimo and Silas Kimutai were not even close, going through 2 km in 6:19 and hitting 5 km in 15:30, well over 2:10 marathon pace.

Collegiate runner Atsuya Hiraiwa (Meijo Univ.) pulled in front of the pacers to try to get the race moving, but although the next 10 km were decent, by 20 km they were back to another 15:30 split.  Halfway came in 1:04:39 with a pack of 40 still together, but a few meters la…

by Brett Larner

It's a great luxury to get to watch a live marathon broadcast with no commercials, but that's just what you get with the 70th edition of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon this Sunday.  Japan's first IAAF gold label race, Biwako as it is called here features a live ad-free nationwide broadcast on NHK starting at 12:15 p.m. Japan time with the race kicking off at 12:30.  Overseas viewers can follow @JRNLive for live coverage throughout the race if NHK is not available in your area.

And what does the race hold?  It's the last of the selection races for the Japanese team for the Beijing World Championships.  At Tokyo last week the Federation seemed to have backed off its sub-2:06:30 requirement for auto team selection, with more talk about the top Japanese position in the selection races and deserving praise for the 2:07:39 scored in Tokyo by Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu).  Imai is a clear favorite to make the team, with Fukuoka's top Japanese finisher…

by Brett Larner

The Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, universally called Biwako for short in Japan, celebrates its 70th running this year, with a place at the Beijing World Championships up for any Japanese man who decides to run sub-2:06:30.  For its anniversary year race Biwako brings back defending champion Bazu Worku (Ethiopia) and 2012 winner Samuel Ndungu (Kenya) to face the likes of 2:06 man Eric Ndiema (Kenya), Mongolian national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Team NTN), 2:08:55 runner Jose Antonio Uribe (Mexico), 2014 European champion Daniele Meucci (Italy) and many more from around the world in one of the most international fields in Biwako history.

On the domestic front, with a 2:08:00 best Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), a rare Japanese athlete to have been at the top of the Japanese scene all the way from high school through a solid marathon career, goes in ranked #1 despite a weak 2014, twins Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) and Yuko Matsumiya (Team Hitachi Butsuryu…