japan running news

http://news.goo.ne.jp/article/mainichi_region/region/mainichi_region-20160201ddlk40050396000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

Appearing at an event in Kurosaki as part of a campaign to revitalize the area through better health, London Olympics men's marathon 6th-placer Kentaro Nakamoto and other members of the local Yasukawa Denki corporate team spoke on the theme of "From Kurosaki to the World."  "My goal is to make the Rio Olympics," Nakamoto said with determination.

The event took place in the Yasukawa Denki Headquarters Auditorium.  Appearing alongside Nakamoto were 2015 Sydney Marathon winner Hisanori Kitajima and 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon 5th-placer Bunta Kuroki, a graduate of Tsutsui Elementary School.  The trio spoke about the appeal of the marathon, their training, and their future goals.

All three plan to run March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, which will serve as the final Olympic selection race.  Nakamoto commented, "The three of …

by Brett Larner

Japanese athletes were in action abroad on three continents over the weekend.  The biggest result came at the Netherlands' Dam tot Damloop 10-Miler, where Risa Takenaka (Team Shiseido), winner of July's Gold Coast Airport Marathon, ran 52:56 on the point-to-point course to finish 12 seconds ahead of the national record set 8 1/2 years ago by Mai Endo (Team Nihon ChemiCon) in Kasumigaura.

2015 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon winner Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa Denki) won again at the Sydney Marathon, outkicking Nobeoka 3rd-placer Hiroki Yamagishi (Team Hitachi Butsuryu) by three seconds for the win in 2:12:44.  Former Hakone Ekiden uphill superstar Ryuji Kashiwabara (Team Fujitsu) made a surprisingly low-key but distinctly lackluster marathon debut in Sydney, running 2:20:44 for 7th just ahead of independent Saeki Makino, an off-and-on training partner of Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) best-known for his frontrunning at the last two Honolulu Marathons…

by Brett Larner

Races in Australia, the U.S.A. and the Netherlands on Sunday featured Japanese corporate league athletes.  At the Sydney Marathon, both the men's and women's races saw the top two broke the existing records for a challenging course full of hills and turns.  In the men's race, Ethiopia's Gebo Gameda shook free of compatriot Seboka Dibaba Tola to break Yuki Kawauchi's 2:11:52 course record, Gameda getting the new record in 2:11:18 with Tola just squeezing under Kawauchi's time in 2:11:48.  Kenyan Benjamin Koloum Kiptoo likewise shook off track and half marathon star Tsuyoshi Ugachi of two-time New Year Ekiden national champion team Konica Minolta for 3rd in 2:12:08. 

Ugachi ran a PB of around a minute for 4th in 2:12:18, a decent time given the course and one that puts him 22nd among Japanese men for the year.  It is widely thought in Japan that Ugachi's dynamic and aggressive form will make it hard for him to find the marathon success to matc…

http://www.sydneyrunningfestival.com.au/general/news/kenyan-willy-koitile-wins-2013-blackmores-sydney-marathon

by Brett Larner
photo by Adrian Miles

Lining up for his sixth marathon of the year after a late Friday night flight, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) turned in his second win in three weeks as he set a 2:11:52 course record to lead a Japanese sweep at the Sept. 16 Sydney Marathon.

Just three weeks after winning the hot and humid Hokkaido Marathon in 2:18:38, Kawauchi set off in a small lead pack on pace to break the 2:14:12 Sydney course record set back in 1994.  Splitting 1:06:08 for the first half, he soon dropped Kenyan Felix Kandie and was on his own as he pushed on to run a negative split despite the challenging nature of the Sydney course which some estimates put at two to three minutes slow.  Kawauchi crossed the line with a margin of more than four minutes over Kandie, his time of 2:11:52 taking nearly two and a half minutes off the course record and the third-best time of his career.  Next up Kawauchi will run October's World Half Marathon Championships before pursuing a 2:0…