Kurashiki H.S. and Okazaki Gakuen H.S. Win First Kurayoshi Ekiden Titles

by Brett Larner

Okayama prefecture's Kurashiki H.S. and Aichi's Okazaki Gakuen H.S. took their first-ever wins at the season's first big nationwide high school ekiden in Kurayoshi, Tottori on October 4. In the 35th edition of the boys' race, Kurashiki, splitting its team into A and B squads, started slow, its B-squad 21st and A-squad 25th after the 10.0 km First Stage. The A-squad moved up to 14th on the 3.0 km Second Stage, and with a stage best by its third runner Maeda it moved up to 3rd at halfway. Kurashiki A's next three runners juggled between 1st and 2nd places, and with a 38-second lead over Kyushu Gakuin H.S. for the 5.0 km anchor stage it looked safe for the win.

Safe, that is, until Kurashiki A anchor Koga ran only the 12th-best time on the final stage, while behind him Kyushu Gakuin anchor Ueda bore down with a stage best 15:15. It looked like it would be close, but in the end Koga had the margin he needed and broke the tape in 2:06:55, Kurashiki's first time winning in Kurayoshi. Ueda was just 5 seconds behind him in 2:07:00. Saikyo H.S. A was 3rd in 2:07:13, while 2014 National High School Ekiden Sera H.S.' A-squad finished 6th in 2:07:50. Kurashiki's B-squad was strong enough to land in 10th in 2:09:08, making its chances look good for challenging Sera at Nationals in December.

The girls' race, celebrating its 30th running, was a three-way battle the entire way between 2013 National High School Ekiden champion Toyokawa H.S., 2012 national champion Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. and the relatively unheralded Okazaki Gakuen girls. Toyokawa's Sarumida led on the 6.0 km First Stage, but a stage best by second runner Kawaguchi put Okazaki Gakuen into the lead where they stayed through the Third Stage. Ritsumeikan Uji's fourth runner Nishiuchi in turn ran a stage best to move two seconds into the lead over Okazaki Gakuen going into the 5.0 km anchor stage. There Okazaki Gakuen's Mitsube brought her best, outrunning Ritsumeikan Uji's Yamamoto by 20 seconds to give Okazaki Gakuen its first win in 1:09:59. Ritsumeikan Uji took 2nd in 1:10:17, Toyokawa 3rd a short distance back in 1:10:27. Running without most of its big names including the Takamatsu sisters, 2014 national champion Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. was only 9th in 1:11:51.

35th Nihonkai High School Boys Ekiden
Kurayoshi, Tottori, 10/4/15
7 stages, 42.195 km, 126 teams
click here for complete results

Team Results
1. Kurashiki H.S. A (Okayama) - 2:06:55
2. Kyushu Gakuin H.S. (Kumamoto) - 2:07:00
3. Saikyo H.S. A (Yamaguchi) - 2:07:13
4. Saku Chosei H.S. (Nagano) - 2:07:39
5. Hotoku Gakuen H.S. A (Hyogo) - 2:07:43
6. Sera H.S. A (Hiroshima) - 2:07:50
7. Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. A (Hyogo) - 2:07:54
8. Omuta H.S. A (Fukuoka) - 2:08:50
9. Rakunan H.S. (Kyoto) - 2:09:02
10. Kurashiki H.S. B (Okayama) - 2:09:08

Stage Best Performances
First Stage (10.0 km) - Sakaguchi (Rakunan H.S.) - 29:44
Second Stage (3.0 km) - Ikeda (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. A) - 8:32
Third Stage (8.1075 km) - Maeda (Kurashiki H.S. A) - 24:07
Fourth Stage (8.0875 km) - Nishida (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) - 24:18
Fifth Stage (3.0 km) - Akazawa (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. A) - 8:39
Sixth Stage (5.0 km) - Mwaura (Kurashiki H.S. B) - 14:05
Seventh Stage (5.0 km) - Ueda (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) - 15:15

30th Kurayoshi High School Girls Ekiden
Kurayoshi, Tottori, 10/4/15
5 stages, 21.0975 km, 102 teams
click here for complete results

Team Results
1. Okazaki Gakuen H.S. (Aichi) - 1:09:59
2. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - (Kyoto) - 1:10:17
3. Toyokawa H.S. A (Aichi) - 1:10:27
4. Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. A (Hyogo) - 1:10:41
5. Kashiwa Nittai Prep H.S. (Chiba) - 1:11:07
6. Kamimura Gakuen H.S. (Kagoshima) - 1:11:15
7. Katsura H.S. A (Kyoto) - 1:11:32
8. Isahaya H.S. (Nagasaki) - 1:11:45
9. Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. A (Osaka) - 1:11:51
10. Sera H.S. (Hiroshima) - 1:12:13

Top Stage Performances
First Stage (6.0 km) - Sarumida (Toyokawa H.S. A) - 19:08
Second Stage (4.0975 km) - Kawaguchi (Okazaki Gakuen H.S.) - 13:14
Third Stage (3.0 km) - Matamura (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 10:09
Fourth Stage (3.0 km) - Nishiuchi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 10:00
Fifth Stage (5.0 km) - Kitagawa (Kashiwa Nittai Prep H.S.) - 16:36

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

On the Loss of the ARRS Database

At some point in the last few months I discovered that both versions of the ARRS database, the static one and the searchable version , are gone. Last week David Monti posted a link to the ARRS history of an event he covered in Race Results Weekly, I guess copying and pasting a link from last year without looking at it, and that reminded me to write something about the loss of the database. The Association of Road Racing Statisticians was basically a one-man show operated from the remote Northern California shores by Ken Young . When the site existed its intro read: The Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyses and publishes results and statistics regarding elite distance running at distances 3000m and longer...The data of ARRS is stored in the ARRS database, which has more than 1.3 million performances from more than 240,000 races by more than 95,000 elite and sub-elite distance runners worldwide...This website ...

Incheon Asian Games - Long Distance Preview

by Brett Larner Click here to enter JRN's Asian Games marathon prediction contest for a chance to win some quality limited-edition prizes. With over half the world's population represented making it the biggest of the world's regional championships, track and field events kick off September 27 at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. It's a reality of the region that Bahrain and Qatar field distance teams virtually entirely made up of Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes who duly take home most of the medals, but with Japan hosting the 2020 Olympics it is not screwing around, sending its best talent to what Japanese broadcaster TBS is hyping as "The Asian Olympics." Saturday, Sept. 27: Women's 10000 m, Men's 5000 m, Women's 3000 mSC The women's 10000 m, men's 5000 m and women's 30000 m steeplechase get things moving on the 27th. Complete start lists are as yet unavailable, meaning updates to this preview in coming days, b...

Ichiyama and Kipkoech Win Sapporo Olympic Test Event Half Marathon

The test event for the Tokyo Olympics marathon went off as planned May 5 in Sapporo on a course more or less mirroring the first half of this summer's Olympic course. Strong winds from the south meant a slow start over the first 8 km, super fast splits from the turn to the north just before 10 km until after 15 km, and a technical finish into the wind over the narrow and winding last few km through the Hokkaido University campus. After a slow first km, Olympic marathon women's team members Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) and Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) plus alternate Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) took it out hard with pacing courtesy of one of Ichiyama's male coaches. They stayed together on 1:08 pace until almost 18 km before Suzuki slipped away, Ichiyama kicking to win in a 1:08:28 PB and Matsuda closing hard in 1:08:32 for 2nd, likewise a PB. Ichiyama's time moved her up to all-time Japanese #6, with Matsuda picking up the #7 spot and knocking her coach Miwako Yamanaka out of t...

japan running news

Search This Blog