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...

Every year since 2012 that there's been a United Airlines NYC Half , JRN has partnered with the NYRR and November's Ageo City Half Marathon to bring two top-tier collegiate Japanese men to the NYC Half for what's usually been their international debuts. For years we've wanted to extend that program to include top collegiate women, but that has always faced 2 problems. For one, while the half marathon distance is the main focus for Japanese collegiate men due to the stage lengths at the Hakone Ekiden, few collegiate women run it. Those that do run the National University Women's Half Marathon in Matsue, held the same day as the NYC Half. This year, though, we're finally making it happen in a slightly different way. Amisa Murayama and Nazuki Sasaki of 2025 Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden national collegiate championship runner-up Tohoku Fukushi University are joining the field for the NYRR's Mastercard New York Mini 10 km on June 6. After running an 18:14 CR ...

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...

Kanto Regionals were the big domestic meet this weekend, but there were other important results here and overseas. At the Xiamen Diamond League meet: 110 mH NR holder Rachid Muratake (JAL) was 2nd in 13.13 (+0.5) behind winner Jamal Britt (U.S.A.) in 13.07. The only other Japanese athlete in Xiamen, women's javelin throw NR holder Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL) was 7th at 60.08, down from her performance last week at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix Meet in Tokyo and eclipsed by the brilliant all-time #2 71.74 m throw by China's Ziyi Yan . 4 Japanese athletes ran at the Sound Running L.A,.Track Fest meet, 3 of them graduates of Kyoto's Rakunan H.S. like Kanto Regionals D1 men's 5000 m winner Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.). The only non-Rakunan guy there, Hibiki Obara (GMO) ran only 8:33.21 for 9th in the men's 3000 mSC A-heat. Daichi Shibata (Chuo Univ.) was last in the same heat in 8:49.91. Itta Tameike (SG Holdings) had a great run in the men's 5000 m B-heat, breakin...

Japan's best university track meet happened the last 4 days in Tochigi at the 105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . The race of the meet was without a doubt the D1 men's 3000 mSC, where Japanese U20 all-time #2 Tetsu Sasaki (Waseda University) and Sanetada Ono (Tokai Univ.) pushed each other to both break one of the oldest records in Japanese athletics, 10-mile NR holder Masanari Shintaku 's 8:35.2 Kanto Regionals meet record from 1977. Just starting his 2nd year at Waseda, Sasaki got the win and record in 8:24.96, landing just outside the all-time Japanese top 10. Ono took just over a second off his PB to go under Shintaku's old record too in 8:31.41 for 2nd. On the women's side the race of the meet was the D1 women's 5000 m. Undefeated in the 5000 m and 10000 m at Kanto Regionals her first 3 years, Daito Bunka University 4th-year Sarah Wanjiru lost her shot at a perfect scorecard when she got taken down over the last lap in Thursday...

Sunday is the last day of the 105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships. Live results here . Day 4 schedule: 9:30  - D1/D2 Women's Heptathlon Long Jump 9:50  - D1 Men's Javelin Throw Final 9:55  - D2/D3 Men's 5000 m Final 10:00  - D2/D3 Men's Pole Vault Final 10:20  - D1 Women's 5000 m Final 10:30  - D1 Men's High Jump Final 10:45  - D1 Men's 5000 m Final 11:25  - D3 Men's 400 mH Final 12:00  - D3 Men's 800 m Final 12:00  - D1/D2 Women's Heptathlon Javelin Throw 12:40  - D3 Men's 200 m Final 13:00  - D1/D2 Women's Triple Jump Final 13:30  - D1/D2 Women's 3000 mSC Final 13:55  - D3 Men's 3000 mSC Final © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

Day 3 of the 105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships gets into its 2nd half Saturday. Live results here . The day's schedule: 9:45  - D1/D2 Women's Heptathlon 100 mH 10:00  - D1/D2 Women's Discus Throw Final 10:10  - D1 Women's 400 mH Heats 10:40  - D2 Men's 400 mH Heats 11:05  - D1 Men's 400 mH Heats 11:15  - D1/D2 Women's Heptathlon High Jump 11:45  - D2 Men's 800 m Heats 12:00  - D1 Men's Shot Put Final 12:10  - D1 Women's 800 m Heats 12:30  - D1 Men's Long Jump Final 12:40  - D1 Men's 800 m Heats 13:20  - D2 Men's 200 m Heats 13:40  - D1 Women's 200 m Heats 13:45  - D1/D2 Women's Heptathlon Shot Put 14:05  - D1 Men's 200 m Heats 15:00  - D2/D3 Men's High Jump Final 15:00  - D2/D3 Men's Hammer Throw Final 15:45  - D2 Men's 3000 mSC Heats 15:55  - D1/D2 Women's Pole Vault Final 16:25  - D1 Men's 3000 mSC Heats 17:30  - D1 Women's Javelin Throw Final 18:25  ...