japan running news

In 2017 Japan Running News celebrated its 10th anniversary. From the Hakone Ekiden to the London World Championships to the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, looking back over the year here are its top ten stories as determined by JRN readers.

1.Last-Place Finisher Named Winner After Entire Rest of Field Disqualified - Feb. 15
At a children's road race in Okayama runners were misdirected on the course and ran a shorter distance. Followed by a sweeper, only the last-place runner ran the correct 3.0 km course, and when the other 262 participants were disqualified the last-placer was named the winner.

2.Hawkins and Kirwa Win Marugame Half, Takeshita Over Muiru in Kanagawa - Feb. 5
Less than a week after his breakthrough 1:00:24 was annulled due to a short course, Scotland's Callum Hawkins won Marugame in a new national record of 1:00:00, while Rio Olympics silver medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) made it two Marugame titles in a row. Men's preview and women's preview. At the Kanagawa Ha…

by Brett Larner

神野くん粘り強い。すごいわ。#丸亀ハーフpic.twitter.com/XZu299LBWY — roomie (@3runn9) February 5, 2017
Having lost his 1:00:24 Scottish national record after the Great Scottish Run was announced earlier this week to have been almost 150 m short, Callum Hawkins was out to prove he had done it for real when he lined up at today's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon.  Against a field including sub-60 man Kenneth Kipkemoi of Kenya and a group of Japanese athletes aiming for the 1:00:25 Japanese national record led by 5000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) and 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei), Hawkins went to the front from the gun and never relented.

After a relatively slow 14:20 opening 5 km, the next 5 km went by in 14:07 and shook the lead group down to ten including Hawkins, Kipkemoi, Kenyan Joel Mwaura of 2016 National High School Ekiden champion Kurashiki H.S., Osako and three other Japanese men.  The 28:27 split at 10…

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20161002-OHT1T50257.html
http://dd.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/area/sapporo/1-0322620.html
http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20161002-OHT1T50243.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The 41st Sapporo Half Marathon took place October 2nd in Sapporo, Hokkaido.  More than 13,000 people took part, running under blue skies of early autumn.  Running for the first time in the main event, the men's half marathon, Komazawa University second-year Shogo Ise, 20, won in 1:04:39.  His win meant seven-straight Sapporo wins for Komazawa runners.  In the women's half marathon, Osaka Gakuin University third-year Wakana Hayashi, 21, led start to finish to win in 1:19:08.

Running solo the whole way, Hayashi was far off her time goal.  "Gah, no good...." she frowned after finishing.  "It was hotter than I expected," she said later.  "It brought out my mental weakness."  Hayashi will run next in the Oct. 30 National University Women'…

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News



The weekend's main domestic action came at the National University Individual Track and Field Championships, a smaller counterpart to September's National University Track and Field Championships held each year at Kanagawa's Shonan BMW Stadium.  In distance highlights, 2015 Kanto Regionals women's 10000 m runner-up Fuyuka Kimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) narrowly outkicked local rival Kotoe Chaya (Nittai Univ.) for the win in 15:56.89, Chaya just back in 15:57.01 for 2nd.  Wakana Itsuki (Fukuoka Univ.) made it a truly national race with a 15:58.30 for 3rd.  Hikaru Nakamura (Kyoto Koka Joshi Univ.) led a central/western Japan sweep of the women's 1500 m, winning in 4:26.32.  Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) scored a meet record 10:08.40 to win the women's 3000 mSC by a wide margin.



The men's 5000 m was almost a time trial for 2015 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University, AGU runners taking 7 of the top 10 spots led by …