japan running news

video highlights by NHK

The National High School Ekiden Championships took place Dec. 23 in Kyoto on a course starting and finishing at Nishi Kyogoku Field. Kagoshima's Kamimura Gakuen H.S. won its first national title in the 30th anniversary edition girls' race, covering the five-stage, 21.0975 km course in 1:07:25. Okayama's Kurashiki H.S. won the seven-stage, 42.195 km boys' race in 2:02:09, its second national title in the event's 69-year history.

Starting the 5.0 km Fifth Stage in 5th place and 31 seconds back from leader Sendai Ikuei H.S. anchor Chinatsu Takeda, Kamimura Gakuen's Tabitha Kamau blasted a 15:06 just two seconds off the ten-year-old stage record to put Kamimura Gakuen 26 seconds ahead by the finish and all-time #9 in the record books. In the home straight Nagano Higashi H.S. anchor Narumi Kobayashi overtook Takeda to take 2nd in 1:07:51, knocking the defending national champions back to 3rd.


Kurashiki took the lead on the Third Stage as Keny…

The New Balance Nationals Outdoor was the weekend's big high school meet in the U.S.A., but from Thursday through Monday regions across Japan also held their qualifying meets for the July 29 - Aug. 2 National High School Track and Field Championships in Yamagata. Performances were at a high level across the board, with at least eight meet records nationwide in distance events.

Five girls broke 4:20 in the 1500 m, with Helen Ekarare (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) leading the way with a 4:09.67 meet record to win the Tohoku Region. Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) was the fastest Japanese girl, winning the Kinki Region title in 4:18.32. On the boys' side, four broke 3:50 in the 1500 m, three of them in the Kinki Region meet. Yusuke Takahashi (Hyogo H.S.) took the Kinki title in 3:46.86.



In the girls' 3000 m, five girls including both Ekarare and Tanaka were under 9:05 nationwide. Ekarare and Tanaka both doubled with 3000 m wins, but the fastest time came from Tabitha Kamau (Kamimu…

by Brett Larner

Corporate and university meets led the way in the first of three straight weekends of regional track action.  At the Chubu Region Corporate Track and Field Championships Kenyan Rodgers Chumo Kemoi (Team Aisan Kogyo) led the top three under 28 minutes, winning in 27:54.19. Returning to the track after a quality 2:10:39 debut at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Minato Oishi (Team Toyota) was the fastest Japanese man in the race, running 28:31.28 for 4th.

Silas Laikong (Team Aichi Seiko) won the Chubu men's 5000 m in 13:45.59, but the fastest time of the weekend came at the season's first Shizuoka Long Distance Time Trials meet, where Ethiopian teammates Abiyot Abinet and Yeneblo Biyazen (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) went 1-2 in 13:36.08 and 13:36.20. Downhill specialist Yuji Onoda led a large contingent from Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University, 3rd overall in 13:58.05.

The women's 3000 m in Shizuoka also saw teammates sweep the front end, with ne…