japan running news

Gifu, 5/15/16
click here for complete field listing
times listed are 2013-2016 bests except where noted

Women
Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:08:06 (Marugame 2016)
Rebecca Kangogo Chesir (Kenya) - 1:08:21 (Milan 2015)
Betelhem Moges (Ethiopia) - 1:09:23 (Olomouc 2014)
Visiline Jepkesho (Kenya) - 1:09:43 (Adana 2016)
Yuka Ando (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:09:51 (Sanyo 2015)
Sayo Nomura (Japan/Daiichi Seimei) - 1:10:03 (Sanyo 2013)
Kayoko Fukushi (Japan/Wacoal) - 1:10:04 (Berlin 2014)
Lauren Kleppin (U.S.A.) - 1:10:16 (Copenhagen 2014)
Eri Makikawa (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:10:27 (Marugame 2014)
Mao Kiyota (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:10:31 (Valencia 2015)
Bornes Jepkirui (Kenya) - 1:10:32 (Azpeitia 2014)

Men
Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA) - 59:14 (Copenhagen 2015)
Paul Kuira (Kenya/Konica Minolta) - 59:47 (Marugame 2015)
Kenneth Keter (Kenya) - 59:48 (Venlo 2016)
Martin Mathathi (Kenya) - 1:00:11 (Marugame 2014)
James Rungaru (Kenya/Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:00:12 (Nice 2015)
Fabiano Sulle…

by Brett Larner

With the demise of the Sapporo International Half Marathon, Hokkaido's Shibetsu Half Marathon has taken on a bigger role as a major domestic summer half marathon, especially for members of Japanese national teams for international championships.  Despite generally hot conditions and the apparent cutting of the elite women's 10 km this year, both the women's and men's races featured solid fields.

Kenyan Winfredah Kebaso, the main support of the fledgling Nitori corporate women's team, easily took the win in 1:12:36 over Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), one of the three Japanese women in the marathon at next month's Beijing World Championships.  Ito was a distant 2nd behind Kebaso in 1:14:47 but had little trouble holding off teammate Yui Okada, 3rd in 1:15:13.  Runners from the Noritz corporate team featured prominently, taking 4 of the top 10 places, while Nitori's Remi Nakazato continued her comeback from a cancer diagnosis last November, tak…

by Brett Larner

Japan's major midsummer track series, the Hokuren Distance Challenge in four locations across Hokkaido, wrapped up July 16 with the Abashiri Meet.  For the second time in a week, 20 km race walk world record holder Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu) broke a national record held by teammate Eiki Takahashi, both times outgunning Takahashi to do it.  This time it was Takahashi's 10000 mRW national record, from which Suzuki lopped 8 seconds with a new record of 38:10.23.  12 more seconds to another world record.

Other new came in the women's 10000 m, where National Championships 3rd-placer Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) finally succeeded in breaking the Beijing World Championships qualification standard of 32:00.00, taking 3rd in a new PB of 31:48.31 for which she is all but certain to be rewarded with a place on the Beijing team.  Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) won in a solid PB of 31:44.86, with the top 4 breaking 32 minutes and the top 7 all clearing the 32:15.00 stan…

http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/olomouc-half-marathon-2015-keitany-kiptis

Yuka Takemoto (Canon AC Kyushu), formerly Yuka Yano, was 9th in the women's race in 1:13:34, while Kenta Matsumoto (Team Toyota) finished 12th in 1:04:42 in the men's race.  Click here for complete results.

Elsewhere, Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) finished 5th in the BAA 10K women's race in 32:56, with Takehiro Deki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) 8th in the men's race in 29:22.

by Brett Larner

Course record holder Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC), past champion Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Fukuoka International Marathon course record holder Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) lead the men's field for the 5th edition of the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon on May 17, an event that has quickly surpassed the Sendai International Half Marathon as Japan's premier late-spring half marathon.  Former Toyota runner James Rungaru (Kenya) is back and with a 1:00:12 best looks like another contender up front, and Australian 10000 m national record holder Ben St. Lawrence is also in the field.  Japanese entries include sub-1:02 men Kenji Yamamoto (Team Mazda), Kenta Matsumoto (Team Toyota) and Masamichi Shinozaki (Team Hitachi Butsuryu), plus 2014 Asian Games marathon bronze medalist Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't).

On the women's side, Asian Games marathon gold medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) returns to Japan after winning March's Nagoya Women'…

by Brett Larner

Video courtesy of Julie Setagaya. The A-heat begins at 1:23:25 with the bell lap at 1:50:10.

The latest in a series of track time trials this fall to help Japanese men reach the Olympic 10000 m A-standard of 27:45.00 before the spring season, the Nov. 26 Hachioji Long Distance time trials meet in Tokyo's western suburbs saw a small piece of history as Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) ran 27:40.69 to break Yu Mitsuya's record for the fastest 10000 m ever run by a Japanese man on Japanese soil.  Like Mitsuya, who was paced through his record run by teammate and Sendai Ikuei H.S. grad Samuel Wanjiru (Team Toyota Kyushu), Ugachi was paced by Kenyan teammate Paul Kuira, also a Sendai Ikuei alumnus, who finished together with Ugachi in a new PB of 27:40.60.  The surprise came a few steps behind them, where 20-year-old Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), on a sharp improvement curve throughout the year, took 20 seconds off his own PB to finish under the Olympic A-sta…