japan running news

by Brett Larner



The southern hemisphere's only IAAF gold label race, Australia's Gold Coast Airport Marathon returns this weekend with solid fields in both the men's and races.  Nine men and four women come to the race with gold label credentials, times under 2:10 for men and 2:28 for women, within the last three years, and with good weather forecast for Sunday morning more than a few could replicate those times on Australian soil.

The top 10 leading female contenders for this Sunday's #GCAM16! #thisisqueenslandpic.twitter.com/NakKa6HDYy — Gold Coast Marathon (@GCMarathon) July 1, 2016
Japanese women have dominated Gold Coast in recent years, winning the last four years straight and sweeping the top five last year.  They'll have a tougher time of it this year.  Ethiopians Gulume Chala, last year's Frankfurt Marathon winner in 2:23:12, and Meseret Biru, last year's Paris Marathon winner in 2:23:26, lead the way, with Kenyan Leah Kiprono, winner of this year&…

by Brett Larner

Australia's Gold Coast Airport Marathon has released the men's and women's elite fields for this year's race on July 3.  Cementing its position as a significant IAAF gold label event, the race features nine men and five women with recent times under the gold label standards of 2:10 and 2:28.  Peter Some of Kenya leads the men's field with a 2:07:05 at the 2014 Tokyo Marathon and should give the 2:08:42 Australian all-comers' record set last year by returning champion Kenneth Mungara a scare.  Yuki Kawauchi is the top-ranked Japanese man with a 2:09:05 from the 2013 Fukuoka International Marathon, his domestic competition including corporate runner Chiharu Takada and Kawauchi's longtime rival and sometimes training partner Arata Fujiwara.

The women's all-comers' record is Naoko Takahashi's mighty 2:23:14 gold medal run from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  Ethiopians Gulume Chala and Meseret Biru both have recent times under 2:23:30, an…