japan running news

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20170408-OHT1T50191.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

A long distance and marathon powerhouse, the 2017 New Year Ekiden national champion Asahi Kasei team has recruited Kenyan athletes for the first time. Surpassing even the 10000 m national record of 27:29.69 set by Asahi Kasei's Kota Murayama, 24, the pair of Kenyans includes a 32-year-old veteran who has run sub-27 and a young 23-year-old.  With experience coaching Kenyans at the Aisan Kogyo corporate team through the end of March, Isamu Sennai has also joined the Asahi Kasei staff in preparation for the Kenyans' arrival.

At this year's New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, 30 of the 37 teams in the field featured foreign athletes.  In the midst of such a field, Asahi Kasei scored the first win by a Japanese-only team in 18 years.  Founded in 1946, Asahi Kasei produced greats including twins Shigeru and Takeshi Soh, 1991 World Championships marathon gold m…

by Brett Larner
click here for women's field listing

As strong as its women's field looks, the men's field for the Feb. 5 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon is something else.  The half marathon is the sweet spot of Japanese training, the distance that the top university men focus on for the HakoneEkiden and the best corporate men at the New Year Ekiden national championships.  The official half marathon Japanese national record is 1:00:25 by Atsushi Sato at the 2007 World Half Marathon, but it's pretty common to see the top men running that kind of time on the longest half marathonish-length stages at both Hakone and New Year.  If they all got together, focused, and put the same intensity and drive into a serious half marathon the national record would surely fall, and maybe even the hour mark.  This year's Marugame looks like the best chance to date for that to happen.

Up front: 59:01 man Kenneth Kipkemoi and once-upon-a-time sub-59 man Atsedu Tsegay of E…

http://bit.ly/oLKCLB

The article above lists the gold and silver medalists at the All-Africa Games 10000 m as Ebrahim Gashu of Ethiopia and Bernard Muchiri of Kenya.  According to the ARRS' competition rankings, these athletes are in fact Japan-based World Champion Ibrahim Jeilan Gashu (Team Honda) and Bitan Karoki Muchiri (Team S&B).  Both runners train in Saitama prefecture.  Ibrahim is cited as having won in 28:18.22, with Karoki just behind in 28:19.32.  Awaiting confirmation of official results.

Update: Ibrahim's coach Kiyoshi Akimoto just confirmed to JRN that Ibrahim did in fact win.

Update: Unofficial results.  These results list Karoki as 7th and Kenyan Kenneth Kipkemboi having taken silver, but that seems likely to be an accidental name reversal.