Skip to main content

Kobayashi Runs PB to Win Hokuren 3000m

by Brett Larner

As expected, women`s 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) delivered the biggest result of the Hokuren Distance Challenge Sapporo meet, winning the 3000 m in a PB of 8:51.85. Kobayashi and Ann Karindi (Team Yutaka Giken) simply outclassed the rest of the field, quickly opening a large gap and running together until Kobayashi`s stronger kick left her Kenyan competitor behind. Karindi finished in 8:52.24, a PB of nearly 10 seconds; 3rd place finisher Mariko Nakao (Team OKI) was far behind in 9:19.95.

Kobayashi`s time was the 3rd fastest in the world so far this year and not far off the Japanese national record of 8:44.40 held by Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). In April she ran a 5000 m PB of 15:07.37 to become the only Japanese woman thus far to meet the Beijing Olympics A-standard in the 5000 m. She has thus far failed to meet the Olympic B-standard in the 1500 m after setting the national record of 4:07.86 in Sept., 2006 but is expected to try again at the National Track and Field Championships later this month.

Top finishers in each event are listed below. For complete results from the Sapporo meet click here.

Men`s 1500 m

  1. Takeshi Arisumi (Team Nishitetsu) - 3:49.27
  2. Naoya Ban (Team NTN) - 3:50.34
  3. Kosuke Murasashi (Team YKK) - 3:50.81

Women`s 1500 m

  1. Saori Yamashita (Team Hokuren) - 4:16.46
  2. Minami Nakaarai (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 4:21.50
  3. Maki Arai (Team Uniqlo) - 4:22.27

Women`s 3000 m

  1. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 8:51.85 (PB)
  2. Ann Karindi (Team Yutaka Giken) - 8:52.24 (PB)
  3. Mariko Nakao (Team Oki) - 9:19.95

Men`s 3000 m SC

  1. Tomoyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) - 8:47.16
  2. Michinori Takano (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 8:49.11
  3. Takayuki Matsuura (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:50.18

Women`s 3000 m SC

  1. Kazuka Wakatsuki (Team Toto) - 9:59.57
  2. Maiko Yamaguchi (Team Yamada Denki) - 10:28.61
  3. Yuka Ohara (Team Shimamura) - 10:35.51

Men`s 5000 m A-Group

  1. Yuki Nakamura (Team Kanebo) - 13:44.69
  2. Terukazu Omori (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 13:45.12
  3. Keita Akiba (Team Komori) - 13:45.30

Women`s 5000 m

  1. Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 16:00.30
  2. Miho Notagashira (Team Wacoal) - 16:07.18
  3. Yuka Tokuda (Team Yamada Denki) - 16:14.43

Men`s 5000 m B-Group

  1. Teruto Ozaki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 14:03.47
  2. Kiyotaka Shimamura (Team S&B) - 14:05.04
  3. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 14:06.74

Men`s 5000 m Walk

  1. Koichiro Morioka (Team Fujitsu) - 19:28.26
  2. Yuki Yamasaki (Hasegawa AC) - 20:04.21
  3. Ken Akashi (Team Alsok) - 20:07.72

Women`s 5000 m Walk

  1. Masumi Fuchise (Ryukoku Univ.) - 22:11.11
  2. Mayumi Kawasaki (Team Ebisawa Seisakujo) - 22:33.69

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Komazawa University One Step Away From Perfect Season With Hakone Ekiden Day One Win

Already the course record-breaker at the Izumo Ekiden and National University Ekiden this season, 2021 Hakone Ekiden champion Komazawa University came one step away from its first-ever triple crown of single-season ekiden wins as it won a highly competitive 2023 Hakone Ekiden Day One over defending champ Aoyama Gakuin University and last year's 6th placer Chuo University . Things got off to an unexpected start when Select Team runner Hayate Nitta of non-qualifier Ikuei University decided to take his one and only Hakone shot and run it up to his ability on the 21.3 km 1st leg even though the rest of the field opted to jog. At one point Nitta had a lead of almost a minute and a half, but as beautiful as it would have been for him to pull it off, Meiji University 's Shunpei Tomita and Komazawa's Kensuke Tsubura still managed to run him down in the final kilometer. Tomita took the stage win in 1:02:44, 1:02:08 half marathon pace vs. his 1:02:10 PB despite the slow s...
4 comments
Read more

Heisei Mountaineering Stops Takigahara SDF Base From Scoring 10-Year Streak at Mount Fuji Ekiden

by Koichi Iwasa of DogsorCaravan On Aug. 2 the 51st Mount Fuji Ekiden took place, starting and finishing in Gotemba, Shizuoka and covering 11 stages up to the peak of Mount Fuji and back down. Teams of 6 runners tackle the tough course, each running handling one uphill and one downhill leg with the 6th runner reaching the peak before turning around to head back to the exchange zone where they started. The Heisei Mountaineering Club team took the overall win in 3:50:39, beating 9-time winner Takigahara SDF Base by 2:07 and stopping them from achieving a 10-year victory streak. The independent team division and SDF team division were separated in 2005, and this was the first time that the winning independent team outran the fastest SDF team to take the overall title. The roster that Heisei Mountaineering put together for this year's race raised eyebrows among everyone familiar with the Japanese trail running scene. Handling the 5th and 7th legs was Ruy Ueda , winner of the Fuji M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fujisan GX Breaks CR to Win 79th Towada Hachimantai Ekiden

The 79th edition of the Towada Hachimantai Ekiden took place Aug. 1 in Akita. Covering a 5-leg 71.4 km course, the race hosted 14 teams. Yamanashi's Fujisan GX took the overall win in a 3:42:17 course record. The best-placing team from within the prefecture, the Akita T&F Association team made the podium at 6th overall. The women's race was canceled again this year due to lack of participation. 79th Towada Hachimantai Ekiden Akita, 1 Aug. 2026 5 stages, 71.4 km, 14 teams complete results Top Team Results 1. Fujisan GX - 3:42:17 - CR 2. Corporate Select Team - 3:46:24 3. Tokyo Police A - 3:48:00 4. Comodi Iida - 3:48:41 5. Tokyo Police B - 3:50:14 6. Akita T&F Assoc. - 3:57:58 7. Fukushima T&F Assoc. - 4:08:20 Top Individual Stage Results First Stage  (13.0 km) 1. Ryota Seki (Tokyo Police A) - 39:47 2. Takuma Nakayama (Fujisan GX) - 40:01 3. Ryota Sato (Tokyo Police B) - 40:02 Second Stage  (13.0 km) 1. Yuki Seto (Fujisan GX) - 37:03 2. Shunsuke Watanabe (Comodi ...
Post a Comment
Read more