japan running news

2023 Hakone Ekiden champion Komazawa University 's 1st and 8th runners from its winning team Kensuke Tsubura  and Yuto Akahoshi were at the United Airlines NYC Half Sunday with head coach Hiroaki Oyagi and his wife Kyoko Oyagi as part of the partnership between race organizers NYRR and November's Ageo City Half Marathon set up by JRN in 2012. For both athletes it was the first time for them to ever go outside Japan. Akahoshi, a 3rd-year at Komazawa who ran his PB of 1:02:00 at Ageo last fall, lasted longer in the main pack, staying with the group that ended up filling 4th through 14th after the breakaway move up the East Side by world record holders Jacob Kiplimo and Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda and Moroccan Zouhair Talbi . In the last 5 km he dropped back to finish 14th in 1:03:49, just behind 2022 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Maru Teferi of Israel. "My goal was to come here and try to stay with some of the best athletes in the world, so I'm pretty disap...

Two and a half years after scoring invitations to the United Airlines NYC Half by taking the top two Japanese collegiate places at the 2019 Ageo City Half Marathon , Akira Akasaki and Haruka Onodera finally got the chance to run. Going with the hot early pace set by heavy favorite Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya, neither was able to stay with past 5 km. Onodera dropped off first, with Akasaki lasting longer but not able to handle sub-61 pace on the tough, hilly course either. Akasaki ended up 17th in 1:03:31 and Onodera 23rd in 1:05:00. Post-race, Akasaki, now with the Kyudenko corporate team, said, "I was really happy to get the chance to run this race after two years. Along the way there were a lot of hard times with the corona pandemic, but I'm really glad to come out on the other side of that and be able to run a hard race." Onodera, now running for the Toyota Boshoku team, said, "This was my first international race, and even though my time was terrible I really en...