japan running news

Women's world record holder and defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) and last year's top man Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) return to lead the elite fields for the April 22 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon . The women's field is small but high-quality at the front end, with Eunice Chumba (Bahrain) and Valary Jemeli (Kenya) joining Jepkosgei under the 68-minute mark and additional support coming from sub-70 runners Joy Kemuma (Kenya) and Karolina Nadolska (Poland). The top Japanese woman in last summer's London World Championships marathon, Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) again leads the way as the fastest Japanese woman at 1:10:31. Most of Gifu's budget clearly went to the women's race, as the men's field is made up almost entirely of Japan-based athletes. Not that it's short of quality. With a 1:00:31 mark Mutiso is only the 5th-fastest athlete in a field led by sub-60 men James Mwangi (Kenya/NTN), James Rungaru (Kenya/Chuo Hatsuj...

by Brett Larner Just three weeks after her world record run at the Prague Half Marathon, Joyclinie Jepkosgei blew apart the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon with one of the fastest women's half marathons ever run on Japanese soil.  Solo from the start, Jepkosgei hit 5 km in 15:08, just 12 seconds behind the second men's pack led by London World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't).  As in her WR run Jepkosgei faded progressively the rest of the way, but with a lead of over a minute at 10 km there was never any danger of her being caught. Jepkosgei became the first woman to break 68 minutes in hilly Gifu, setting a new course record of 1:07:44.  Running the race a little more evenly, runner-up Belaynesh Oljira (Ethiopia) was also under the old course record, 2nd in 1:08:19.  London World Championships women's marathon team leader Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) returned to the roads for the first time since her 2:21:36 debut at last month's ...

by Brett Larner Sakamoto photo c/o Yichen Ding The 100th Japanese National Track and Field Championships were the weekend's main event, but there was no shortage of road racing action at home and abroad.  The Hakodate Half Marathon was the most major, this year featuring the addition of a full marathon division for the first time.  2015 Marugame Half Marathon winner Paul Kuira (Konica Minolta) took another Japanese half title, pushing through rain and winds for the win in 1:03:14 over a small pack including Charles Ndungu (Komori Corp.), defending champion Michael Githae (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Tomohiro Tanigawa (Konica Minolta).  Just a week after setting the 50 km national record, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) pushed up through the field late in the race to pass ten people in the last 5 km for 5th overall in 1:04:24.  Sayo Nomura (Daiichi Seimei) took the women's half in 1:13:02, while Tokyo-based amateur Takehiko Gyoba became Hakodate's first mar...

Gifu, 5/15/16 click here for complete field listing times listed are 2013-2016 bests except where noted Women Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:08:06 (Marugame 2016) Rebecca Kangogo Chesir (Kenya) - 1:08:21 (Milan 2015) Betelhem Moges (Ethiopia) - 1:09:23 (Olomouc 2014) Visiline Jepkesho (Kenya) - 1:09:43 (Adana 2016) Yuka Ando (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:09:51 (Sanyo 2015) Sayo Nomura (Japan/Daiichi Seimei) - 1:10:03 (Sanyo 2013) Kayoko Fukushi (Japan/Wacoal) - 1:10:04 (Berlin 2014) Lauren Kleppin (U.S.A.) - 1:10:16 (Copenhagen 2014) Eri Makikawa (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:10:27 (Marugame 2014) Mao Kiyota (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:10:31 (Valencia 2015) Bornes Jepkirui (Kenya) - 1:10:32 (Azpeitia 2014) Men Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA) - 59:14 (Copenhagen 2015) Paul Kuira (Kenya/Konica Minolta) - 59:47 (Marugame 2015) Kenneth Keter (Kenya) - 59:48 (Venlo 2016) Martin Mathathi (Kenya) - 1:00:11 (Marugame 2014) James Rungaru (Kenya/Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:00:12 (Nice ...

http://kumanichi.com/fsports/marathon/2016/kiji/20160116001.xhtml http://kumanichi.com/fsports/marathon/2016/kiji/20160127001.xhtml translated and edited by Brett Larner The organizers of the 5th Kumamoto-jo Marathon have announced the elite field for the Feb. 21 Kanaguri Memorial Kumanichi 30 km Road Race , held alongside the Kumamoto-jo Marathon as its elite race. Celebrating Kumanichi's 60th anniversary running, this year’s elite men’s field features strong young athletes who made an impact on the competitive Third and Fourth Stages at the New Year Ekiden corporate men’s national championships on Jan. 1. With university runners having won Kumanichi the last two years the corporate runners’ battle to get back on top will be one of the main draws this year. The fresh young corporate league contingent is led by two members of the New Year Ekiden runner-up team Konica Minolta , Masato Kikuchi and Keita Shitara , along with local Chiharadai H.S. graduate Kento Otsu of New...

http://www.sanyonews.jp/article/265824/1/ translated and edited by Brett Larner The elite field for the 34th Sanyo Women's Road Race on Dec. 23 was announced on Nov. 30.  The first selection race for next March's Cardiff World Half Marathon Championships in the U.K., Sanyo features world-class talent like 2014 Copenhagen World Half Marathon bronze medalist and Sanyo course record holder Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko), 2015 Marugame Half Marathon winner Eloise Wellings (Australia), 2015 Beijing World Championships 10000 m runner Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) and more.  A large number of women aiming to make next year's Rio Olympic team will be lining up in the half marathon.  Alongside Ohara are 2014 Asian Games marathon 4th-placer Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), 2014 World Half Marathon Championships team members Sayo Nomura (Team Daiichi Seimei) and Chieko Kido (Team Canon AC Kyushu), and rising young talent like 2015 Hokkaido Marathon winner Yui Okada (Team Ot...

by Brett Larner The Japanese women's team came through at the Mar. 29 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, narrowly outrunning a strong Italian squad for the team bronze medal.  Top-placing Japanese woman Sayo Nomura  (Team Daiichi Seimei) started slow, nearly 15 seconds behind the lead pack at 5 km, but ran steadily to move up through the pack and overtake teammates Chieko Kido  (Canon AC Kyushu), Reia Iwade  (Team Noritz) and Risa Takenaka  (Team Shiseido) for 15th place overall. Both Takenaka and Iwade finished within 30 seconds of Nomura to overcome Italian Valeria Straneo 's strong 8th-place finish in 1:08:55 and give Japan the team bronze by just 24 seconds. Further up front, Kyushu-based Sally Chepyego  (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) took the individual bronze in a 1:07:52 PB, with Aomori Yamada H.S. graduate and former Suzuki runner Lucy Kabuu  4th in 1:08:37. In the men's race, Komazawa University's Kenta Murayama ...

by Brett Larner photo by Kazuyuki Sugimatsu Running against the wind,  Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.)  at the 2013 Hakone Ekiden. Japan is sending two strong squads to the Mar. 29 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, both led by their youngest member and each with a good chance of going home with hardware. There's a lot of buzz domestically about the young and talented men's team, four of its five members between 21 and 23 years old, three of them university runners and three students at or graduates of three-time defending National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University .  Much of the buzz is focused on Komazawa third-year  Kenta Murayama , freshly 21 and on a rapid rise to the very top of the Japanese distance world. Last year at age 19 he cracked the all-time Japanese half marathon top ten with a 1:01:19 in Marugame, following up a month later in 1:02:02 for 10th at the NYC Half Marathon.  This year, just before his 21...

http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/general/2014/02/18/0006719014.shtml translated by Brett Larner On Feb. 18 the Japanese Federation announced  Kenta Murayama  (Komazawa University), 20,  and the other nine members of the Japanese national team for the Mar. 29 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Note: 2011-2013 National University Ekiden champion Komazawa's Ikuto Yufu , the 2013 National University 1500 m champion and 1:02:51 at November's Ageo City Half Marathon, has also joined the Mar. 16 New York City Half Marathon field. World Half Marathon Championships - Japanese Team Copenhagen, Denmark, Mar. 29, 2014 Men Kenta Murayama (Komazawa University) - 1:00:50 (Marugame Half 2014) - all-time Japanese #3 Masato Kikuchi (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:01:17 (National Corporate Half 2014) Sota Hoshi (Team Fujitsu) - 1:01:18 - (National Corporate Half 2014)  2013 national champion, 5000 m Hiroto Inoue (Yamanashi Gakuin University) - 1:01:39 ...

by Brett Larner Sunday's Osaka International Women's Marathon features an interesting showdown between the race's last three winners, defending champion Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko (Ukraine), all-time Japanese #9 Risa Shigetomo  (Team Tenmaya), and, in her final race before retiring from the jitsugyodan corporate system, Yukiko Akaba  (Team Hokuren). Gamera-Shmyrko won last year's Osaka over future World Championships bronze medalist Kayoko Fukushi  (Team Wacoal) in a PB 2:23:58 with the kind of miraculously fast second half she and other Eastern European women have produced in recent years, especially at Japanese marathons.  Since then she was a DNF at November's New York City Marathon, where Shigetomo was 11th in 2:31:54.  Shigetomo has never run well in a marathon since her 2:23:23 win at Osaka in 2012, but she has been on top of her game this ekiden season most recently with a 31:50 win on the Jan. 12 National Women's Ekiden's 10 km anchor stage.  ...

by Brett Larner click here for video highlights courtesy of Sanyo Newspapers The world's last elite half marathon of the year took place Dec. 23 in Okayama, with a large group of elite Japanese and foreign women squaring off at the Sanyo Women's Road Race half marathon and 10 km. #1-ranked Japan-based Kenyan Sally Chepyego  (Team Kyudenko) was the class of the field in the half-marathon division, blasting a solo 1:08:24 course record to take the 2013 title.  Facing impending retirement, 2013 London Marathon 3rd-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) ran a race characteristically unmotivated to compete for the win, sitting far back in the pack until late in the race and then turning on her usual surge to move up through the field, ultimately taking 2nd a minute behind the highly motived Chepyego in 1:09:24.   Felista Wanjugu  (Kenya/Team Universal Entertainment) and Mai Ito  (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) ran up in the chase formation with Akaba early in the race before ...

by Brett Larner The organizers of the 33rd edition of the Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 26, 2014, have announced their elite field.  With places on the 2014 Asian Games team at stake, national record holder, Athens Olympics gold medalist and 2003 Osaka winner Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) leads the way along with fellow late-career greats Mari Ozaki (Team Nortiz) and 2011 Osaka winner  Yukiko Akaba  (Team Hokuren), the latter of whom has already announced her retirement following Osaka.  Noguchi was on the entry list the last two years only to pull out shortly before the race and run March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon instead, so whether she actually starts remains to be seen. Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) tops the younger set after showing great potential in Osaka last year, with  Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) on the roster after struggling in all her marathons since winning Osaka in 2012 in a solid 2:23:23.  Promising de...

by Brett Larner video by akuy125 Domestic Japanese action this weekend focused on the annual National Sports Festival and on three competitive half marathons.  Women's 5000 m Japanese year leader Misaki Onishi  (Team Sekisui Kagaku) started the weekend off with a win in 15:43.03 in a close pack race at the National Sports Festival 5000 m.  2013 World University Games 10000 m gold medalist Ayuko Suzuki  (Nagoya Univ.) was next across the line in 15:46.30, with 3rd through 9th all finishing within less than two seconds of her.  Kenyan Charles Ndungu (Sapporo Yamanote H.S.) had an easier time in the junior men's 5000 m, winning by nearly 20 seconds in 13:56.27 over  Suguru Hirosue (Kobayashi H.S.). Course record holder Mekubo Mogusu  (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) enjoyed an even greater level of domination in winning his third Ichinoseki International Half Marathon , improving on his time last year in clocking 1:02:11.  Runner-up Yuta Koyama ...

by Brett Larner Four track meets featured noteworthy Japanese performances on the first truly busy weekend on the spring outdoor season calendar. Cold rain and wind hit the biggest of the domestic meets, the Hyogo Relay Carnival.  In the Grand Prix 10000 m,  Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) continued his climb to the top of the Japanese circuit with a world-leading 27:40.44 to win over world-level medalists Paul Tanui  (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) and Martin Mathathi (Kenya/ Suzuki Hamamatsu AC).  Former 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) was the top Japanese man, 5th overall with the fastest time so far this year by a Japanese man, 28:16.79.  The year's leading Japanese marathoner, Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), was 12th in a decent 28:32.23 as he began working toward the Moscow World Championships.  His teammate Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) easily won the Grand Prix women's 10000 m in 32:00.02.  Run...

by Brett Larner Two major women's ekidens took place Nov. 11 on opposite coasts of Japan.  For the second year in a row, the Kanagawa Prefecture  team set a course record to outrun Nagano Prefecture  for the win at the 28th running of Fukushima's East Japan Women's Ekiden, an event featuring teams made up of runners from junior high to pro from eighteen regions in eastern Japan.  Kanagawa's Rui Aoyama  led off with a win by a hair over last year's stage winner Yuko Shimizu  of Nagano after a brutal head-to-head battle of surges on the 6.0 km First Stage.  Nagano's second runner Honoka Yuzawa  took over the lead, a position Nagano occupied for three stages before losing it for good to Kanagawa on the Fifth Stage.  Kanagawa covered the nine-stage, 42.195 course in 2:16:16 to break its own course record set last year, with Nagano ultimately finishing nearly two minutes back in 2:18:12. The Tokyo  team, only 6th last year, had a str...

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...

by Brett Larner Click photo for video highlights of men's 5000 m. The final day of track and field competition at the 2011 World University Games brought the biggest round of distance racing, with the women's and men's half marathon and the men's 5000 m final all taking place Aug. 21.  Both half marathons were slow and tactical as the athletes dealt with the morning heat and humidity.  The women's half went out in 18:59 for the first 5 km, a pace which kept the entire field together.  A split of 18:39 for the next 5 km dropped a few of the weaker runners, but a 17:42 split from 10 to 15 km cut the field down to seven, including all four Japanese runners.  China's Xiaoli Jiang  and Japan's Shiho Takechi  were unable to keep this pace and fell away from the lead pack.  Of the remaining five, only North Korean Un Ok Ro  could maintain pace as she ran 17:43 from 15 to 20 km to open a narrow lead she carried all the way to gold in 1:16:38.  Ch...

by Brett Larner As track season rolled on with the Oda Memorial Meet in Hiroshima and the Nobeoka Spring Time Trials Meet in Nobeoka on April 29, the biggest news came in the Oda women's 5000 m. Kenyan ace Sally Chepyego (Team Kyudenko), the 2001 World Junior Championships gold medalist over 3000 m, set her third PB of the month with a new clocking of 15:13.09, a meet record. Just behind her and also under the hold meet record, Hitomi Niiya , the 2007 Tokyo Marathon winner at age 18, came in with a 6-second PB of 15:17.84, 0.02 seconds faster than national record holder Kayoko Fukushi's best time of 2010 and the leading time by a Japanese woman thus far in the build-up to August's World Championships. What made Niiya's run big news was that she appeared running for Chiba Prefecture rather than for her sponsor since graduating from high school, 2008 national champion Team Toyota Jidoshokki. Late last month Toyota Jidoshokki announced that it was leaving its base in C...