Skip to main content

Anzai Just Misses 1000m National Record at Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri Meet

by Brett Larner

Team S&B rookie Aruto Anzai just missed Fumikazu Kobayashi`s men`s 1000 m national record of 2:19.65 at the Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri Meet on July 9th. Anzai ran a duel with Team Fujitsu`s Hiroshi Ino, leaving the rest of the field behind and winning in 2:20.43 with Ino 2nd in 2:21.89.

Athens Olympics men`s 10000 m team member Ryuji Ono of Team Asahi Kasei likewise came up short in the 5000 m, landing 2nd behind Kenyan winner John Thuo of Team Toyota Jidosha in 13:32.67. Ono`s mark was well off the Olympic A-standard he needs to have in order to become a last-minute addition to the Beijing Olympic team. His last chance will come in the 10000 m at the Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet on July 16.

The Abashiri Meet also included rarely-contested men`s and women`s 600 m races. Ayako Jinnouchi of Saga University won the women`s competition in 1:28.41, while Takeshi Kuchino of Nittai University took the men`s race in 1:16.74.

The Hokuren Distance Challenge continues July 13 in Kitami, Hokkaido. 1500 m national record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi of Team NTN will race have a rematch of his fluke National Track and Field Championships victory over Team NTT Nishi Nihon`s Kazuya Watanabe and Team Chugoku Denryoku`s Yasuhiro Tago as all three make their final attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Top Finishers
Women`s 600 m
1. Ayako Jinnouchi (Saga Univ.): 1:28.41
2. Heo Jung Yeon (Korea): 1:29.34
3. Miki Nishimura (Self-Defense Force Sports Academy): 1:31.08

Men`s 600 m
1. Takeshi Kuchino (Nittai Univ.): 1:16.74
2. Sung Soo Park (Korea): 1:17.03
3. Masaharu Nakano (Team Otsuka Seiyaku): 1:17.48

Men`s 1000 m
1. Aruto Anzai (Team S&B): 2:20.43
2. Hiroshi Ino (Team Fujitsu): 2:21.89
3. Hiroaki Morikawa (Osaka Police): 2:25.70

Women`s 3000 m
1. Chisa Nishio (Team Starts): 9:09.44
2. Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz): 9:10.04
3. Hitomi Nakamura (Team Panasonic): 9:20.06

Men`s 3000 m
1. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu): 7:58.28
2. Makoto Fukui (Team Fujitsu): 8:01.24
3. Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin): 8:11.46

Women`s 5000 m
1. Chiaki Takagi (Team Starts): 15:42.96
2. Yuka Izumi (Team Tenmaya): 15:46.46
3. Miki Ohira (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo): 15:51.98

Men`s 5000 m A-group
1. John Thuo (Team Toyota): 13:32.02
2. Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei): 13:32.67
3. Martin Waweru (Team Fujitsu): 13:46.77

Men`s 5000 m B-group
1. Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu): 13:54.65
2. Takamasa Uchida (Team Toyota): 13:56.60
3. Kenta Oshima (Team Nissin Shokuhin): 13:59.39

Men`s 5000 m C-group
1. Keizo Maruyama (Team Nissin Shokuin): 14:03.67
2. Keun Tae Yuk (Korea): 14:08.24
3. Yun Ho Shin (Korea): 14:10.00

A complete list of results is available here.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance?  Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance.  This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere.  It was put into place in 1986.  In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made.  Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km.  When a bicycle is u...