japan running news

by Brett Larner This year's 29th edition of the Hokkaido Marathon features an all-Japanese invited elite field led by sub-2:11 men Hideaki Tamura (Team JR Higashi Nihon) and Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team Honda) and 2011 World Championships marathoner and defending women's champion Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease).  The race will take place simultaneously with the Beijing World Championships women's marathon. Hokkaido Marathon Sapporo, Hokkaido, 8/30/15 click here for detailed field listing Men Hideaki Tamura (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:10:54 (Biwako 2013) Ryosuke Fukuyama (Honda) - 2:10:59 (Biwako 2013) Tomohiro Tanigawa (Konica Minolta) - 2:11:39 (Nagano 2015) Ryoichi Matsuo (Asahi Kasei) - 2:12:11 (Nobeoka 2014) Tatsunari Hirayama (Yasukawa Denki) - 2:12:38 (Nobeoka 2013) Yu Chiba (Honda) - 2:13:19 (Beppu-Oita 2013) Women Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) - 2:24:57 (Osaka Women's 2012) Chieko Kido (Canon AC Kyushu) - 2:29:08 (Osaka Women's 2015) Aki Odagiri ...

Utica, NY, 7/12/15 click here for complete results Men 1. Eliud Ngetich (Kenya) - 43:31 2. Lani Rutto (Kenya) - 43:59 3. Belete Assefa (Ethiopia) - 44:01 4. Teshome Mekonen (Ethiopia) - 44:07 5. Isaac Mukundi Mwangi (Kenya) - 44:24 ----- 12. Masakazu Fujiwara (Japan/Honda) - 45:15 17. Ryosuke Fukuyama (Japan/Honda) - 46:24 Women 1. Mary Wacera Ngugi (Kenya) - 48:49 2. Cynthia Jerotich Limo (Kenya) - 48:51 3. Ruita Aga (Ethiopia) - 50:10 4. Simegn Abnet (Ethiopia) - 50:35 5. Etalemahu Habtewold (Ethiopia) - 50:56

photo c/o Dr. Helmut Winter Japanese results in this year's Chicago Marathon were pretty consistent with those seen at the Berlin Marathon and at major international half marathons elsewhere this fall.  On average, the five Japanese men in the race ran 4:18 slower than their PBs, with Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) the closest at 2:48 off his best.  National Team members Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) and Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) ran 2:11:43 and 2:15:25. 2014 Chicago Marathon Chicago, U.S.A., 10/12/14 click here for complete results Men 1. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) - 2:04:11 2. Sammy Kitwara (Kenya) - 2:04:28 3. Dickson Chumba (Kenya) - 2:04:32 4. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:05:51 5. Bernard Koech (Kenya) - 2:08:30 6. Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea) - 2:09:08 7. Lani Rutto (Kenya) - 2:10:42 8. Wesley Korir (Kenya) - 2:11:09 9. Bobby Curtis (U.S.A.) - 2:11:20 10. Koji Kobayashi (Japan/Team Subaru) - 2:11:43 ----- 16. Naoki Okamoto (Japan/T...

by Brett Larner photo by Dr. Helmut Winter Five Japanese men and one woman are scheduled to run Sunday's Chicago Marathon led by two members of the Japanese Federation's new National Team project, Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) and Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei).  Coached by 2:08:49 marathoner Wataru Okutani , Kobayashi has been improving gradually since his 2:12:52 debut at the 2012 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon, running 2:10:40 in Chicago later that year and 2:11:31 the next in Berlin before taking it down to 2:08:51 in Tokyo this spring.  Sasaki, a graduate of Daito Bunka University and guided by the legendary Takeshi Soh , has progressed even more steadily since his 2:14:00 debut in 2009, outrunning Daegu World Championships silver medalist Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) for 2nd in 2:09:47 at March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.  Of the 146 sub-2:10 marathons run so far by Japanese men only 22 have ever been done outside Japan, but although they will likely end up ru...

by Brett Larner #2-ranked Bazu Worku  (Ethiopia) came through with the win at the 69th running of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon , holding off  Satoru Sasaki  (Team Asahi Kasei) and defending champion Vincent Kipruto  (Kenya) to cross the line in 2:09:10 with Sasaki running down Kipruto in the final 200 m to go sub-2:10 for the first time in 2:09:47. Conditions were very reasonable, with 12 degree temperatures and light wind, but despite this the casualty rate was high and came early.  2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau  (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) was off the back of the pack before the lead group of thirteen hit halfway in 1:03:24.   Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't), in search of a 2:07 and a place in the history books as Japan's first man to run sub-2:10 seven times, was the next big name to falter.  By 25 km it was down to seven, and when the pacers departed at 30 km only Worku, Kipruto and Essa Ismail Rashed ...

by Brett Larner After cutting its elite program in 2012, the Hokkaido Marathon returns to the top of Japan's summer circuit this year with a solid silver label-quality men's and women's fields sure to be wasted in the heat of its 27th running on August 25th.  Highlights of the men's and women's entry lists are below. Men Gezahegne Abera (Ethiopia) - 2:10:17 (Barcelona 2013) Satoshi Yoshii (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:10:45 (Biwako 2011) Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team Honda) - 2:10:59 (Biwako 2013) Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 2:11:02 (Tokyo 2013) Kazuya Ishida (Team Nishitetsu) - 2:11:57 (Nobeoka 2012) Masaki Shimoju (Team Konica Minolta) - 2:12:18 (Nobeoka 2010) Tatsunari Hirayama (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 2:12:38 (Nobeoka 2013) Dickson Marwa (Tanzania) - 2:12:53 (Gold Coast 2003) Masanori Ishida (Team Sagawa Express) - 2:13:07 (Beppu-Oita 2013) Sho Matsumoto (Nikkei Business AC) - 2:13:38 (Nobeoka 2013) Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Ka...

by Brett Larner Top young talents Tsuyoshi Ugachi  and Hitomi Niiya  led the Konica Minolta  men and Universal Entertainment  women to the win at the East Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships , the regional qualifier for the New Year Ekiden men's national championships and the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships, Nov. 3 in Saitama. After a slow start by leadoff man Masaki Ito , Ugachi, one of Japan's best current track and road racers, ran just off his own Second Stage record to put Konica Minolta into the lead, a position it never left despite only one more stage win courtesy of Sendai Ikuei H.S. grad  Paul Kuira .  5000 m national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya  brought the team home to its first East Japan win in 7 years, 45 seconds ahead of defending national champion Team Nissin Shokuhin . Nissin was far off its game, running its youngest Kenyan Leonard Barston  and taking not a single stage win.  10000 m national cha...

text and photos by Brett Larner Makoto Fukui (Team Fujitsu) and Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team Honda) in the early going at the 2012 Muenster Marathon Unseasonably hot temperatures kept the field at the 2012 Muenster Marathon from approaching the course record of 2:10:25, but despite the heat the front end of the men's race was the deepest and most international in the race's 11-year history. The two men with 2:10 bests went 1-2 as Moroccan Ahmed Nasef took the win by five seconds over Kenyan Paul Kimaiyo Kimugul , 2:12:21 to 2:12:26 after breaking away near 35 km.  Kimugul challenged Nasef's win, saying that Nasef had received unfair aid from a cyclist giving him water in the final 7 km, but the protest was dismissed after judges investigated the claims and could find no supporting evidence or witnesses.                                      The Muenster Marathon finish Defending ch...

Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team Honda) and Makoto Fukui  (Team Fujitsu) will make their European marathon debuts at this Sunday's Volksbank Muenster Marathon in Germany with support from JRN.  Fukui ran a PB of 2:14:15 at February's Tokyo Marathon, with Fukuyama running a PB of 2:13:55 a week later at the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010022300974 translated by Brett Larner On Feb. 23 the management of Team JAL Ground Service announced that due to economic difficulties at parent sponsor Japan Airlines the team will disband at the end of March. The team was founded in 1992. Last fall team member Ryosuke Fukuyama ran on the Japanese national team at the World Half Marathon, finishing 25th. Team JAL Service had always maintained a focus on the ekiden, finishing 11th at this year's New Year Ekiden championships.

by Brett Larner Mizuho Nasukawa at 40 km in Chicago. Photo by Dr. Helmut Winter . 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Aruze), a former training partner of the great Naoko Takahashi, made her overseas marathon debut Oct. 11 at the Chicago Marathon. Nasukawa ran patiently in the lead pack of seven throughout the slow early stages of the race, but when the pace picked up at 33 km she was the second runner to fall off following the early departure of American record holder Deena Kastor. Nasukawa was eventually reeled back in by Kastor and finished 7th in 2:29:22, an improvement on her PW 2:34:17 at August's Hokkaido Marathon but equally far from the potential she showed when she won Tokyo in 2:25:38. Click here for complete results from the 2009 Chicago Marathon. The young Japanese teams at the World Half Marathon in Birmingham, U.K. on Oct. 11 likewise failed to make an impact. The reliable Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) once more had the top Japanese result, finishing 1...

http://www.iaaf.org/WHM09/news/kind=100/newsid=54552.html

by Brett Larner The 2009 National Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships got underway Sept. 25 in Okayama with the men's and women's 10000 m, the men divided into three heats by time and the women into two. Photo finishes were the order of the day. Former Hakone Ekiden "God of the Mountain" 5th stage legend Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) kicked off the night with a 0.32 second win over Shinji Suzuki (Team Aisan Kogyo) in Heat One of the men's 10000 m, the slowest of the three. Aya Nagata (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) followed suit in the women's 10000 m Heat One, beating teammate Akane Wakita by just 0.02 seconds. Ryosuke Fukuyama (Team JAL Ground Service) widened the margin of victory in the men's Heat Two, winning over Kenichi Kita (Team Kyudenko) by a luxurious 0.83 seconds. In the women's Heat Two, the only race of the night with a margin of victory greater than one second, Kenyan Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) had a predictable win in one of ...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090706/oth0907061745029-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner On July 6 Rikuren announced the names of the five men and five women who will make up the Japanese national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships to be held on Oct. 11 in Birmingham, U.K. Leading the men's team is Beijing Olympics and Berlin World Championships marathoner Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku), the half marathon national record holder. The women's team will be headed by Berlin World Championships marathon medal favorite Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), a double Beijing Olympian on the track. For all the athletes chosen for the team, the World Half represents the next step in their careers. 2009 World Half Marathon Championships Team Lineup Men Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) PB - 1:00:25 (Udine '07) - NR 2nd, Jitsugyodan Half Marathon '09 - top Japanese 9th, Sapporo Int'l Half Marathon '09 - top Japanese Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyot...

http://iaaf.org/LRR09/news/newsid=49180.html Ken Nakamura's excellent IAAF report on the 2009 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon , linked above, covers much of what I would otherwise say. One small error in his report is that Seiji Kobayashi's PB performance gives him ' little chance ' of being selected for the Berlin World Championships, not 'a little chance.' Kobayashi ran Beppu-Oita, aka Betsudai, after finishing 20th in Fukuoka this past December in 2:20:46. Adil Annani has apparently been coached by the great Moroccan marathoner Abdelkader El Mouaziz since 2007. At the 11 km water station Annani missed his special drink. Looking back over his shoulder he crashed straight on into the next table, falling forward onto the table. It evidently didn't take much out of him. Another detail worth mentioning was the strong marathon debut by Yuki Kawauchi (Gakushuin Univ.), one of the top runners on this year's Hakone Ekiden 6th stage and the 3rd place fin...