Watanabe Just Misses 10000 m A-Standard, Sophomore Yufu 28:02.46 to Lead Five Komazawa Univ. Men Under 29 in Fukagawa

by Brett Larner

With unseasonably cool temperatures ahead of an approaching typhoon the Hokuren Distance Challenge Fukagawa Meet on June 25 saw a raft of significant PB performances. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) led three Japan-resident Kenyans to the top of the men's 10000 m A-heat with a win in 27:43.82, but the trio had company from 5000 m national champion Kazuya Watanabe (Team Shikoku Denryoku) who was shooting for the Daegu World Championships A-standard of sub-27:40 but came up just short in a large PB of 27:47.79 In so doing Watanabe, the all-time #2 Japanese man over 1500 m best-known for blacking out meters before the finish while leading the 2008 National Championships 1500 m, became the first Japanese man to break both 3:40 and 28:00. Missing the A-standard means that Watanabe will run only the 5000 m in Daegu.

More of a shock than Watanabe were the next two runners after him, Komazawa University sophomore Ikuto Yufu and junior Hiromitsu Kakuage, who ran PBs of 28:02.46 and 28:03.27 to beat Kenyans Benjamin Gandu (Nihon Univ.) and Micah Njeru (Team Toyota Boshoku). It's rare to see collegiate times this fast, particularly two teammated doing it in one race, and what's more three other Komazawa runners set new PBs under 29 minutes. 2011 Hakone Ekiden top two Waseda University and Toyo University are hovering aroung ten sub-29 minute men apiece, but with Komazawa up to six men that level now including star first-year Kenta Murayama, Yufu and Kakuage could lead Komazawa in a legitimate shot at challenging Waseda and Toyo for dominance in the upcoming ekiden season.

The women's 10000 m was also fast, with nine of the top ten recording new PBs led by Kenyan Sally Chepyego (Team Kyudenko) going under the World Championships A-standard with a 31:27.98. Seika Nishikawa (Team Sysmex), a teammate of marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi, was 2nd in a quick 32:12.64.

The final meet in this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series takes place this Wednesday in Shibetsu and will focus on the 5000 m with Hitomi Niiya (Chiba Pref.) and Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) among others going for World Championships A-standard marks.

2011 Hokuren Distance Challenge Fukagawa Meet

Fukagawa, Hokkaido, 6/25/11

click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m A-Heat

1. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 27:43.82

2. James Rungar (Kenya/Team Toyota) - 27:44.86 - PB

3. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 27:47.51

4. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 27:47.79 - PB

5. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:02.46 - PB

6. Hiromitsu Kakuage (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:03.27 - PB

7. Benjamin Gandu (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 28:03.43 - PB

8. Micah Njeru (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 28:03.48

9. Hiroyuki Ono (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:06.35 - PB

10. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 28:12.02 - PB

-----

15. Shinobu Kubota (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:23.61 - PB

Women's 10000 m

1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 31:27.98 - PB

2. Seika Nishikawa (Team Sysmex) - 32:12.64 - PB

3. Eriko Kushima (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 32:16.84 - PB

4. Miho Ihara (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 32:18.00 - PB

5. Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) - 32:27.89 - PB

6. Korei Omata (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:37.89 - PB

7. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) - 32:44.00 - PB

8. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 32:44.60

9. Kumi Ogura (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 32:50.36 - PB

10. Akane Sekino (Team Hokuren) - 32:53.44 - PB

Men's 10000 m B-Heat

1. Kazuhiro Kuga (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:32.32 - PB

2. Minato Oishi (Team Toyota) - 28:42.29

3. Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:42.89 - PB

4. Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 28:44.18

5. Shunsuke Nomura (Team Osaka Gas) - 28:47.04

Men's 5000 m A-Heat

1. Joseph Onsarigo (Kenya/Sozo Gakuen Univ.) - 13:46.85

2. Tomoya Shirayanagi (Team Toyota Boshoku) - 13:49.67

3. Yasuhiro Tago (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:51.98

4. Masato Kikuchi (Meiji Univ.) - 13:54.16

5. Yuki Arimura (Meiji Univ.) - 13:55.01

Women's 3000 m A-Heat

1. Ayaka Mori (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 9:17.68

2. Riko Matsuzaki (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:18.82

3. Natsuki Morita (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:19.32

4. Arina Urakawa (Meijo Univ.) - 9:20.15

5. Sayuri Sendo (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 9:20.42

Nationally-Ranked Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. Withdraws From Region Championships Due to Bear Attacks

5th at last year's National High School Ekiden boys' race, Fukushima's Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. has withdrawn its boys' and girls' team from the Nov. 6 Tohoku Region Ekiden Championships in Fukushima. A school spokesperson commented, "We made this decision based on the likelihood of our students coming into contact with bears in the city when out running in the morning." The Akita Athletics Association had already made an announcement on its website on Oct. 31 that due to the high number of bear encounters within the city of Akita this year , the ekiden would be held on a track instead of as a road race. Organizers said that they are leaving it up to each individual school whether to participate, and that they will accept schools choosing not to participate due to safety concerns. The Gakuho Ishikawa boys and girls both won the Fukushima Prefecture High School Ekiden in October, earning them places at the Tohoku regional meet and December's National High...

Komazawa Back On Top With 17th National University Ekiden Title

#3-ranked Komazawa University came on strong over the second half of the National University Ekiden to take a record 17th national title, more than any other program in the national championship race's 57-year history. It had its share of dominant single-stage runs, but more than that this year's Komazawa lineup was consistent across the board, the only school to put all 8 of its runners into the top 5 on their stages, all but 2 of them in the top 3. Over the first 2 legs it was never more than 3 seconds out of 1st, moving up into that position by 1 seconds on the 3rd leg with a good run from 4th-year Yudai Kiyama . 3rd-year Kaisei Yasuhara was the weakest link with only the 5th-best time on the 4th leg, dropping Komazawa back to 4th and 35 seconds behind #2-ranked Chuo University 's Daichi Shibata . But on the next leg Komazawa 4th-year Aoi Ito turned it back around with the biggest run at this year's Nationals, running 35:01 for the 12.4 km 5th leg, 17 seconds unde...

Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field

Everything in Japanese marathoning is already about qualifying for the MGC Race, Japan's trials race for the L.A. Olympics. Scheduled the same day as the Fukuoka International Marathon, the Dec. 7 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon counts the same weight as Fukuoka, Tokyo and Osaka in men's qualification, with trials spots up to be had by the first 6 Japanese men under 2:09:00 and the first Japanese woman under 2:27:00. The only real contender to do that among the women is Mizuki Nishimura , running her first marathon off a 1:41:42 CR at the Kumanichi 30k in February. Given the Tenmaya corporate team's track record of success in the marathon, including the current women's NR of 2:18:59, her chances are pretty good. Ayumi Morita ran a 2:31:38 PB in Tokyo last year, but it's a big jump for her to get down to 2:26 and it'll mostly be a question of whether Nishimura executes the same way she did at Kumanichi. For men there are 6 under 2:09:00 in the last 3 years, with Ryoma T...

japan running news

Search This Blog