japan running news

Update: 24 hours after announcing its team for the Budapest World Championships, the JAAF announced a list of 5 additional men, 8 additional women, and 1 women's double. The numbers below have been updated to include them. Two big announcements in the last week from the JAAF of its rosters for this month's Budapest World Championships and next month's Riga World Road Running Championships. 28 women, 48 men and 35 officials make up the Budapest team, with multiple winners from last month's Asian Championships, national record holders, and at least two real medal prospects in women's javelin throw world leader Haruka Kitaguchi  and men's 20 km race walk defending champion Toshikazu Yamanishi . Especially on the women's side, a lot of athletes on the cusp of making the quotas for their event didn't get there, but a few did, like Asian 10000 m champ Ren Tazawa , pictured above with coach Hiroaki Oyagi  and 1:00:08 half marathoner Tomoki Ota  in St. Moritz, S...

With regard to the Japanese national team 's participation in the 24th World Half Marathon Championships Oct. 17 in Gdynia, Poland, because current circumstances make it impossible to ensure that the team will be able to compete in an environment of adequate safety, we hereby announce that the decision has been made to withdraw the Japanese team. At the present time, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a Level 3 infectious disease advisory, recommending cancelation of non-essential travel, for host country Poland. There does not appear to be any chance of a change for the better in that advisory prior to race date. Although it is possible to travel to Poland, the Japanese government's strong recommendation for a 14-day self-quarantine at home, avoidance of public transportation including from the airport to home, and other self-restrictions after returning to Japan makes it difficult to establish an adequate support system for the athletes. source article: ...

The JAAF has announced a few changes to the lineup for Japan's team for the rescheduled World Half Marathon Championships Oct. 17 in Gdynia, Poland. Gone but not forgotten are men's Olympic marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu), 1:01:40 at January's Takanezawa Half, and second-tier women's team members Rui Aoyama (Universal Entertainment) and Toshika Tamura (Hitachi). In their places are track star Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin), 1:01:06 in Marugame this February, and marathon heavy hitters Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) and Yuka Ando (Wacoal) with half marathon bests of 1:09:08 and 1:09:38, both from last December's Sanyo Ladies Half. Overall it's a step up in quality for the Japanese team if the World Half happens as planned. World Half Marathon Championships Japanese Team Gdynia, Poland, 10/17/20 complete listing times listed are best in last three years except where noted Men Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 1:00:06 (Marugame 2020) Kiyoshi Koga (...

On June 11 the JAAF announced that the Japanese track season will get back underway next month with the return of the annual Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido. Originally planned as a five-meet series over the course of two weeks, this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge will happen on a reduced scale with priority going to high-level athletes. The first two meets, July 4 in Shibetsu and July 8 in Fukagawa, will take place with short programs, limited fields, and no spectators. The third meet in Kitami has been canceled, while the fourth and fifth meets in Abashiri and Chitose are planned for July 15 and July 18. The July 4 Shibetsu meet will host 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m for both men and women. A total of up to 175 men and 125 women will be accepted, with a max of 10 women accepted for the 1500 m and no more than 25 athletes in a single heat for any other distance. The July 8 Fukagawa meet will have men's 5000 m and 10000 m races, with 3000 m, 5000 m, 10000...

The JAAF has announced the Japanese team for next month's World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland. Six of the ten men and women are fresh off PBs at the Marugame Half and National Corporate Half earlier this month, with three of the other four having set new bests since December. Set to be elevated from runner-up to winner of December's Fukuoka International Marathon after the bust of Moroccan El Mahjoub Dazza , Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) leads the men's team with an all-time Japanese #2 1:00:06 in Marugame. Three other men on the team including amateur Takahiro Nakamura (Kyocera Kagoshima) broke 1:01 at the National Corporate Half two weeks ago. The only man on the the team not to have cleared 1:01 yet is 2020 Olympic marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu), who ran a PB 1:01:40 at January's Takanezawa Half. National Corporate Half winner Kaena Takeyama (Daihatsu) is the top-ranked woman with a 1:09:12,  followed by Sara Miyake (Tenmaya), 3r...

On May 30 long-distance runner Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) announced on his Twitter feed that he is withdrawing from a shot at a third-straight 10000 m national title at next month's Yamaguchi National Championships. His management company said that he is not injured and instead wants to focus on "preparing for what comes next." At last December's Fukuoka International Marathon Osako, 27, ran 2:07:19, what was at the time the 5th-fastest time ever by a Japanese man, to finish 3rd overall. He won February's National Cross-Country Championships and ran the World Half Marathon Championships in March. Osako skipped a spring marathon in order to try to break the 10000 m national record earlier this month at the Payton Jordan Invitational , but he dropped out of that race near the 6000 m mark. source article: http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20180530/ath18053020220001-n1.html translated and edited by Brett Larner

2018 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships Valencia, Spain, 3/24/18 click here for complete results and splits Women 1. Netsanet Gudeta Kebede (Ethiopia) - 1:06:11 - women-only WR 2. Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) - 1:06:54 3. Pauline Kaweke Kamulu (Kenya) - 1:06:56 - PB 4. Eunice Chebichii Chumba (Bahrain) - 1:07:17 5. Zeineba Yimer (Ethiopia) - 1:06:07 - PB ----- 17. Kaori Morita (Japan) - 1:10:46 19. Mao Ichiyama (Japan) - 1:11:02 35. Honami Maeda (Japan) - 1:12:09 70. Yuka Hori (Japan) - 1:15:24 Men 1. Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor (Kenya) - 1:00:02 2. Abraham Naibei Cheroben (Bahrain) - 1:00:22 3. Aron Kifle (Eritrea) - 1:00:31 - PB 4. Jemal Yimer (Ethiopia) - 1:00:33 5. Getaneh Molla (Ethiopia) - 1:00:47 ----- 24. Suguru Osako (Japan) - 1:01:56 46. Kenta Murayama (Japan) - 1:03:07 71. Hayato Sonoda (Japan) - 1:04:12 82. Daisuke Uekado (Japan) - 1:04:48 108. Kota Murayama (Japan) - 1:06:49

On Mar. 12 the JAAF announced that Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei), a Rio de Janeiro Olympian in the women's 5000 m, has withdrawn from the Mar. 24 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships after sustaining an injury to her right Achilles tendon. source article  https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2018031200777&g=spo translated by Brett Larner

On Mar. 6 the JAAF announced the Japanese women's and men's teams for the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships scheduled for Mar. 24 in Valencia, Spain. The women's team has few surprises, made up of the top two Japanese women from December's Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) and Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal), the top Japanese women at February's Marugame Half and National Corporate Half Marathon, Kaori Morita (Panasonic) and Yuka Hori (Panasonic), and high-potential marathoner Honami Maeda (Tenmaya), winner of August's Hokkaido Marathon and 2nd at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:23:46. Maeda's inclusion is clearly geared to give one of the people the JAAF views as potential 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathon team material some international championships racing experience, and that decision making process is even more clearly at work in the men's team selection. #1-ranked man Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kas...

Japan-based Kenyan Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) outran defending champion Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) and three of Japan's best upcoming young talents to cut 13 seconds off the course record as she won the 36th edition of the Sanyo Ladies Road Race half marathon. Kamulu, Ohara and 2017 national cross country champion Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) set off near 1:08-flat pace, a time no Japanese woman has cleared in almost 12 years. Behind them, Rio Olympian Miyuki Uehara and the debuting Azusa Sumi (Univ. Ent.) went at a more conservative pace while keeping the leaders in sight. After 5 km Kamulu through in a surge to drop her Japanese competition, going through 10 km in 32-flat and pushing on alone to finish in 1:08:04, a new course record and a PB by well over a minute and a half. 山陽女子ロードレース ハーフの部 優勝 パウリン・カムル選手（ルートインホテルズ）1:08:04 大会新！ #山陽女子ロードレース pic.twitter.com/3uojPTmBJY — 岡山陸上マニア (@okariku333) December 23, 2017 Behind her, Ohara and Ichiyama fought to keep it on sub-1:...

by Brett Larner Led by a 10th-place overall finish by Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) with support from top-20 placings by Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) and Mizuki Matsuda (Team Daihatsu), the Japanese women narrowly held off Australia to score the team bronze medal at the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff.  All three scoring members turned in solid runs, Ando and Matsuda seconds off their bests and Shimizu, the fastest on the team with a PB of 1:09:41 at last month's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, just over a minute off hers. Likewise bronze medal quality on paper with one runner with a 1:00:54 best, two under 1:01:30 and a fourth at 1:01:53, the Japanese men left their races at home as they struggled to make the top five.  Komazawa University second-year Naoki Kudo , 5th in last year's World University Games Half Marathon, was the top Japanese man and the only one to break 64 minutes as he finished 22nd in 1:03:41.  The other two ...

by Brett Larner Japan is sending one of its better teams in recent World Half Marathon Championships history to Saturday's race in Cardiff.  20-year-old Keijiro Mogi , a training partner of 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, leads the men's roster with a 1:00:54 best.  Hakone Ekiden powerhouse Komazawa University features heavily, with current Komazawa runners Keisuke Nakatani and Naoki Kudo and 2015 graduate Shogo Nakamura (Team Fujitsu) making up the core of the men's team.  The women's team includes three sub-70 runners led by Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) with support from Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Mirai Waku (Team Univ. Ent.).  With the exception of Mizuki Matsuda (Team Daihatsu), all will be making their international road debuts. World Half Marathon Championships Cardiff, U.K., 3/26/16  click here for timetable and complete rosters Men Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:54 (Marugame ...

http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLSSXK40674_Y6A210C1000000/ translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 18 the JAAF named the five men and five women on the Japanese team for the Mar. 26 World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, U.K.  Additionally, they also announced the lineup for the Feb. 29 Asian Cross-Country Championships in Manama, Bahrain, with Shuho Dairokuno (Team Asahi Kasei) leading the senior men's team. The World Half Marathon Championships team: Men Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:54 (Marugame Half 2016) Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:21 (Marugame Half 2016) Naoki Kudo (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:25 (Marugame Half 2016) Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 1:01:53 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2016) Minato Oishi (Toyota) - 1:02:06 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2013) Women Miho Shimizu (Hokuren) - 1:09:41 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2016) Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:09:51 (Sanyo Ladies Half 2015) Mirai Waku (Universal Entertainment) - 1:09:56 (Sanyo Ladies Ha...

by Brett Larner Great conditions meant fast times across the board including three national records at the first major Japanese half marathon of the season, the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon . A large pack including internationals Goitom Kifle (Eritrea), Fabiano Sulle (Tanzania) and Japan-based 18-year-old Dominic Nyairo (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), Hakone Ekiden stars Keisuke Nakatani and Naoki Kudo (both Komazawa Univ.), corporate runners Keijiro Mogi and Shuho Dairokuno (both Asahi Kasei) and Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) went out slightly slower than expected, hitting 5 km in 14:27 on track to just crack 1:01.  20-year-old Kudo, a second-year at Komazawa, pushed the next 5 km faster, on 1:00:50 pace at 10 km in 28:50.  Mogi, also just 20 after going straight into the corporate leagues post-high school, took over after 10 km and dropped the fastest 5 km yet, shaking down the leaders to just himself, Kifle, Nyairo and Sulle as he took them through 15 km...

by Brett Larner The National Corporate Half Marathon Championships are Japan's premier half, producing more quality times over its 43-year history than any other half marathon worldwide.  This year's 44th running on Feb. 14 counts as the final men's and women's selection race for the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships team and has fields as good as ever lined up.  The men's field includes last year's course record-breaking top two Charles Ndirangu (Team JFE Steel) and Macharia Ndirangu (Team Aichi Seiko), 2014 3rd-placer Sota Hoshi (Team Fujitsu), 2013 runner-up Johana Maina (Team Fujitsu) and 2012 winner Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), along with Rio Olympics marathon team contender Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) and fellow 2:08 marathoners Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Team NTN). The women's field is split between the half marathon and 10 km distances again this year, making for two smaller but equally comp...

by Brett Larner For its 70th edition the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon has wheeled out another quality field of top-level domestic elites peppered with an international seasoning to meet IAAF labelling requirements.  Like the United States' Houston Half Marathon, Marugame is a surprisingly fast race where many run lifetime bests they never approach again, enough of them to set world records for depth .  For Japanese men this year it serves as one of the selection races for the 2016 World Half Marathon team while for the women it's simply a day at the races. Five athletes with recent sub-70 marks make up the top tier in the women's race.  2014 Asian Games gold medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) leads the way with a best of 1:08:31, followed closely by Diane Nukuri (Burundi) and the top female Japanese half marathoner of 2015, Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya).  Just under the 70-minute mark with PBs at December's Sanyo Ladies' Half are the promising Yuka An...

by Brett Larner photos by @rikujolove 2013 winner and 2014 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Sally Kaptich Chepyego (Team Kyudenko) returned to the Sanyo Ladies' Road Race half marathon today, breaking her own course record to win in 1:08:17.  A large pack of 15 including Chepyego, top-ranked Japanese women Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya), Michi Numata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) and Misaki Kato (Team Kyudenko) and 2015 Marugame Half winner Eloise Wellings (Australia) went out conservatively just over 1:10 pace.  The pack shrank to 6 as Chepyego pushed the pace into 1:07 territory approaching 10 km, and with a surge early into the second half she was away.  Chepyego ran free to the end, cutting 7 seconds off her 2013 CR and finishing just outside the top 10 in the world this year. Ohara, already with sub-1:10 credentials to her name, was left chasing Chepyego alongside the debuting Pauline Kamulu (Team Route Inn Hotels).  When Kamulu struggled i...

http://www.sanyonews.jp/article/265824/1/ translated and edited by Brett Larner The elite field for the 34th Sanyo Women's Road Race on Dec. 23 was announced on Nov. 30.  The first selection race for next March's Cardiff World Half Marathon Championships in the U.K., Sanyo features world-class talent like 2014 Copenhagen World Half Marathon bronze medalist and Sanyo course record holder Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko), 2015 Marugame Half Marathon winner Eloise Wellings (Australia), 2015 Beijing World Championships 10000 m runner Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) and more.  A large number of women aiming to make next year's Rio Olympic team will be lining up in the half marathon.  Alongside Ohara are 2014 Asian Games marathon 4th-placer Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), 2014 World Half Marathon Championships team members Sayo Nomura (Team Daiichi Seimei) and Chieko Kido (Team Canon AC Kyushu), and rising young talent like 2015 Hokkaido Marathon winner Yui Okada (Team Ot...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/201404/0006869505.shtml translated by Brett Larner 19-Year-Old Big Hope Reia Iwade (Team Noritz) Riding the Wave to Hyogo Relay Carnival Grand Prix Women's 10000 m Just 19, Iwade will be showing off her best stuff on home ground in Hyogo prefecture this weekend.  In her first year in the corporate leagues she went through tremendous growth that took her all the way to March's World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Ahead of her first serious 10000 m, Iwade is strongly motivated as she says, "I want to earn the right to wear the Rising Sun again as soon as possible." Iwade was born in Mie prefecture.  She was the star runner at Aichi prefecture's Toyokawa H.S. , and after graduating she joined Hyogo's Noritz corporate team where she began to make an impact on the ekiden circuit.  A few days after her 19th birthday, at December's Sanyo Women's Road Race half marathon she ran a Japanese juni...

by Brett Larner The Japanese women's team came through at the Mar. 29 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, narrowly outrunning a strong Italian squad for the team bronze medal.  Top-placing Japanese woman Sayo Nomura  (Team Daiichi Seimei) started slow, nearly 15 seconds behind the lead pack at 5 km, but ran steadily to move up through the pack and overtake teammates Chieko Kido  (Canon AC Kyushu), Reia Iwade  (Team Noritz) and Risa Takenaka  (Team Shiseido) for 15th place overall. Both Takenaka and Iwade finished within 30 seconds of Nomura to overcome Italian Valeria Straneo 's strong 8th-place finish in 1:08:55 and give Japan the team bronze by just 24 seconds. Further up front, Kyushu-based Sally Chepyego  (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) took the individual bronze in a 1:07:52 PB, with Aomori Yamada H.S. graduate and former Suzuki runner Lucy Kabuu  4th in 1:08:37. In the men's race, Komazawa University's Kenta Murayama ...