japan running news

It's always a busy weekend of racing in Japan, this weekend as much as any. Saturday's main event is the Hachioji Long Distance meet at Tokyo's Hosei University. In the last few years Hachioji has become one of the world's premier track 10,000 m, the site of the current Japanese national record two years ago. The big question mark this year is half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) in the A-heat. After running the 1:00:17 national record and a 2:09:03 PB on back-to-back weekends at the end of September is he ready to tackle the 27:29.69 national record? It'll take a big improvement on his 27:42.71 best, but not as much as what he did in breaking the half marathon record.

Also up Saturday night is the Kanto Region University 10,000 m Time Trials meet at Kanagawa's Keio University. While the very top university men will turn up at Hachioji, most looking to sharpen their times ahead of their coaches' final team selections for the Hakone Eki…

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASGCY4W7ZGCYUTNB003.html
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141130-00000102-spnannex-spo
http://www.hochi.co.jp/event/sports/20141130-OHT1T50268.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The 3rd Hasuda Road Race took place Saturday, Nov. 29 on a course around Kurohama Park in Hasuda, Saitama, with around 3000 people showing their stuff in the event's 10 km and 3 km races.  The official representative of Saitama prefecture, civil servant runner Yuki Kawauchi was back again in the 3 km this year for the third-straight time, first across the finish line in 8:47 after running 8:50 last year and 8:44 two years ago in Hasuda's first running.  Before and after the race he was all smiles, high fiving other runners all around.  "I love this course," he said.  "It's always great to run here."

3 km participant Mitsuyo Kubo of Iruma, Saitama, commented, "I get to meet a fantastic runner like Mr. Kawauchi, so I enter this race ever…

by Brett Larner

Earlier this year when Oregon-training then-future 3000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Team Nissin Shokuhin) ran in a U.S. track meet its webcast announcer, talking about Osako's PBs, said in a mocking tone of voice, "Who runs track in November?"  The answer, of course, is just about every elite Japan-based runner.

November is full of track time trial meets that coaches use to assess fitness within their rosters ahead of the mid-December to mid-January national championship ekiden season.  One of the biggest happens on Saturday, the Hachioji Long Distance time trials meet in Tokyo's western suburbs featuring seven men's 10000 m heats packed with much of the top talent in the country.  The A-heat features 18 of the best Japan-based Africans paced by sub-27 man Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC), young sub-28 Japanese athletes Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), Keita Shitara (Team Konica Minolta), Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) and Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi…

by Brett Larner



A week after running 1:03:06, the fourth-best time of his career, at the Ageo City Half Marathon, indy ace Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) was back in action with a 1:04:44 course record at the 4th edition of the Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon in Kawagoe, Saitama.  Running against a pack of second-tier men from Hakone Ekiden course record holder Toyo University, Kawauchi was alone by halfway to win by more than a minute over Toyo's Takaki Omuro, whose PB of 1:05:54 for 2nd improved on the 1:06:28 PB he had set a week earlier in Ageo. 

Kawauchi's time took 49 seconds off the record set last year by fellow independent Sho Matsumoto and put him in good position for next weekend's Fukuoka International Marathon, where Kawauchi will shoot for 2:07 and a place on the Japanese team for next year's Asian Games marathon.
4th Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon Kawagoe, Saitama, 11/24/13 click here for complete results
Men 1. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:…

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20121126/ath12112605020003-n1.html

translated by Brett Larner

At the Nov. 25 Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon, Kawagoe resident Sho Matsumoto, 27, won overall in a course record time of 1:05:33.  As a first-year at Tokyo University he showed his determination by making the 2005 Hakone Ekiden on the Kanto Regional University Select Team.  Crossing Kawagoe's finish line with arms outspread almost eight years later, he outran all the invited university runners in the field.  "That was a lot faster than I planned," he said with a rueful smile.  "I'm surprised too.  Maybe I overdid it a little....."  The truth is that Matsumoto is entered to run next weekend's Fukuoka International Marathon, a selection race for the 2013 Moscow World Championships.  "I just planned to go out at a moderate, conservative pace, but it was feeling easy and I found myself running in 2nd.  With 500 m to go I kicked for the win.  I'm probably go…