japan running news

Ekiden season is in full swing, and across the country it was another busy weekend. Although there were four major ekidens nationwide, the best action came as runners from high school to the pros tuned up for the string of national championship ekiden races stretching from the end of this month to mid-January. At Kanagawa's Nittai University Time Trials meet, two-time steeplechase junior world champion Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) pipped 5000 m junior world championships bronze medalist William Malel (Honda) at the line in the 10000 m A-heat, winning in 27:22.73 to Malel's 27:22.79. Four other Kenyans including Ndiku's junior teammate Richard Kimunyan broke 28 minutes as their coaches eye who to run at the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden.



Evans Yego of the tiny Sunbelx supermarket team won the more conservative 5000 m A-heat in 13:48.04, a race most notable for high schoolers Luka Musembi (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), Masato Suzuki (Suijo H.S.) and Reito Hanzawa (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) …

The university men's ekiden season is already well underway, but for women the first of the season's national-level university ekidens takes place this Sunday with Sendai's Morinomiyako Ekiden, the National University Women's Ekiden Championships.

Starting in 2003 Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University became an almost unstoppable force, winning ten national titles and three 2nd-place finishes in thirteen years including five-straight from 2011 to 2015. Last year they were knocked back to 2nd by first-time national champion Matsuyama University but came back with a season-ending win over Matsuyama and 3rd-placer Meijo University at the Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden.

All three schools are back and feature as the three favorites, Matsuyama led by fourth-year Anju Takamizawa, a 2016 Rio Olympian in the 3000 m steeplechase, and 2005 national champion Meijo led by first-year Rika Kaseda, runner-up in the 5000 m at September's National University Track and Field Championships…

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20161002-OHT1T50257.html
http://dd.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/area/sapporo/1-0322620.html
http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20161002-OHT1T50243.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The 41st Sapporo Half Marathon took place October 2nd in Sapporo, Hokkaido.  More than 13,000 people took part, running under blue skies of early autumn.  Running for the first time in the main event, the men's half marathon, Komazawa University second-year Shogo Ise, 20, won in 1:04:39.  His win meant seven-straight Sapporo wins for Komazawa runners.  In the women's half marathon, Osaka Gakuin University third-year Wakana Hayashi, 21, led start to finish to win in 1:19:08.

Running solo the whole way, Hayashi was far off her time goal.  "Gah, no good...." she frowned after finishing.  "It was hotter than I expected," she said later.  "It brought out my mental weakness."  Hayashi will run next in the Oct. 30 National University Women'…

by Brett Larner



With the men's Big Three University Ekiden season well underway, Japan's university women kick off their own Big Three this Sunday at Sendai's Morinomiyako Ekiden, the National University Women's Ekiden Championships. With six stages totalling 38.0 km, a longest stage of 9.2 km, 26 teams from across the country and a live nationwide broadcast on NTV Morinomiyako is similar in scale to the men's season-opening Izumo Ekiden.

Defending champion Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto comes in ranked #1 again with four-straight national titles and nine wins in the last twelve years.  With the #1 and #3 ranked runners in the field, third-year Natsuki Omori and second-year Kotona Ota, and the fastest top-six 5000 m average, 15:45.73, there is almost no chance Ritsumeikan will lose.  The last team to beat them, 2009-2010 national champion and crosstown Kyoto rival Bukkyo University, has long since faded from glory with the departure of head coach Kenichi Morikawa …

by Brett Larner

While most of the rest of the racing world kicks back for the holidays in the lull between seasons, Japan's distance runners from junior high to pro are hitting the peak of their year with the month-long championship ekiden season.  The biggest race of the weekend is the National High School Ekiden Championships, lovingly broadcast live nationwide and commercial-free for 4 and 1/2 hours this Sunday from Kyoto on NHK starting at 10:05 a.m.  JRN will cover both the girls' and boys' races live on @JRNLive.

The top 12-ranked teams at Sunday's National High School Girls Ekiden Championships.  Click to enlarge.


In its 26th running the girls' race covers 21.0975 km in five stages, with 47 teams representing each of Japan's prefectures.  Defending champion Toyokawa H.S. of Aichi returns ranked #1 with a 5-runner 3000 m average of 9:13 led by senior Azusa Sumi in 9:00.89.  But it's going to be a very closely-matched race, with 4 other teams averaging …

by Brett Larner

Two of Japan's elite women-only ekidens founded after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics celebrated their 30th anniversaries Sunday.  At the Fukui Super Ladies Ekiden, last year's top collegiate team Osaka Gakuin University staged a classic come-from-behind race to take its first Fukui title, covering the six-stage, 30.0 km course in 1:38:23.  Down by more than a minute behind leader Panasonic and in 15th place after the 6.55 km First Stage, each of Osaka Gakuin's next five runners moved up in both stage ranking and overall standing until Sakie Arai took the lead by four seconds over 2014 National University Women's Ekiden champion Ritsumeikan University and by six over Panasonic with a 16:10 stage best on the Fifth Stage.  Anchor Saori Noda then put both Ritsumeikan and Panasonic away with a 24:25 stage best for the 7.45 km Sixth Stage to win by nearly a minute.  Panasonic's anchor, 2014 Gold Coast Airport Marathon winner Asami Kato, overtook Ritsumeika…

by Brett Larner

Two important women-only ekidens celebrate their 30th anniversaries this weekend.  In eastern Japan, Fukushima's East Japan Women's Ekiden features a scaled-down version of January's National Women's Ekiden, with teams made up of pro, collegiate, high school and junior high school athletes representing each of the 18 prefectures in the region.  Defending champion Chiba fields a very different lineup from last year's winning team led by one of Japan's current best track runners Riko Matsuzaki (Team Sekisui Kagaku).  Gunma, featuring last weekend's East Japan Corporate Women's Ekiden anchor stage course record setter Yuika Mori and Yamada Denki corporate teammate Shiho Takechi, Saitama and Shizuoka look to be Chiba's main competition.  The East Japan Women's Ekiden will be broadcast live starting at noon on Nov. 9.

Further west in Fukui, the Fukui Super Ladies Ekiden delivers an interesting format pitting top corporate teams agains…

http://www.fuji-news.net/data/report/sports/201410/0000003415.html

translated by Brett Larner

On Oct. 27 twelve of the twenty university teams to compete in the Dec. 23 Mount Fuji Women's Ekiden national invitational were announced.  The top twelve placing teams at last weekend's National University Women's Ekiden in Sendai received invitations to race the Mount Fuji Women's Ekiden:
Ritsumeikan UniversityDaito Bunka UniversityOsaka Gakuin UniversityMatsuyama UniversityKanoya Taiiku UniversityKyoto Sangyo UniversityMeijo UniversityFukuoka UniversityTokyo Nogyo UniversitySaitama UniversityHakuoh UniversityBukkyo University Six of the remaining spots will go to other schools with the fastest average official 5000 m times and will be determined by Dec. 1.  On Dec. 5 two select teams will also be announced, one from East Japan featuring members of other universities from the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto and Hoku-Shinetsu regions and one from West Japan featuring members of schools…

by Brett Larner

Along with the Berlin Marathon, where Moscow World Championships bronze medalist Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) turned in the fastest Japanese women's performance overseas so far this year at 2:26:25 for 6th and 2014 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon winner Kazuki Tomaru (Team Toyota) cracked the top ten with a 2:11:25 PB, the fall season got underway for real all across Japan.

The university ekiden circuit kicked off with the Kansai Region University Women's Ekiden on Saturday, where for the second year in a row Osaka Gakuin University beat national champion Ritsumeikan University.  The two schools traded the lead for the first four of the race's six stages before Osaka Gakuin got free on the Fifth Stage, ultimately winning by 7 seconds in 1:38:53.  The Kanto Region University Women's Ekiden followed on Sunday, with Daito Bunka University taking the lead on the Second Stage to run unchallenged all the way to the finish in a course record 1:38:22.  Early leade…