japan running news

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/09/29/kiji/K20110929001722590.html

translated by Brett Larner

Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 29 that in order to remain in alignment with the IAAF's new proclamation, women's marathon marks set at marathons in which the women start together with men will no longer be recognized as national records but will instead be labelled Japanese bests.  The IAAF ruled at a meeting in August that women who run with male pacemakers receive unfair assistance.  The decision will apply to all races beginning Nov. 1.  The federation is currently undecided on the matter of existing records, but under the guidelines they have just adopted Japan's three 2:19 performances, led by Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and all set at the male-female unified start Berlin Marathon, would all be recognized as successive Japanese bests.  In that case the new Japanese national record would become Noguchi's 2:21:18…

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&rel=j7&k=2011032300862&m=rss
translated and edited by Brett Larner
On Mar. 23, Rikuren announced that three overseas races, the April 10 Daegu International Marathon, the April 17 London Marathon, and the April 18 Boston Marathon have been designated as the official replacement selection races for this summer's Daegu World Championships women's marathon team. Due to the earthquake and tsunami disasters in northeastern Japan, both the final domestic selection race, the Nagoya International Women's Marathon, and its replacement, the Nagano Marathon, were cancelled, leading to the necessity of designating overseas events as the selection race. Only women who were entered in Nagoya are elligible for a World Championships team berth.
Following the preemptive withdrawal of 2010 Nagoya winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), Beijing Olympian Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) leads eight Japanese women in London. 2011 Osaka International Women…

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201103/CN2011031201000773.html
translated by Mika Tokairin
Due to the major earthquake in northeast Japan, on Mar. 12 the organizers of the Nagoya International Women's Marathon, scheduled for Mar. 13, announced the official cancellation of the race. Nagoya was to be the final selection race for the national women's marathon team for this summer's World Championships in Daegu, Korea. There was no postponement of the race. In making the decision to cancel the race organizers took into account the continuous aftershocks, the prediction of more extensive damage than initial estimates, and the state of confusion in road traffic. The cancellation is the first in Nagoya's history since it was founded in 1980 as a 20 km women's road race.
In response to the cancellation, Rikuren has announced that by the time of its board meeting on Mar. 15 it will select a domestic or overseas race in April to serve as a replacement selection race. Only athletes…

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm
translated by Brett Larner
Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki, 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet.
The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh, 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner' on …

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2011030500040
translated by Brett Larner
Rikuren, the Japanese athletics federation, announced on Mar. 4 that it will disband its Long Distance and Road Racing Special Committee at the end of this month. The committee was established following the 2008 Beijing Olympics and tasked with strengthening the state of Japanese marathoning, but with no improvement in results it has been deemed ineffective. From April, long distance and marathoning will be grouped together with the overall track and field strengthening program headed by Susumu Takano in the leadup to the London Olympics. The budget for marathoning and distance running will also be bundled together with the overall track and field budget, allowing greater flexibility in allocating resources.
The Long Distance and Road Racing Special Committee was headed by director Keisuke Sawaki, but apart from the silver medal won by Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) in the women's marathon at the…

translated and edited by Brett Larner
Yuki Kawauchi at work a day after the Tokyo Marathon as media look on. Click here to enlarge.

Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki, 67, Long Distance and Road Racing Special Committee chief Toshio Kiuchi and other executive members of the Japanese athletics federation traveled to Kasukabe, Saitama on Mar. 2 to pay a formal visit to Yuki Kawauchi, 23, the amateur runner who qualified for August's World Championships marathon team by placing 3rd overall and top Japanese at the Feb. 27 Tokyo Marathon. "Since he is not affiliated with a corporate team, we had to talk about what the future holds," said Kiuchi. The federation dignitaries asked administration officials at Kasukabe High School, where Kawauchi is employed as an administrative assistant, for their help and support in getting Kawauchi to the World Championships.
In order to minimize the strain caused by the sudden rush of media attention upon Kawauchi, one of the main topics under…

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2011/02/28/0003832911.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

Saitama-based amateur runner Yuki Kawauchi, 23, finished 3rd at the Feb. 27 Tokyo Marathon in 2:08:37. The top Japanese finisher, he earned a guaranteed spot on the national team for August's World Championships marathon. As an ordinary amateur runner not belonging to a jitsugyodan corporate team, Kawauchi's titanic run has had a profound impact on Rikuren, the Japanese federation.

Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki commented, "I think it is quite a major shock to all the established teams to see the limelight shining on a unique runner like Kawauchi."

Rikuren Long Distance and Road Racing Special Committee executive Toshio Kiuchi agreed that Kawauchi's result was a sharp sting to the corporate team system, saying, "This shows that our elite runners have to toughen up and get to work. Back in the day everyone had the kind of hunger Kawauchi showed today."

Team Chugoku Denryoku…

http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20101211k0000e050020000c.html

an editorial by Makoto Izawa
translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin
photo by Dr. Helmut Winter

click link to original article above for a photo of Fukuoka pacemaker Eliud Kiptanui just after being physically stopped by a race official

Update: JRN's translation of this article has been translated into Italian here.

You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win.

At last weekend's Fukuoka International Marathon, a bizarre happening took place which left race officials saying, "We've never heard of something like this before." A pacemaker hired to lead part of the race at a designated speed took off with reckless abandon, creating chaos in the race behind him. What is the role of pacemakers in a marathon?

The Fukuoka International Marathon hired four official pacemakers this year. However, at 15 km one of them, Eliud Kiptanui (Kenya) abruptly accelerated, ignoring his agreement with ra…

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010030700132

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Following the final selection race on Mar. 7, Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki discussed the candidates for the two men's marathon spots available on the Japanese national team for November's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. "Now that we have the results from the three selection races [Fukuoka, Tokyo and Biwako], I would like to settle the lineup."

Director Sawaki's indicated his first choice is Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda), the winner of February's Tokyo Marathon. "He set a brilliant example in Tokyo. His newfound strength has brought him to the forefront." Rikuren director of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi suggested that he favors Biwako runner-up Tomoyuki Sato (Team Asahi Kasei). "In the pressure of a selection race he had the fastest time [by a Japanese runner] and with just a little more luck would have gone under 2:10. He at least cleared on…

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20090820k0000e050009000c.html
http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20090821k0000m050127000c.html?link_id=REH04

translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner

Click here to enter JRN's World Championships marathon prediction contest for a chance to win a 2009 Japanese national team singlet.

After initial reports on Aug. 19, Rikuren officially confirmed on Aug. 20 that marathoner Yoko Shibui (30, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) is withdrawing from the Aug. 23 World Championships women's marathon in Berlin, Germany. Shibui began experiencing discomfort in the upper right side of her right foot on Aug. 14. After arriving in Berlin, the discomfort developed into pain bad enough that Shibui consulted a doctor on Aug. 18. The diagnosis was a likely stress fracture of the 4th metatarsal.

Since alternate Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) is also injured and unable to run, Japan will field a team of only four runners: Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), Yo…

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090508-OHT1T00018.htm
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090507/spg0905071819002-n1.htm
http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2009/05/08/0001894330.shtml
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/sports/news/CK2009050802000144.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Following the naming of Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) to the Berlin World Championships men's marathon team and Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) to the women's team on May 7, Rikuren officials and the newly-named athletes themselves discussed their goals. Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki, 65, said that between the men's and women's team the big picture target for this year's World Championships is "One medal and two other top-eight finishes."

For the first time, the men's and women's marathon alternates will be included as full members of the national team. At the Beijing Olympics M…

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/flash.aspx?n=117381

translated by Brett Larner

Following a meeting of its executive board on Apr. 4, Rikuren has announced some changes to the board's membership. Director Keisuke Sawaki (65) will remain in his current position, while former national soccer director Takeo Hirata (49) will join the board as a special advisor. Both positions will last two years.

Former marathon aces Toshihiko Seko (52) and Yuko Arimori (42) have left the Rikuren board, while Osaka Gas vice-president Hiroshi Yokokawa (61) and Hiroshima Track and Field vice-director Katsuji Miyake (65) will join. Like Sawaki, special committee director Susumo Takano (47) and executive director Yohei Kono (72) will keep their current positions.

The board also selected Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture as the site for the 2011 National Track and Field Championships.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090302-466450.html

translated by Brett Larner

The older of the Shimizu twins, Team Asahi Kasei's Masaya Shimizu, 28, secured his place on the men's marathon team for August's World Championships in Berlin with a 4th place finish in 2:10:50 at the Mar. 1 Biwako Mainichi Marathon. Masaya was the top Japanese finisher, beating out his brother Tomoya (Team Sagawa Express) who was 6th overall and 2nd Japanese in the brothers' first-ever head-to-head matchup in a marathon. His successful run adds to Masaya's happiness this month as he will be getting married on the 29th, but not all is wine and roses. Rikuren officials were harsh in their evaluation of the disparity between current world-class standards and the results of the Shimizu brothers and other Japanese runners. Former world record holder Paul Tergat (Kenya) won Biwako for the first time.

As Japanese runners fell out of the lead pack one by one, Masaya Shimizu kept …

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2009/01/26/11.html
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090127-OHT1T00083.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Three main races will be used to select the five members of the Japanese national women's marathon team for this summer's World Championships marathon in Berlin. The top Japanese finishers at the Tokyo International Women's Marathon, Osaka International Women's Marathon and Nagoya International Women's Marathon are automatically selected for the team, meaning last Sunday's Osaka International winner Yoko Shibui has now secured a place on the team alongside Tokyo International winner Yoshimi Ozaki. Joining them will be the top Japanese finisher at March's Nagoya International, in which 2007 Tokyo Marathon winner Hitomi Niiya and 2002 Rotterdam Marathon winner Takami Ominami are scheduled to compete.

For the remaining two World Championships spots, the runners-up from these three races, thus far Tokyo In…

by Brett Larner


Yoko Shibui celebrates her first marathon win in over four years.

Yoko Shibui said she was going to run Osaka like an adult and she kept to her words. After running her last two marathons with 1:10-1:11 first halves only to fall apart each time, Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) sat in the pack for nearly 30 km before going on the offense to take the win in the 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon, her third victory in eleven attempts. Enduring a 1:13:01 first half, Shibui ran 16:11 between 30 and 35 km and clocked splits as fast as 3:08/km in the final quarter of the race, running a 1:10:41 second half while laughing to supporters along the course to finish in 2:23:42. Shibui covered her final 2.195 km in 7:02; at last month's elite men's Fukuoka International Marathon only winner Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) ran a faster finish, 6:25, as second-fastest finishing man Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon) clocked 7:03.

Shibui's first win at the 2001 O…

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20081227k0000m050111000c.html

Rikuren has announced that as part of its plan to strengthen Japan's distance running it has appointed Team Chugoku Denryoku head coach Yasushi Sakaguchi to lead the men's marathon subcommittee and Team Tenmaya head coach Yutaka Taketomi to the top position in the women's marathon subcommittee. Sakaguchi coached both men who ran the Beijing Olympics marathon, while Taketomi has had runners in the last three Olympic marathons. Both new committee heads will report to Long Distance and Road Racing Director Keisuke Sawaki.

Translator's note: Yasushi Sakaguchi coached Olympic marathoners Shigeru Aburaya (5th, Athens 2004), Tsuyoshi Ogata (13th, Beijing 2008) and Atsushi Sato (76th, Beijing 2008). Sakaguchi's runners have been mainstays of recent World Championships marathon teams, with Aburaya 5th in Edmonton 2001 and 5th in Paris 2003, Ogata 12th in Paris 2003, taking the bronze medal in H…