japan running news

2012 London Olympian Arata Fujiwara, 37, announced his retirement from competition on April 1. Effective the same day he will join the Suzuki Hamamatsu AC coaching staff.

Translator's note: The most wildly unpredictable of Japan's elite marathoners, Fujiwara's achievements included a 2:07:48 PB that at the time ranked him all-time Japanese #7, a 2:09:34 course record at the 2010 Ottawa Marathon that made him the first Japanese man in 23 years to win a marathon outside Japan sub-2:10, three 2nd-place finishes at the Tokyo Marathon, becoming only the fifth Japanese man to score five career sub-2:10s, and representing Japan at the 2009 Berlin World Championships and 2012 London Olympics. His 2010 decision to quit the corporate league system and get individual sponsorship led the way for others including future national record holder Suguru Osako and Hakone Ekiden star Daichi Kamino to do the same. 

source article:
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190401-00000146-kyodonews-s…

Last weekend's Ottawa Marathon was the final IAAF gold label marathon of the spring season, marking a lull until July's Gold Coast Airport Marathon and August's London World Championships. Gold label events are required to recruit elite athletes of a variety of nationalities under specific time standards, currently 2:10:00 for men and 2:28:00 for women in the marathon, in order to earn that label. Nike's Breaking2 experiment aside, the Tokyo Marathon men's race was the best of the season, led by Wilson Kipsang's year-leading 2:03:58 Japanese all-comers record. Mary Keitany's 2:17:01 women-only world record likewise marked the London Marathon as the top women's race so far this year.

But looking beyond just the fastest winning time, what were the best marathons in the first five months of 2017 by depth of quality? The races with the most gold label performances, the standard that the IAAF has decreed as the top level of the sport? Below are the top ten m…

http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/ottawa-marathon-2015-mekuria-birhanu

Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon
Ottawa, Canada, 5/24/15
click here for complete results

Women
1. Aberu Zennebe (Ethiopia) - 2:25:30
2. Rebecca Chesir (Kenya) - 2:25:41
3. Abebech Afework (Ethiopia) - 2:25:53
4. Agnes Kiprop (Kenya) - 2:26:12
5. Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia) - 2:26:45
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11. Rika Shintaku (Japan/Shimamura) - 2:33:34
DNF - Zivile Balciunaite (Lithuania)

Men
1. Girmay Birhanu (Ethiopia) - 2:08:14
2. Philip Kangogo (Kenya) - 2:09:56
3. Chele Dechase (Ethiopia) - 2:09:59
4. Rachid Kisri (Morocco) - 2:10:18
5. Peter Kirui (Kenya) - 2:10:23
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DNF - Deriba Merga (Ethiopia)

by Brett Larner
photo courtesy of Remo System

Arata Fujiwara will be the best Japanese man to have ever run the ING New York City Marathon. That’s a safe statement to make considering that the best Japanese marathoners are never able to run New York due to the demands of the regional corporate ekiden qualifiers held in early November. But Fujiwara had dreamed of running New York since his high school days in Nagasaki, and he found his own solution for the dilemma of not being able to run: despite being one of Japan’s best current marathoners, with a 2:08:40 PB, two runner-up spots at Tokyo and a 3rd at Fukuoka that put him into the Berlin World Championships, he quit his corporate team cold this spring in order to be free to race where and when he wanted. And that meant New York.

First off the bat in his new solo career was a dry run, May’s Ottawa Marathon, a race with the same time difference from Japan as New York and a similar course, hilly with a combination of sharp curves and long,…

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010060200286

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Following his course-record win at the May 30 Ottawa Marathon, Berlin World Championships marathoner Arata Fujiwara announced on June 1 that he will run the Nov. 7 ING New York City Marathon. Speaking at a press conference in New York following a tour of the marathon's hilly course, Fujiwara told members of the media, "I think the Ottawa Marathon was the perfect experience to be ready for the ING New York City Marathon."

Fujiwara will be the best Japanese man to have ever run in New York, the only major marathon to have never had a Japanese winner. "I've always wanted to run the ING New York City Marathon because it's the most famous marathon in the world and this where all the great runners come," he said at the press conference. "You have to win here to be the best." He also plans to run July's Sapporo International Half Marathon as part of his prepa…

http://www.ottawasun.com/sports/othersports/2010/05/30/14192046.html

Also, the CTV national news coverage of the race:

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/#clip307787

by Brett Larner

photos by Brett Larner except Deriba Merga and Arata Fujiwara by Yasunori Sakamaki



In his first race since his unprecedented departure from Team JR Higashi Nihon at the end of March, Arata Fujiwara won the 2010 Ottawa Marathon on May 30. Fujiwara broke the existing course record by one minute two seconds, outkicking Kenyan Laban Moiben and junior world record holder Bazu Worku of Ethiopia to win in 2:09:33.4. His time on the difficult course was the fastest of the year by a Japanese man and came three months after his 2nd place finish in sleet and wind at February's Tokyo Marathon.



A slower than expected first 10 km over challenging hills through Quebec scuttled the expected attack on the Canadian all-comers record on 2:08:32 from last fall's Toronto Waterfront Marathon, but the top four men all broke the previous course record of 2:10:35. Two of the three pacemakers dropped off far earlier than planned, leaving Kenyan Festus Langat to do the rest of the work thro…

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/536794--canadian-record-in-runner-s-sights



2010 Ottawa Marathon top four invited men, L-R: Marathon junior world record holder Bazu Worku (Ethiopia), 4-time Ottawa Marathon champion David Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2009 World Championships marathoner Arata Fujiwara (Japan), and 2006 Cologne Marathon winner Teferi Wodajo (Ethiopia). Photo by Yasunori Sakamaki.

JRN will be on location at the 2010 Ottawa Marathon for the next week. Apologies for any interruptions to regularly scheduled service during this time, but we will be bringing you exclusive coverage throughout race weekend.

This year's outstanding men's field includes world junior record holder Bazu Worku (Ethiopia), 2:07 men Philip Manyim (Kenya) and Teferi Wodajo (Ethiopia), 2:08 runner Arata Fujiwara (Japan) and defending champion David Cheruiyot (Kenya). The 10 km features luminaries Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) and Dire Tune (Ethiopia).

For complete elite field listings, click here for the marathon or here for the 10 km.

http://runottawa.ca/index.php/en/media/media-centre/2010/05/19/550

Arata Fujiwara (Proposer Japan) makes his racing debut since going independent last month at the May 30 Ottawa Marathon.

2010 Ottawa Marathon Elite Field - Top Entrants
click here for complete elite field listing
Men
Bazu Worku (Ethiopia) - 2:06:15 (2009)
Philip Manyim (Kenya) - 2:07:41 (2005)
Teferi Wodajo (Ethiopia) - 2:07:45 (2009)
Arata Fujiwara (Japan) - 2:08:40 (2008)
Hussan Adelo (Ethiopia) - 2:09:09 (2010)
Hillary Kimaiyo (Kenya) - 2:09:54 (2008)
John Njoroge (Kenya) - 2:10:00 (2006)
Wegayehu Girma Tefera (Ethiopia) - 2:10:09 (2010)
Gebo Burka Gameda (Ethiopia) - 2:10:18 (2009)
David Cheruiyot (Kenya) - 2:10:36 (2007)

Women
Rose Kerubo (Kenya) - 2:29:22 (2007)
Lioudmila Kortchaguila (Canada) - 2:29:42 (2007)
Alemitu Abera (Ethiopia) - 2:31:01 (2010)
Merima Mohammed (Ethiopia) - 2:33:56 (2009)
Radiya Adlo (Ethiopia) - 2:35:00 (2009)
10 km click here for complete elite field listing Men Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) - 27:24 (2009) Robert Letti…