japan running news

International athletes who competed in yesterday's Tokyo Olympics test event half marathon in Sapporo gave high marks to the event's coronavirus protocols.  Dutch athlete Bart Van Nunen  said, "The measures against COVID-19 were perfect. I didn't feel there were any problems." International athletes were not allowed to go out in public or use public transportation and were required to eat in their hotel rooms. "I felt that this just showed the kind of measures they were taking," said Van Nunen. Men's winner Hillary Kipkoech  of Kenya commented, "It was very tough with the strong wind, but the course itself was excellent." Translator's note:   In contrast to the athlete comments here, a story published on Saturday by Inside the Games  on COVID-19 countermeasures at Olympic test events this week, which for whatever reason didn't mention the marathon test event, selected only negative quotes from athletes, who were quoted as complai...

The test event for the Tokyo Olympics marathon went off as planned May 5 in Sapporo on a course more or less mirroring the first half of this summer's Olympic course. Strong winds from the south meant a slow start over the first 8 km, super fast splits from the turn to the north just before 10 km until after 15 km, and a technical finish into the wind over the narrow and winding last few km through the Hokkaido University campus. After a slow first km, Olympic marathon women's team members Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) and Mao Ichiyama  (Wacoal) plus alternate Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) took it out hard with pacing courtesy of one of Ichiyama's male coaches. They stayed together on 1:08 pace until almost 18 km before Suzuki slipped away, Ichiyama kicking to win in a 1:08:28 PB and Matsuda closing hard in 1:08:32 for 2nd, likewise a PB. Ichiyama's time moved her up to all-time Japanese #6, with Matsuda picking up the #7 spot and knocking her coach Miwako Yamanaka  out of t...

On May 1 the organizers of the May 5 Sapporo Marathon Festival 2020 Olympic marathon test event announced that Tokyo Olympics men's marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura  (Fujitsu) has withdrawn from the half marathon. According to Fujitsu, Nakamura is experiencing some pain on the inside of his left foot. A statement on the team's official website stated, "He is currently recovering and expects to get back to training next week." Nakamura had been schedule to run February's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon but withdrew due to tendonitis issues in his left leg. His withdrawal from the Olympic test event marks his second-straight DNS. The Olympic test event half marathon covers a large section of the course for this summer's Olympic marathon. Olympic team members scheduled to compete include men's marathoner Yuma Hattori  (Toyota) and all three members of the women's marathon squad, Honami Maeda  (Tenmaya), Ayuko Suzuki  (Japan Post) and Mao Ichiyama  (Waco...

In an interview with a source involved in the situation, on Apr. 15 it was learned that the mass-participation 10 km race planned to take place May 5 in Sapporo, Hokkaido as part of the Sapporo Marathon Festival Olympic test event is to be canceled. The official decision is expected soon. The half marathon Olympic test event, a half marathon on the Olympic course with around 160 elite participants, is still scheduled to go ahead. 2500 amateur runners had been entered in the 10 km, which covered one lap of the 10 km northern half of the course for this summer's Olympic marathon. In response to the increasing numbers of cases of infection with variants of the coronavirus, city and prefectural officials have extended their policy of asking residents of Sapporo to refrain from going out unnecessarily and from traveling to and from other area until May 14. As the Sapporo Marathon Festival's date fell within this period, the decision was made to cancel the mass-participation race. T...

Last November, as a measure to combat the spread of the coronavirus Hokkaido University  issued a policy banning all student athletes belonging to the university's sports teams from taking part in competitions. Students at the university are now growing more vocal in their opposition to the decision, saying, "It's way too strict compared to other universities." Students are very upset that the May 5 Sapporo Marathon Festival Olympic marathon test event, which goes through the Hokkaido University campus and will include a mass-participation race, will go ahead, saying, "It makes no sense to let the Olympic test race happen on campus while at the same time banning all students from taking part in any competition." Student leaders will deliver a petition with 7,000 signatures on Apr. 7 demanding a relaxation of the ban on competing. "If you don't race against the top athletes in the country then you can't get your racing sense back," said a m...

On Mar. 8 the organizing committee of the Hokkaido Sapporo Marathon Festival 2021 formally decided the final details for the May 5 event, which will serve as the test event for the Tokyo Olympics marathons and race walks. The half marathon will feature a total of around 80 men and women from Japan and abroad including those scheduled to compete in the Olympics, while the 10 km will be geared toward mass participation entrants, with a field of 2500. The 10 km will be conducted according to guidelines prepared under the supervision of experts, with coronavirus measures including 1 m separation between participants. With regard to spectators along the course, Yasuo Mori , the event's deputy director, commented, "If we want people to stay away from the course we have to communicate that to them, so we must make a final decision by the end of March or early April. It's very important to minimize any concerns or fears the local people may have." Online entries for mass pa...