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Takanezawa Half Marathon Discontinued

The JAAF-certified Takanezawa Genki Up Half Marathon , popular with runners locally and from across the country, is being discontinued indefinitely due to demolition work in preparation for construction of the new Takanezawa Town Hall. After much discussion the event organizing committee decided that the demolition of existing facilities used for things like baggage storage and changing rooms for the race make it impossible to stage the race properly. Options for alternative facilities in the town were explored, but none met all the criteria for conducting the race with adequate safety and security. As such, we ask for your understanding of the decision to cancel the race. We intend to bring the race back following the completion of the new Town Hall building in 2028, so we hope that you come join us again then. Takanezawa Genki Up Half Marathon Organizing Committee source article: https://www.takanezawa-genki-uprun.com/info/259 translated by Brett Larner
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Weekend Road and Track Roundup

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Evaluating the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV Awards

  The JAAF held the award ceremony for its Japan Marathon Championship Series IV last night in Tokyo, the whole thing streamed live on Youtube. The two-year series, in this case running from April, 2023 to March, 2025, scores marathoners on time and place in domestic races and high-level international races, with athletes' two best performances combining to give them their series rankings. Series winners score guaranteed places on the 2025 Tokyo World Championships team , with the top 8 women and men earning prize money: 1st: Â¥6,000,000 (~$40,000 USD) 2nd: Â¥3,000,000 (~$20,000) 3rd: Â¥1,000,000 (~$6,700) 4th: Â¥800,000 (~$5,300) 5th: Â¥700,000 (~$4,700) 6th: Â¥500,000 (~$3,300) 7th: Â¥300,000 (~$2,000) 8th: Â¥200,000 (~$1,300) Points for time are scored according to World Athletics scoring tables, with placing points based on races' designated level. Given the JAAF's financial interests in the big domestic races and the income stream from their TV broadcasts, the scoring system ...

Japan Names Marathon Teams for Tokyo World Championships

On Mar. 26 the JAAF named its women's and men's marathon teams for September's Tokyo World Championships. On the women's side the team has veterans Sayaka Sato and Yuka Ando off the strength of a runner-up finish for Sato in Nagoya this year and a win in Nagoya last year by Ando, and newcomer Kana Kobayashi , 23, who has risen quickly from being a fun runner at Waseda University last year to a 2nd-place finish in Osaka Women's this year. Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki was named alternate after finishing 3rd behind Kobayashi in Osaka Women's. On the men's side the team is led by last year's Fukuoka International Marathon CR breaker Yuya Yoshida and this year's Osaka runner-up Ryota Kondo . The 3rd spot on the team is reserved for JMC Series winner Naoki Koyama , who hasn't cleared the 2:06:30 World Championships qualifying standard and has to wait for the May 4 qualifying deadline for confirmation that the 1184 points he has in the Roa...

Kanakuri Memorial Meet and 10000 m National Championships Entry Lists

The first big meet of Japan's outdoor season happens in Kumamoto Apr. 12 with the Kanakuri Memorial Meet , where the men's and women's 10000 m double as the National Championships and other events count as key selection races for May's Asian Championships in South Korea. Top entries per event below with best times within the qualifying window. Complete 10000 m entries here, other distances here . Men's 10000 m National Championships Emmanuel Maru (Kenya/Toyota Boshoku) - 27:09.96 Jun Kasai (Asahi Kasei) - 27:17.46 Charles Kamau (Kenya/SGH) - 27:18.89  Mebuki Suzuki (Toyota) - 27:20.33 Tomoki Ota (Toyota) - 27:20.94 Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) - 27:36.37 Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 27:38.28 Yuto Imae (GMO) - 27:42.65 Yamato Yoshii (Toyota) - 27:42.88 Ryo Saito (Asahi Kasei) - 27:45.08 Shoya Saito (Josai Univ.) - 27:45.12 Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 27:45.85 Hayate Honma (Chuo Univ.) - 27:46.60 Tsuyoshi Bando (Osaka Gas) - 27:48.53 Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 27:...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Start Time Moves an Hour Earlier to Cope With Rising Temperatures

On Mar. 25 the KGRR , organizers of the Hakone Ekiden, announced the start time for mid-October's 102nd Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying half marathon in Tachikawa, Tokyo will be changed from its traditional starting time of 9:35 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. as a measure against rising temperatures. The KGRR explained, "We have explored what options we have to maximize the safety of our athletes from the effects of global warming. With that in mind we have decided to move the start time earlier to reduce the risk from heat." At the Yosenkai half marathon schools may run up to 12 team members, with their first 10 finishers scoring based on their combined finish times. With places at the world's biggest road race on the line competition is fierce and the young student athletes push their bodies and minds to their absolute limits. Last year's race on Oct. 19 had unseasonably hot weather that turned into a battle of attrition. At the 9:35 a.m. start it was 23.2Ëš, rising to summ...

Takeshi Soh Reflects on 54 Years in the Sport on His Retirement as Asahi Kasei Head Coach

After 54 years at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, first as athlete and then as coach, Takeshi Soh will retire at the end of this month. Together with his twin brother Shigeru Soh they formed a duo who were icons of the Japanese marathoning world and went all the way to the Olympics. After retiring from competition Takeshi devoted himself to coaching young athletes and came to play a primary role in the leadership of Japanese long distance. His list of achievements is long, and so is the list of those he influenced and inspired. His twin Shigeru was chosen for three Olympic teams in the marathon, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi was named to the Moscow and Los Angeles teams, placing 4th in L.A. to confirm his position as one of the greatest names in the sport in that era. After becoming a coach the twins helped lead Hiromi Taniguchi to gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, Koichi Morishita to silver a year later at the Barcelona Olympics, and o...

Nanjing World Indoor Championships Day Three Japanese Results

60 mH and 110 mH national record holder Shunsuke Izumiya came the closest to medaling on the small Japanese team at the Nanjing World Indoor Championships , taking 4th in the men's long jump on the final day of competition Sunday. Medalists Mattia Furlani , Wayne Pinnock and Liam Adcock were each only a cm apart, Furlani taking gold with a best jump of 8.30 m. Izumiya was 7 cm off Adcock, jumping a PB 8.21 m for 4th and continuing a steady progression in long jump since 2021. Hibiki Tsuha was last in the field of 13 at 7.13 m. With a stronger 2nd day that saw him make single-digit placings in each event, Yuma Maruyama took 9th in the heptathlon, scoring 5807. His best performance came in the pole vault, where Maruyama cleared 4.80 m for 8th of 12. In the women's 60 mH, Yumi Tanaka took 4th in her opening round heat in 8.06 to advance to the semifinals. There she ran 8.03 for 5th in SF2, missing a time qualifying spot by 0.07. With no other Japanese athletes making finals ...