japan running news

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/news/national/20101130-OYS1T00214.htm
translated by Brett Larner
On Nov. 29 the organizing committee of the 41st Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, scheduled for Dec. 19, announced the field of ten invited elites at this year's race. Eight domestic runners and two overseas athletes will compete for the win, while the general division will see its largest-ever field including 1692 men and 156 women.
At the top of the field is Kurao Umeki (Team Chugoku Denryoku), who set his PB of 2:09:52 at the 2003 Berlin Marathon. 2008 Hofu champion Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) returns to seek a second title. Young rising stars seeking to make a name include Takuro Yamashita (Team Fujitsu), Takashi Yamauchi (Team Aisan Kogyo) and Kiyotaka Shimamura (Tokyo T&F Assoc.). Kenyan Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) will make his marathon debut.
Invited overseas elites include Mongolian Serod Batochir, who set a PB of 2:12:42 at September's Berlin Marathon and returns for his third-stra…

by Brett Larner

The last competitive marathon of the year takes place this Sunday, Dec. 20 in Hofu, Yamaguchi at the 40th anniversary Hofu Yomiuri Marathon. Long one of Japan's second-tier elite marathons, Hofu is a place where younger pros come to debut and older veterans go for one more win. The occasional first-rate race results, as in Ethiopian Hailu Negussie's course record 2:08:16 battle against future Olympic team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) in 2002.

Like other elite marathons on the Japanese circuit Hofu has struggled to adapt to changes in the marathoning environment, particularly those brought on by the rise of the Tokyo Marathon. Where venerable races like the Biwako Mainichi Marathon and Beppu-Oita Marathon have redesigned their courses in the last year to improve their appeal as fast races and taken other steps to improve their image, Hofu has embraced the amateur. Beginning with this year's 40th anniversary race Hofu has relaxed its qualificatio…