japan running news

Australians Isobel Batt-Doyle and Haftu Strintzos turned in record-breaking performances to win the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania. Running with a private male pacer, NR holder Batt-Doyle dusted the field with the fastest half marathon ever by an Australian woman on Australian soil, a 1:08:46 CR that put her 2 and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Genevieve Gregson . Last year's runner-up Yumi Yoshikawa was almost a minute back from Gregson in 3rd in 1:12:03, but was almost run down by club runner Ayaka Shimoyamada . Starting slow in her international debut, Shimoyamada moved up from 7th over the 2nd half of the race to finish 4th in 1:12:06, kicking hard in the home straight to try to catch Yoshikawa and momentarily blacking out after finishing. Kaho Onishi was 7th in 1:12:45 in her own international debut. The men's half had pacing set at 2:53/km to try to deliver the first-ever sub-61 half marathon on Australian soil. CR holde...

Last year's McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania, Australia shaped out into a great Australia vs. Japan dual meet , with Jessica Stenson outrunning Yumi Yoshikawa to take the women's title in a 1:09:51 CR, and Teikyo University school record holder Teruki Shimada executing a tactically brilliant race to drop Isaac Heyne , then-NR holder Brett Robinson , and Teikyo teammate Jinya Ozaki for the win in 1:01:12, just a second off the Australian all-comers record. Marathon NR holder Andy Buchanan took that record down to 1:01:08 at the Gold Coast Half a month later, but its chances of surviving this weekend aren't looking good. Shimada leads last year's top 4 back to Launceston this year, and there's a lot of tough new competition. 2025 National Corporate Half winner Tsubasa Ichiyama , Australia's Haftu Strintzos , new Teikyo record holder Yuta Asakawa and American Ethan Shuley have all run faster that Buchanan's rec...

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Popular opinion was that 2024 national champion Koku Gakuin University was down on strength this year following the graduation of its two best runners Kiyoto Hirabayashi and Ayumu Yamamoto . But the season-opening Izumo Ekiden earlier this month set people straight. Ranked #4, KGU took the lead early in the 2nd half of the race there and led the rest of the way to win Izumo for the 2nd year in a row. At Sunday's National University Ekiden they're coming into the race ranked #1, the only team in the field with 8 men having 5000 m bests under 14 minutes, 8 under 29 minutes for 10000 m, and 8 under 63 for the half marathon. 7 of those half marathoners are under 62, and an incredible 4 are under 61. With Nationals having 8 legs averaging 13.35 km, the last 2 close to the half marathon in length, chances are good of another KGU win. On paper Chuo University is KGU's closest competitor, but at Izumo Chuo was ranked #1 and finished only 10th. Maybe they'll pull it togethe...

Ekiden season is well underway , but for university men it kicks off Monday at the season-opening Izumo Ekiden . At 6 legs averaging 7.5 km it's short and sweet compared to November's National University Ekiden and January's Hakone Ekiden, showing off some different skill sets than at the half marathon-centric Hakone. In that regard this year's race looks pretty interesting. Most of the top programs, like last year's 1st through 4th-placers Koku Gakuin University , Aoyama Gakuin University , Komazawa University and Soka University , 6th-place Waseda University and 7th-place Josai University , are down a bit on average performance level over 5000 m and 10000 m, while in most cases having better half marathon averages. At the same time some of the next-tier programs like 8th-place Teikyo University and 11th-place Toyo University are up on track speed this season, making them a threat for better placings this year. And at the top of the list, Chuo University and l...

With great conditions at what organizers billed as the highest-label half marathon in the southern hemisphere, the only half marathon in the south with a World Athletics Elite Label or better, Japan's Teruki Shimada and Australian Commonwealth Games champ Jessica Stenson broke the men's and women's course records at the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon Sunday in Tasmania. The men's race start list read like a rematch of February's Marugame Half Marathon, with most of the 10 fastest men in the race having run there. On the Australian side was an interesting lineup of marathon NR holder Andy Buchanan , half marathon NR holder Brett Robinson , and road 10 km NR holder Sam Clifford , with Teikyo University duo Shimada and Jinya Ozaki and Rikkyo University pair Kento Baba and Hiroto Kuniyasu leading the Japanese contingent in their collective international debuts. Baba, who ran 1:00:26 to finish 2 seconds ahead of Buchanan, was taske...

https://www.launcestonrunningfestival.com.au/news/world-class-runners-to-chase-records-and-50-000-prize-pool-on-june-1 Entry list highlights with PBs: Men Brett Robinson (Australia) - 59:57 Tsubasa Ichiyama (Japan/Sunbelx) - 1:00:22 Kento Baba (Japan/Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:00:26 Andy Buchanan (Australia) - 1:00:28 Teruki Shimada (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:56 Hiroto Kuniyasu (Japan/Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:01:30 Ryuichi Yoshioka - (Japan/Honda Tochigi) - 1:01:38 Jinya Ozaki (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:42 Kento Otsu (Japan/Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:01:43 Ed Goddard (Australia) - 1:02:01 Joel Tobin-White (Australia) - 1:02:03 Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 1:02:10 Liam Adams (Australia) - 1:02:15 Isaac Heyne (Australia) - 1:02:27 Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:02:32 Ryan Gregson (Australia) - 1:03:00 Women Leanne Pompeani (Australia) - 1:09:01 Jess Stenson (Australia) - 1:09:04 Yumi Yoshikawa (Japan) - 1:09:32 Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh (Mongolia) - 1:10:32 Milly Clark (Australia) - 1:10:48 Sa...