japan running news

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2016/05/04/liliya-shobukhova-retires-marathon-doping-russia-track-and-field/ Ex-#2 all-time, Liliya Shobukhova of Russia remains #1 on the athlete roster of agent Andrey Baranov 's now-deleted Spartanik RS Inc International Sport Management website .  JRN is glad to help make that website and its roster available again thanks to Internet Archive 's public Wayback Machine utility.  At least 12 of the female athletes on that roster, 2/3 of those to have broken 2:26 in the marathon, have been suspended for positive drug tests or biological passport violations along with other subsequently Baranov-managed athletes such as Belarus' Alexsandra Duliba .

by Brett Larner Back during my time at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, at the urging of Dr. David Bodznick I attended a lecture by the great Harvard University neurobiologist Dr. Edward Kravitz on social interaction and competitive behavior between lobsters, and its underlying biochemistry.  "Aggression is a nearly universal feature of the behavior of social animals," Dr. Kravitz said .  He explained how lobsters have a complex social hierarchy based on individual interactions, how when two lobsters meet for the first time they go through a ritualistic series of increasingly aggressive fight behaviors to establish a winner and a loser.  Once that dichotomy is established it doesn't change.  The winner remembers that it is a winner, the loser that it is a loser, they don't forget that relationship, and those roles affect their future chances of winning and losing against other lobsters.  "Memory of status lasts longer in losers of fights than ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/disillusioned-mara-yamauchi-would-no-longer-advise-young-runners-to-aim-for-hollow-olympics-a6803441.html

by Brett Larner Fukushi at 26 miles. Photo (c) 2011 Dr. Helmut Winter Multiple national record holder Kayoko Fukushi  (Team Wacoal) ran a solid performance at her second marathon, running a promising 2:24:38 for 3rd at the 2011 Chicago Marathon.  Fukushi ran the first half of the race shadowing eventual winner Liliya Shobukhova  (Russia) at Japanese national record pace but faded after 25 km, slowing dramatically in the final kilometers.  Nevertheless she still finished with the fourth-best time of the year by a Japanese woman and the third-fastest time ever run by a Japanese woman within the United States..  In so doing she also became the 20th Japanese woman to break 2:25 and the 50th to break 2:27. In post-race comments to Jiji.com Fukushi said, "It was a 2:24, so it was good.  I wanted to take it as far as I could.  I couldn't have done any better.  I was able to move my legs a bit after 30 km.  If I can run more comfortably than ...

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Update: 5/16/11: Click here to read Chicago champion Samuel Wanjiru remembered by his Japanese colleagues and friends . After years of near-misses, former Second Wind AC and Team Shiseido runner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) finally broke through the 2:30 barrier, barely, with a 2:29:45 PB for 8th place at the 2010 Chicago Marathon. After a solid buildup which included wins at July's Gold Coast Marathon and last month's Hakodate Half Marathon, both in times just off her PBs, Yoshida hit Chicago hard with a 1:13:06 first half, just seconds off her winning time in Hakodate. Largely ignored on the Japanese television broadcast which concentrated on cursed Tenmaya runner Naoko Sakamoto 's attempt to make a comeback, Yoshida faded in the final kilometers but rallied to just clear her target and mark the best Chicago finish by a Japanese woman since her former Shiseido and Second Wind teammate Kiyoko Shimahara 's 3rd-place showin...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100426/spg1004261040004-n1.htm http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100425/spg1004252333011-n1.htm http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010042500237 translated and edited by Brett Larner At Sunday's London Marathon, 2009 World Championships marathoner Yukiko Akaba (30, Team Hokuren) broke her PB as she finished 6th in 2:24:55. Mari Ozaki (34, Team Noritz) was 9th, while 2009 World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (28, Team Daiichi Seimei) was 13th. On the men's side, 2009 World Championships marathoner Satoshi Irifune (34, Team Kanebo) was 16th while 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) was 23rd. Both Irifune and Matsumiya ran the first half in the lead pack close to national record pace. Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) won the men's race in 2:05:19 while Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) took the women's race in a PB of 2:22:00. After her disastrous runs at the...