japan running news

A native of Ozu, Kumamoto, Paris Olympics men's marathon 6th-place finisher Akira Akasaki  appeared at a press conference in his current base of Fukuoka on Aug. 19. "Most people didn't think I could make top 8," he said. "I think a 2:09 guy making top 8 was a nice surprise." Before the marathon Akasaki's PB was only 2:09:01, ranking him 74th among the 81 starters in the marathon field. But at 25 km Akasaki led the field, and in the later stages of the race he stayed with the leaders until the very end. He finished 6th in 2:07:32, the fastest time ever by a Japanese man at the Olympics. Akasaki was the first runner from Kumamoto to make an Olympic marathon since  Shizo Kanakuri  100 years ago. Now he is aiming for more. "It wasn't just fun, but I feel like I actually ran a good race too," he said. "The Paris Olympics as an event helped me grow. I'm looking at this as the start line. I want to take the confidence I've gotten fro...

Nihon University's Tsunehiro Nagano, left, on anchor stage of 1943 Hakone Ekiden On January 2nd and 3rd, 2024, the Hakone Ekiden celebrates its official 100th running. But much like the Boston Marathon's official 100th running in 1996 which included a military relay in 1918 as an edition of the race, there are questions about what's being counted in that total. Launched in 1920 by Japan's first Olympic marathoner Shizo Kanakuri as a way to cultivate the next generation of marathoners, throughout its history the Hakone Ekiden has followed more or less the same general route, starting in the area of Tokyo Station, heading south to the Shonan seaside, turning west toward the mountains, then making a tough climb on the final leg of its first day to the mountain town of Hakone on the shores of Lake Ashi. On its second day it makes a return trip along the same route, starting with a brutal downhill, then following the shoreline before turning to head into central Tokyo and ...

We're less than a week out from the 100th running of the Hakone Ekiden , the two-day university men's road relay from central Tokyo to the foothills of Mt. Fuji and back that has become the biggest sports event in Japan. Tens of millions of people watch the live TV broadcast, millions more line the 217.1 km course, it has its own museum, and its own identity and place as a cultural icon. Over the next few days I'll be posting four excerpts from my upcoming book on the history of the race, May the Circle Be Unbroken: Hakone at 100 . The Hakone Ekiden came out of the same era that produced the world's other premier endurance races, specifically the Boston Marathon, Tour de France and Comrades Marathon. Comrades didn't come until a bit later in 1921, but Boston was first held in 1897, and six years later in 1903 the Tour de France got off the ground. In Japan Meiji University founded the Meiji University Race Club, the country's first collegiate track and field te...

Paris Olympics marathon team member Akira Akasaki is the first man from Kumamoto to make an Olympic marathon since the father of Japanese marathoning Shizo Kanakuri 100 years ago. Akasaki finished 2nd in October's Olympic marathon trials to make the Paris team, only the second man from Kumamoto prefecture to ever make an Olympic marathon team after Kanakuri at the 1924 Paris Olympics. On Nov. 6 Akasaki visited the town of Tamana in Kumamoto to pay his respects at the great Kanakuri's grave. At Tamana City Hall he was greeted by applause from city workers. Akasaki's coach at the Kyudenko corporate team, Kazuharu Takai , and his Takushoku University -era coach Masahiro Okada , were also in attendance to celebrate his achievement. Afterward Akasaki visited Kanakuri's grave to pay his respects and inform the legend's spirit that he will be running in the Olympics too. "Kanakuri was the creator of the Hakone Ekiden, and I was lucky to run it four times," sai...

On Mar. 14 the JAAF, Fukuoka Athletics Association and Fukuoka Prefectural Government announced that the Fukuoka International Marathon, discontinued after its 75th running last year , will return in a revamped form this year on Dec. 4 under the tentative name "Fukuoka International Marathon 2022." The new version of the race will inherit the history and tradition on which the curtain came down so shockingly last December. The Fukuoka International Marathon began in Kumamoto in 1947 as the "Kanakuri Prize Asahi Marathon" in honor of the father of Japanese distance running, Shizo Kanakuri . In its early years it was held in different cities across the country, first coming to Fukuoka in 1951 and settling there for good in 1964. It took the name Fukuoka International Marathon at its 28th running in 1974, and with numerous course changes over the years continued to be held under that name. Most of the world's best runners competed there, and in the 1970s and 1980s...

The Fukuoka International Marathon held its 75th and final running on Dec. 5. One legendary runner began his career at historic Heiwaidai Field, Fukuoka's start and finish point, and went on to become the first Japanese marathoner to stand at the top of the world. He is Shigeki Tanaka , 90, winner of the 1951 Boston Marathon. Tanaka was deeply moved as he watched the last edition of the race on TV from his home in Utsunomiya.  In 1950 Heita Okabe , who laid the foundation for modern Japanese sports, proposed the creation of an Olympic development program to Shizo Kanakuri , the father of Japanese marathoning. Tanaka was one of the program's original members. In an era of shortages in the basic necessities of life, Tanaka packed a backpack with rice and a blanket and traveled from Hiroshima to Fukuoka. The program's first session took place at Heiwadai Field and neighboring Ohori Park. Under Okabe and Kanakuri's direction he and the other participants gained strength do...