japan running news

by Brett Larner Top-seeded Lydia Cheromei  (Kenya) braved windy seaside conditions to solo a course record 2:23:07 at the 4th Yokohama International Women's Marathon after breaking from the pack at only 15 km.   As predicted , 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) took top Japanese honors, 2nd overall in 2:26:42 after an exciting four-way battle over the last 7 km. The first of three major women's selection races for the 2013 Moscow World Championships, Yokohama saw Japanese women butting heads with the Federation's seemingly excessively ambitious sub-2:24 qualifying time.  In difficult conditions three pacers led by the promising Asami Kato  (Team Panasonic) took things out on schedule, but after Kato's departure at 14 km the pace slackened and Cheromei grew impatient.  Moving ahead of remaining pacers Maria Konovalova  (Russia) and Olena Shurkhno ( Ukraine) at 15 km she forged on ahead, fluttering on either side of the 2:23 li...

by Brett Larner photo by Mika Tokairin The Japanese campaign for places on the 2013 Moscow World Championships marathon team kicks off this Sunday in Yokohama at the fourth running of the Yokohama International Women's Marathon , followed two weeks later by the Fukuoka International Marathon.  With Risa Shigetomo  (Team Tenmaya) running 2:23:23 to win January's Osaka International Women's Marathon and Arata Fujiwara  (Miki House) running 2:07:48 for 2nd in Tokyo in February the Federation decided to enact strict standards for the Moscow team: sub-2:24 for women and sub-2:08 for men at any of the designated domestic selection races or the World Marathon Majors.  Considering that both Shigetomo and Fujiwara made it into the all-time Japanese top ten it seems like a pretty tall order to imagine Japan being able to field full five-member teams of that caliber next summer, but that's where the powers that be set the hoop and people are lining up to jump.  With fav...