japan running news

text and photos by Brett Larner
video by Ekiden News

Fresh off two hard-fought losses in the season's first two university ekidens and two big 10000 m PBs at yesterday's Nittai University Time Trials, Komazawa University dominated the fall's major Japanese half marathon as fourth-year Kenya Sonota and third-year Yusuke Nishiyama went 1-2 at the Ageo City Half Marathon.

With invites to the 2016 United Airline NYC Half on the line to the top two Japanese collegiate finishers, in light rain and temps in the mid-teens the pack went out on fast on high-1:01 pace, clearing 5 km in 14:40 with a lead pack of around ten gaining separation on a larger chase pack.

The pace slowed slightly over the next 5 km, the leaders going through 10 km in 29:33, with the chase group of around 20 still in sight.  On the most technical part of the course near 13 km the leaders slowed as the humidity rose before a move from Taiga Machizawa (Chuo Univ.) shook things up, dropping Shinichiro Nakamura (W…

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1554422.html
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1554651.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner
photo by STITCHrunner

1430 people ran in the 40th anniversary Takashimadaira Road Race 20 km on Oct. 18 on a 5 km loop course in northwestern Tokyo.  Women's winner Kit Ching Yiu (Hong Kong), coached by Japan's Shinetsu Murao, set a national record 1:10:49 to win, at least her third national record on Japanese soil in the last year.  In the men's race invited athlete Yuki Kawauchi (28, Saitama Pref. Gov't) broke away on the last lap for a solo win in 1:00:57 just a week after setting a course record at the Kitakami Marathon.  His next race is the Nov. 1 TCS New York City Marathon, followed by the Dec. 6 Fukuoka International Marathon where he hopes to secure a place on the Rio Olympic team.

Kawauchi ran well in warm temperatures of 23 degrees, keeping his cool in a lead pack of five until 15.5 km just into the…

by Brett Larner

2014 Gold Coast Airport Marathon winner Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) topped what may have been the deepest women's half marathon ever run on Japanese soil, running 1:10:36 to win the last big race of the Japanese season, the 36th running of the Matsue Ladies' Half Marathon.  After a relatively conservative first half splitting 33:42 at 10 km Kato pushed the pace relentlessly, cutting the lead group down to a trio with Kotomi Takayama (Team Sysmex) and Ai Inoue (Team Noritz) by 15 km and dropping both by 20 km to win by 11 seconds.  Takami was next in 1:10:47, Inoue rounding out the top 3 in 1:11:02.

Matsue also served as the National University Women's Half Marathon Championships, this year acting as the selection race for the team for this summer's World University Games where Japanese women have medalled every time since 1985 including a sweep of the podium in 2009.  Five collegiate women led by Ayumi Uehara (Matsuyama Univ.) were in contention for the…

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News



The Ageo City Half Marathon, Japan's major fall half marathon and, jointly with March's National University Half Marathon Championships, the deepest race at its distance in the world, delivered again in perfect conditions for its 27th running.  Every year the head coaches of most of the men's university teams bound for Japan's premier sporting event, the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden, use Ageo to narrow down their rosters to their final Hakone squad, meaning a dedicated and motivated pack of hundreds going for all they're worth and almost unimaginable results.  For the last three years the New York City Half Marathon has invited the top two Japanese collegiates in Ageo to run NYC in a relationship set up by JRN, adding an extra drive to the front end of the race.

Last year Takashi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.) craftily kicked his way to the win in the last few meters in a PB 1:02:36, the top five all finishing within 2 seconds of him.  No…