japan running news

http://www.flotrack.org/article/61851-galen-rupp-runs-1-02-18-to-win-rock-n-roll-philadelphia-hasay-third#.WcCMTq09y8U

Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Japanese results:

Men
4. Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) - 1:04:34 - PB
8. Muryo Takase (Nissin Shokuhin) - 1:06:34

Women
5. Reia Iwade (Dome) - 1:14:01
7. Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:15:30 - debut

A small group of Japanese corporate leaguers also ran at Portugal's Porto Half Marathon the same day:

Men
11. Naoya Takahashi (Yasukawa Denki) - 1:04:21
13. Keita Baba (Honda) - 1:06:22

Women
5. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:13:18
12. Rui Aoyama (Universal Entertainment) - 1:17:24

In the Netherlands, Risa Takenaka (Shiseido) returned to the Dam tot Damloop 10-Miler for the first time in two years.

Women
3. Risa Takenaka (Shiseido) - 53:15

by Brett Larner

#2-ranked Bazu Worku (Ethiopia) came through with the win at the 69th running of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, holding off Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) and defending champion Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) to cross the line in 2:09:10 with Sasaki running down Kipruto in the final 200 m to go sub-2:10 for the first time in 2:09:47.

Conditions were very reasonable, with 12 degree temperatures and light wind, but despite this the casualty rate was high and came early.  2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) was off the back of the pack before the lead group of thirteen hit halfway in 1:03:24.  Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), in search of a 2:07 and a place in the history books as Japan's first man to run sub-2:10 seven times, was the next big name to falter.  By 25 km it was down to seven, and when the pacers departed at 30 km only Worku, Kipruto and Essa Ismail Rashed (Qatar) were left up front with Sasaki trailing by …

by Brett Larner

It’s still early in the year, but the Japanese men’s major domestic spring marathon season is already reaching its peak with Sunday’s Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. Lake Biwa was Japan’s first IAAF gold label marathon and is one of its oldest continuous races, but with last weekend’s Tokyo Marathon having joined the Fukuoka International Marathon in 2:05 course record territory it is due for an improvement on Wilson Kipsang’s 2:06:13 course record. To get there it has enlisted defending champion and Daegu World Championships silver medalist Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) and former junior world record holder Bazu Worku (Ethiopia), both with 2:05 bests. The pair’s duel, or teamwork, up front should be one of this year’s main story lines.

Another is Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) and his quest for a 2:07. Kawauchi is the lone A-list Japanese man in the field this year, at Lake Biwa for the sole purpose of joining Japan’s sub-2:08 club. Since his world record-setting pai…

by Brett Larner

Daegu World Championships marathon silver medalist Vincent Kipruto and Diane Chepkemoi made it a Kenyan double at the Aug. 31 Lille International Half Marathon, winning close men's and women's races in 1:00:39 and 1:10:14. After a slow opening 5 km, Kipruto, Philemon Rono Cherop (Kenya), Habtamu Assefa (Ethiopia) and a handful of others stepped up the pace, grinding the pack down over the middle stages of the race until only three remained.  Halfway through the second lap of the two-loop course Kipruto and Cherop shook free of Assefa, running side by side all the way to a sprint finish that saw Kipruto, this year's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon winner, take the title in a lean across the line. Assefa faded over the final quarter of the race but held on to 3rd in 1:01:05. Four top-placing Japanese men from March's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships also raced Lille with support from JRN, Muryo Takase (Team Nissin Shokuhin) finishing first in…

by Brett Larner

Update: Half-marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) has withdrawn with an injury to his left thigh.  Invited athlete Satoshi Yoshii (Team Sumco) withdrew earlier in the week.

Note for Canadian readers: My ability to cover Dylan and Steve live will be pretty limited, but I'll do what I can.

Official Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon course preview video.

This Sunday's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is the last chance for Japanese men to make the London Olympics marathon team.  With strong times of 2:07:48 and 2:08:38 from the top two Japanese men at last weekend's Tokyo Marathon and good conditions in the forecast we should see the top Japanese contenders gunning for Kazuhiro Maeda's 2:08:38 Tokyo mark to have a shot at picking up an Olympic ticket.  If two of them do it Maeda will likely be left on the sidelines come August.

Biwako, as the race is universally known in Japan, will be broadcast live and commercial-free nationwide on NHK …

by Brett Larner

Right on schedule the organizers of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the last chance for Japanese men to make the London Olympics marathon team, have announced the complete field for this year's race.  Coming on Mar. 4 just a week after the Tokyo Marathon, Biwako, as the race is known in Japan, has managed to put together a strong international field, both at the front end and further back at the level where people will be trying to meet their countries' Olympic qualification times.  The clear favorites in the first category are 2:06 Kenyan Nicholas Manza and 2:07 Ethiopian Bekana Daba, but with Japan based Kenyans Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Samuel Ndungu (Team Aichi Seiko) on the list to make their debuts the lead pack could be deeper than usual.  Biwako has always been good to Spanish marathoners, and with sub-28 runner Ayad Lamdassem entered for an apparent debut it is possible that this year could see another one factor into the race.

Among t…

by Brett Larner

The year kicked off with perfect, windless conditions at the seven stage, 100.0 km New Year Ekiden, the corporate men's national championships Jan. 1 in Maebashi, Gunma.  Three stage records fell along the way as pre-race favorite Team Nissin Shokuhin won by over a minute in 4:49:32, returning to the top after a 3rd-place finish last year to take its second national title in three years.

Despite the ideal weather the race started very slow, the pack of 37 teams splitting 3:07 for the first km of the 12.3 km First Stage.  Last year's First Stage runner-up Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin), a transplant from the suspended Team TEPCO, emerged from a sprint finish against Yuya Konishi (Team Toyota Kyushu) to hand off to past Kenyan national XC champion Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) in the lead.  Ngatuny appeared stale but maintained the lead against the mostly-African field, which included 2011 World XC silver medalist Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyuden…

Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, 1986-2011

I've put together this collection of quotes charting the life, career and environment of the late Samuel Wanjiru over the years by those who knew him and helped make him what he was, including Tsutomu Akiyama, Stephen Mayaka, Koichi Morishita, Takao Watanabe and Wanjiru himself. Wanjiru's achievements made him a great source of pride in Japan, as close as one can come to being considered one of their own.



"Wanjiru arrived in Japan on May 4, 2002. I was the one who went to pick him up. When he came he was only so-so, but even in high school he became strong at 10000 m, and at the half-marathon too. Wanjiru succeeded at the marathon because he was trained in Japan. He would never have been able to do this kind of running if he had stayed in Kenya. Athletes raised in Kenya don’t have the same kind of mental toughness. They come here and they learn discipline, focus, they begin to understand gaman: absolutely do not make a move before 30 km,…

by Brett Larner

Sunday's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon is always one of the biggest and fastest Japanese half marathons of the year, the site of the women's national record and a sub-60 men's course record. Last year's race saw a quick 1:08:37 from unexpected women's winner Nikki Chapple (Australia) and the only sub-70 half of the year by a Japanese woman along with two university men breaking 62 minutes.

Start lists have not yet been published but Chapple is scheduled to defend her win again this year. It won't be easy, as the top woman of 2010, Elvan Abeleygesse (Turkey), and national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) are also on the entry list. Should all three start it would be very surprising if someone else factored into the win. Likely contenders for the second pack include Silviia Skvortsova (Russia), Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) and Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex).

In the men's race, the withdrawal of 27:38 10000 m runner Yuki Sa…