japan running news

by Brett Larner

The organizers of the Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon released the elite field on Jan. 28 for this year's 51st running, scheduled for Feb. 10.  Traditionally an elite developmental race for first- or second-time marathoners, this year's race is capped by 2010 Asian Games marathon silver medalist and 2011 World Championships marathoner Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN).  Kitaoka has been mostly injured since 2010 and will be seeking a return to the kind of form he showed that year.  His main challengers among the marathoners are the Koichi Morishita-coached Kenji Takeuchi (Team Toyota Kyushu) and Etsu Miyata (Team Fujitsu), a teammate of former national record holder Atsushi Fujita.

This year's race is heavy on people making their debuts.  Chief among them are sub-63 men Ayumu Sato (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) with a 1:02:33 best from last year's Marugama Half and Nittai University grad Kazuya Deguchi (Team Nissin Shokuhin) with a best of 1:02:46.  2009 Ome …

by Brett Larner

In his fifth marathon to date this year, 2011 World Championships marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) added the second marathon win to his resume as he took the Aug. 26 Hokkaido Marathon in 2:18:38. Osaka-based amateur Yuri Yoshizumi (Osaka Nagai AC) came from behind to win the women's race in 2:39:06.

Long one of Japan's peak elite summer races, this year saw Hokkaido all but eliminate its elite field this year, and as a result 2:08:37 man Kawauchi's win was never in serious doubt.  After a five-man lead pack went through halfway in 1:08:18, Kawauchi powered away to open a one-minute lead over his nearest competition. Although Kawauchi faded to a 1:10:20 second half in the rising temperatures, his competition faded more dramatically. Kawauchi's final margin of victory was more than three minutes over runner-up Shigeki Tsuji (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), who clocked 2:21:49.

In the women's race Yoshizumi started far behind sub-2:30 favori…

by Brett Larner

Despite heavy snow throughout much of western Japan and a nearby volcanic eruption which has continued through recent weeks, times were quick at the 49th Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon with four of the top ten recording PBs and the remaining six marking their debuts. Winner Kenji Takeuchi (Team Toyota Kyushu), a former teammate of Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya) and coached by Barcelona Olympics marathon silver medalist Koichi Morishita, clocked a ten-minute PB to win in 2:12:44, putting him inside the five fastest winning times in Nobeoka. Runner-up Takumi Owada (Team Hitachi Cable) broke his own PB by nine minutes to finish 40 seconds back from Takeuchi in 2:13:24. Takuro Yamashita (Team Fujitsu), instrumental in Asia University's 2006 Hakone Ekiden win, took four minutes off his PB to round out the top three in 2:13:33.

Little changed for the first part of the race as pacer Yoshikazu Kawazoe (Team Asahi Kasei) took a large pack throug…

by Brett Larner

Ryuji Ono`s dream of running in his second Olympic 10000 m came to an end on July 16 with his 2nd place 27:54.28 finish in the Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Ono, who runs for Team Asahi Kasei, made the 2004 Athens Olympics 10000 m as an 18 year old high school student. Since mid-May he had come frustratingly close to clearing the Beijing Olympics A-standard three times, running 27:56.86 on May 17, 27:53.19 on June 1st, and 27:55.16 at the National Track and Field Championships on June 26. Team Konica-Minolta`s Takayuki Matsumiya won Nationals and held an A-standard time, meaning that Kushiro represented Ono`s last chance of qualifying in advance of the July 23rd deadline to make the Japanese team. Once again he came up short, finishing just behind winner Nicholas Kamau of Team JAL Ground Service.

Other notable results included women`s 1500 m national record holder and Beijing Olympics women`s 5000 m team member Yuriko Kobayashi`s victory i…