japan running news

http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/riga-marathon-2015-tolossa-eshetu

Kenta Iinuma (Team SGH Holdings) took 8th in 2:16:37, Yudai Yamakawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) ending up 12th in 2:28:34.  Click here for complete results.

by Brett Larner

Following up on a disappointing showing at last weekend's Great North Run and Prague Grand Prix 10 km, Japan's corporate league runners underwhelmed again at Sunday's Köln Marathon and Usti nad Labem Half Marathon.  In a race won by Kenya's Anthony Maritim in 2:10:26 in Köln, 2:09:18 marathoner Yuko Matsumiya (Team Hitachi Butsuryu), the twin brother of 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta), could do no better than 2:18:41 for 3rd.  2:15:05 man Kenta Iinuma (Team Sagawa Group) fell well below the professional level, running only 2:23:12 for 4th.  Formerly Japan-based Kenyan Julia Mumbi took the women's race in 2:28:00.

Further east, Japanese results at the Czech Republic's Usti nad Labem mirrored those at the Great North Run, with 1:02 half marathoners Yuya Ito (Team Toyota) and Masamichi Yasuda (Team Aichi Seiko) and their 1:03 counterpart Atsushi Yamazaki (Team Subaru) all clocked leisurely 1:05 times…

by Brett Larner
photo by Dr. Helmut Winter

Japanese athletes turned up in three large road races in Europe this weekend. Moscow World Championships marathon team hopeful Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) led the way, finishing 3rd at the Berlin Half Marathon in 1:10:00 in a tuneup for the London Marathon in two weeks. Yamanashi Gakuin H.S. graduate and former Team Hokuren runner Philes Ongori (Kenya) was 2nd in 1:08:01.

At the Paris Marathon, a group of third-tier athletes doing Paris after taking top placings at November's Ohtawara Marathon ran well.  2009 World University Games half marathon silver medalist Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Team Noritz) ran a PB 2:36:57 for 12th, while in the men's race both Atsushi Hasegawa (Team Subaru) and Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei) both broke their PBs with marks of 2:15:25 and 2:16:28.

At Saturday's Prague Half Marathon, Kenta Iinuma (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) failed to make much of an impression as both finished far off…