japan running news

by Brett Larner

With just over two weeks to go the organizers of the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon have announced their elite field for their 66th running on Feb. 5. Kenyan Felix Keny fronts the field, a former 2:07 man with a best recent time of 2:09:04 in Hamburg three years ago.  Likewise, #2-ranked international Dereje Debele of Ethiopia has run 2:07 in years past, but in the last three years hasn't broken 2:10 with his 2:10:31 at the 2015 Mumbai Marathon his best recent credential.  American Jeffrey Eggleston completes the front of the overseas contingent with a 2:10:52 runner-up finish at the 2014 Gold Coast Airport Marathon.

Beppu-Oita Mainichi factors into the complicated selection process for the 2017 London World Championships men's marathon team with a slot potentially available to a Japanese winner.  The best chance of seeing that happen comes from the talented Fumihiro Maruyama of the 2017 New Year Ekiden national champion Asahi Kasei team, Maruyama having debuted…

by Brett Larner

This Sunday the Fukuoka International Marathon celebrates its 70th running.  Once upon a time playing the role of the men's marathon world championships in a day before there were World Championships, Fukuoka has seen its importance worldwide dwindle in the face of modernity and the changes it has brought in the sport.  It still manages to put together good-quality, interesting fields from a spectrum of nationalities, but it has been a while since Fukuoka could really pull in the type of talent who now head to the World Marathon Majors.  On the home front too, despite serving as the first of three main selection races for Japanese national teams at the major international championships, its timing a bit less than four weeks before the increasingly important New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships means that more and more top level Japanese man now pass it over in favor of February's Tokyo Marathon or March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. …

by Brett Larner

The Dec. 4 Fukuoka International Marathon released the elite field for this year's 70th running today.  2014-15 winner Patrick Makau (Kenya) returns, looking to follow Frank Shorter and Toshihiko Seko as just the third man to win Fukuoka three years in a row.  Makau's main competition comes from 2015 World Championships silver medalist Yemane Tsegay (Ethiopia), James Kwambai (Kenya) and Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea).  An interesting name that could represent an extra challenge if he shows the same renewed focus as his older brother Kenenisais Tariku Bekele (Ethiopia).  Further back, Reid Coolsaet (Canada) has a shot at breaking the 2:10:09 Canadian national record set in Fukuoka in 1975 by Jerome Drayton.

The large Japan-based African contingent is headed by the debuting Paul Kuira (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta), who won the 2015 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon in 59:47 in his debut over the distance, 2012 Fukuoka winner Joseph Gitau (Kenya/JFE Steel), 2016 …

by Brett Larner

The Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon organizers have announced the field for their 53rd running on Feb. 8.  Run on the home ground of the Takeshi Soh-led Asahi Kasei corporate team, Nobeoka is primarily a developmental race focusing on first-timers and young athletes trying to get the marathon right and typically sees winning times in the 2:12~2:13 range.  It's noteworthy outside Japan mainly in that every year the people who run around that level in Nobeoka make up a major part of the runners included on their coaches' annual junket to the Chicago Marathon, where some go on to take a step toward bigger things.

Recently things have been getting a little faster in Nobeoka, with 2:11 winning times in two of the last three years.  This year the organizers have taken a slightly different tack, invited three experienced men who should be able to work together to take down the 2:11:05 course record.  Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) is the strongest by far with a…

by Brett Larner
photo credits at bottom
click here for race highlights video courtesy of broadcaster KBC


Former world record holder Patrick Makau (Kenya) ran what he needed to score the win in his return to the marathon today in Fukuoka, sitting back in the pack throughout the race before dropping the competition in the last 4 km to win in 2:08:22.  But the star of the show did not hail from Kenya, or Africa, or Japan.

At the pre-race press conference the top group of contenders were asked what percent confidence they had that they could win.  Favorite Makau said 90%.  2012 Fukuoka winner Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) replied 82%.  Last year's winner Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) said 50%, a suggestion of things to come.  Japanese top two Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) gave only 50% and 20% estimates.  Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN), who beat Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) at last December's Hofu Yomiu…

by Brett Larner

The organizers of the Apr. 20 Nagano Marathon released the names of this year's elite field on Apr. 1.  2010 Nagano winner Nicholas Chelimo (Kenya), 2013 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon champion Serod Batochir (Mongolia/Team NTN) and 2012 Nagano runner-up Silas Sang (Kenya) lead the international field, while 2008 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi Kasei) headlines the Japanese men's field with a best of 2:10:22.

The semi-retired Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) and Mika Okunaga (Yufuin Hammock AC) have the fastest bests in the women's field followed by 2:29 Kenyan Hellen Koskei, but with a 2:31:15 best for 8th at this year's Tokyo Marathon Rika Shintaku (Team Shimamura) may be the favorite for the win.  Look also for a challenge from Shoko Shimizu (Team Aichi Denki), 4th at last month's Wanjinshi New Taipei City Marathon.

16th Nagano Marathon Elite Field
Nagano, 4/20/14
click here for complete elite field listing

Men
Nicholas Chelimo…

by Brett Larner

Former Sera H.S. standout Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) continued his second pro season with a win in the Nobeoka Time Trials 10000 m A-heat May 3 in Nobeoka, leading Athens Olympian Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei) across the line in 28:56.04.  Asahi Kasei runners made up the major part of the field, taking 7 of the top 10 positions.  Other notables in the race included 2008 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi Kasei) and 2012 Ohtawara Marathon winner Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei).

Nobeoka Time Trials
Nobeoka, May 3
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Heat 2
1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 28:56.04
2. Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:56.04
3. Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) - 29:10.14
4. Yoshikazu Kawazoe (Team Asahi Kasei) - 29:21.53
5. Taiki Yoshimura (Ryutzu Keizai Univ.) - 28:28.99
6. Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 29:30.17
7. Takahiro Mori (Team Asahi Kasei) - 29:40.79
8. Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi…

by Brett Larner

London Olympics marathon 5th-place Tetyana Gamera-Shmyrko (Ukraine) once again put on a show of her astounding finishing speed, running down race leader Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) in the final km to break her best for the third time in the last year as she won the 2013 Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:23:58.  Fukushi managed a PB of 2:24:21 for 2nd, just missing the Federation's sub-2:24 requirement for a guaranteed place on the Moscow World Championships team, with 25-year-old Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) coming through with a 3 1/2 minute best for 3rd in 2:25:56.

A cold and sunny day and the carrot provided by the Federation's time goal meant a quick race.  After a rocky and erratic start the pace settled into a steady mid-to-low-2:23 groove, with Gamera-Shmyrko, Fukushi, Watanabe, 10000 m national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and, in her first marathon since giving birth, Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) making up a steady pack…

by Brett Larner

In its 60th running the historic Kyushu Isshu Ekiden, a ten-day road relay around Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu featuring men's teams from each of the island's nine prefectures, has changed both name and, to a lesser degree, format.  Now called the Grand Tour Kyushu, the race has been scaled back to eight days and, styled more after a cycling race, has a new and heavier emphasis on the day-to-day stage wins and features corporate sponsorship of the individual day stages.

Starting in Nagasaki on Oct. 30 and heading counterclockwise to Fukuoka, the Grand Tour Kyushu remains Japan's longest elite-level event.  Always dominant thanks to the presence of a large concentration of corporate teams, Fukuoka, Miyazaki and Nagasaki prefectures have been the main players through the Tour's first four days.  Defending champion Miyazaki got off on the right foot with a win from rookie Kazuya Deguchi on the first leg of the race, but the team fell to t…

by Brett Larner
The men's 5000 m Heat E.

Pre-typhoon rain couldn't hold back the times at the 2011 Golden Games in Nobeoka meet, May 28 in Noboeka. With a focus on the 5000 m, the meet's top men's heat saw two Japanese men, former middle-distance specialist Kazuya Watanabe (Team Shikoku Denryoku) and Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) break the World Championships B-standard. Watanabe ran a PB of 13:23.15 to win outright over a largely African field and become the all-time 8th-best Japanese man over the distance, while Sato was just off his PB with a 13:25.53 clocking, his best in five years. The Japanese man with the best 10,000 and half-marathon times of 2011, Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) also ran a PB of 13:30.30. Just behind him Waseda University sophomore Suguru Osako, the Asian half-marathon jr. area record holder, likewise ran a large PB of 13:31.52 for 8th after a gutsy push to the front at 4000 m. Although none of the Africans in the top ten ran PBs,…

2010 Kyushu Isshu Ekiden Day Two
click here for complete results from Day Two
Stage Best Performances
First Stage (9.4 km) -Kyohei Nishi (Miyazaki Pref.) - 28:26
Second Stage (12.2 km) -Takahiro Mori (Miyazaki Pref.) - 37:29
Third Stage (15.3 km) -Kenji Takeuchi (Fukuoka Pref.) - 45:36
Fourth Stage (14.2 km) - Tomoya Adachi (Miyazaki Pref.) - 42:53
Fifth Stage (11.3 km) - Kazuya Ishida (Fukuoka Pref.) - 34:32
Sixth Stage (11.5 km) - Yoichi Watanabe (Nagasaki Pref.) - 35:21

Top Team Performances - 73.9 km
1. Miyazaki Pref. - 3:46:13
2. Fukuoka Pref. - 3:46:52
3. Nagasaki Pref. - 3:49:59
4. Kagoshima Pref. - 3:54:53
5. Oita Pref. - 3:56:27

Current Team Standings After Two Days - 169.1 km
1. Miyazaki Pref. - 8:34:27
2. Fukuoka Pref. - 8:40:41
3. Nagasaki Pref. - 8:43:44
4. Oita Pref. - 8:58:54
5. Kagoshima Pref. - 8:59:25

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

by Brett Larner

What a day. With 6 degree temperatures at the start, strong winds, rain turning to snow as temperatures fell, and a tsunami warning for the waterfront finish area, this year's Tokyo Marathon had the worst conditions in the event's four-year history. That is saying quite a bit after the cold rain in 2007 and the gale-force winds last year. Times were never on the table as runners fought simply to survive.

Injury-plagued debut marathon national record holder Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) staged a major comeback, gutting it out over a pack of nine with a surge at 2:52/km over the last 2.195 km to win the men's race in 2:12:19, the first Japanese man to win Tokyo. 2008 Tokyo runner-up Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon), no relation, won out a great sprint finish for 2nd against half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and amateur Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't). Time aside, the day was a big one for Masakazu Fujiwara.…

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100214/spg1002141840005-n1.htm

translated by Brett Larner

At the 50th anniversary Karatsu 10-Mile Road Race on Feb. 14, 2008 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi Kasei) took 1st in an excellent time of 47:01. Re-entering the track in a tight pack for a final lap at the end of the race, Adachi outkicked last year's runner-up Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) and Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) for his first Karatsu win.

First-time winner Adachi commented, "I ran with a margin to spare. 47 minutes was my target time," indicating that the run had gone according to plan. In the early stages Adachi was relaxed, looking around at the others up front. With 3 km to go he took charge, leading the pack all the way back to the track for the finish. Adachi plans to run the Feb. 28 Tokyo Marathon and ran Karatsu as a final tune-up. But even though it was a tune-up, Adachi says, "If I had a chance to win I wanted to go for…

http://mainichi.jp/photo/archive/news/2009/02/01/20090202k0000m050066000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

Looking for a defense of his title at the Feb. 1 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, local hero Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi Kasei) was unable to respond when the pace accelerated in the second half and dropped behind the leaders. "It's really disappointing," Adachi said flatly after the race. "It wasn't as hard last year." In his marathon debut last year Adachi won by running his own pace and coming from behind in the later stages, but this time with the added stress of a World Championships berth at stake there was a great push for him to run faster. "Last year I didn't have to worry about anything, but there was a lot of pressure this time, and....." he trailed off.

The result was "terrible, but at least I could finish decently." Despite trying his hardest, Adachi finished 6th. Nevertheless, spurred on by the hometown cheers, he showed hi…

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090129ddm035050096000c.html
http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090128ddm035050005000c.htmlhttp://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090127ddm035050011000c.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The 58th Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon will be held Feb. 1 on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu. As a selection race for the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon team, this year's Betsudai, as the race is abbreviated, has drawn a large number of domestic contenders along with several top foreign competitors. Chief among the runners vying for a spot on the the Berlin team are defending champion and Oita local Tomoya Adachi (23, Team Asahi Kasei), ekiden ace Takashi Ota (32, Team Konica Minolta) and first-time marathoner Keita Akiba (29, Team Komori Corp.).

Tomoya Adachi
Tomoya Adachi is coming home to win. Taking first last year in his debut marathon, Adachi brought new wind to the sails of Japanese marathoning. Runn…

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20090115k0000m050021000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

The organizing committee of the 58th Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon (sponsored in part by the Mainichi Newspapers Group and Rikuren), announced the names of this year's elite field on Jan. 14. Defending champion Tomoya Adachi (Team Asahi Kasei), who won last year's race in his marathon debut, will return to headline the field. Keita Akiba (Team Komori Corp.) will make his highly-anticipated marathon debut after a dazzling run at the New Year Ekiden. Times are expected to be fast as runners will be competing not only for the win but also for a place on the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon team.

The domestic elite field includes 11 invited runners. Since winning last year Adachi has focused on improving his speed, setting a new 10000 m PB later in 2008. He came up a disappointing 3rd in an intense three-way sprint finish on the anchor stage of this year's New Year Ek…

by Brett Larner


Yuki Iwai reaches the finish of the 2009 Asahi Ekiden in world record time. Click photo for video highlights. The clip of Iwai's run begins at time index 8:16.


Still smarting from landing 3rd in the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden's sprint finish, Team Asahi Kasei came up from 3rd place to win the 60th Asahi Ekiden on Jan. 12 thanks to a stage-record run by anchor Yuki Iwai. Iwai covered the 16.7 km 7th stage in an astonishing 45:35, with the next fastest runner clocking 47:27. Iwai's pace was just under 2:44 / km, equivalent to 40:57 for 15km. The 15 km world record of 41:29 is held by Kenyan great Felix Limo. It was Team's Asahi Kasei's 3rd-straight Asahi Ekiden win and its 27th in the event's 60 runnings.

Team Asahi Kasei rival Team Honda was highly focused on the win after a dismal showing at the New Year Ekiden, taking two stage best titles. After leading the second half of the race on the strength of a stage-best run by Ethiopian ace Hailu Mekonnen th…

by Brett Larner

Team Fujitsu anchor Ryuji Matsushita won a spectacular three-way sprint finish over Team Nissin Shokuhin's Yuzo Onishi and Team Asahi Kasei's Tomoya Adachi to bring Fujitsu home in 4:51:55 to its first New Year Ekiden win in ten years on a windy Jan. 1 morning in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture. Both Nissin Shokuhin and Asahi Kasei clocked 4:51:56, with Matsushita a step ahead and Onishi outleaning Adachi at the line.

Team Fujitsu ran in the second pack for the first three of the 100 km ekiden's seven stages. Former marathon national record holder Atsushi Fujita started the 22.3 km fourth stage in 4th place, passing all three runners ahead of him but being outkicked by one second by Team Komori Corp.'s Keita Akiba. Akiba clocked the stage-best performance in 1:03:04, with Fujita taking a creditable stage-3rd best, putting Team Fujitsu in 2nd place.

Team Fujitsu's 5th stage runner Takayuki Ota likewise clocked a stage-3rd best, running 47:42 for the uphill 1…

by Brett Larner

The 2008 Golden Games in Nobeoka track meet took place May 31. The meet acts as a kind of championship for professional jitsugyodan runners in the leadup to the National Championships in late June and is somewhat unusual in that it features a limited number events, with only the 800, 1500 and 5000 m distances contested along with a 3000 m event for junior high school students. The 5000 m is the main event of the day, with 10 heats for men and 4 for women. Primarily featuring jitsugyodan runners with heavy representation by teams` foreign ringers, the meet also attracts the most ambitious of the nation`s university runners, those who want to run against the strongest competitors.

The most impressive result of the day came in the women`s 800 m, where Team Natureal`s Miho Sato broke the meet record by over one second to win in 2:04.10. 2nd place finisher Ayako Jinnai of Saga University also broke the old meet record but was far behind Sato in 2:05.11. The men`s 1500 m also …