Kawauchi to Run 2018 Boston Marathon

A John Hancock press release.

BOSTON, MA, December 21, 2017—

John Hancock said today that Japanese runner Yuki Kawauchi has been invited to participate in the company’s 2018 Boston Marathon Elite Team.

During a visit to Boston the last week of December, Kawauchi will train on the Boston Marathon course. And on New Year’s Day, he will to attempt to break the world record for most sub-2:20 marathons ever run. Currently the co-record holder with American Doug Kurtis, each having run 75 marathons under the 2:20 mark, Kawauchi will attempt to break the record at the USATF certified Marshfield Road Runners New Year’s Day Marathon.

“I can think of nothing better than breaking the record in Marshfield on New Year’s Day and then improving that record in Boston on Patriots’ Day,” said Kawauchi. “There is no place more appropriate than Boston for writing new pages in marathoning history.”

An international icon for his high-volume, high-quality racing, Kawauchi is a self-coached amateur who works full-time. His personal best marathon time is 2:08:41, he has won 30 career marathons, and he has competed on several Japanese national teams, including three IAAF World Marathon Championships. He holds the Japanese record in the 50K and world records for running the most sub-2:12 marathons (25), sub-2:13 (40), sub-2:14 (48), sub-2:15 (53), sub-2:16 (62), sub-2:17 (67), sub-2:18 (71) and sub-2:19 (74).

The 2018 Boston Marathon marks the 33rd year of John Hancock’s landmark sponsorship of the legendary race. The complete elite international field will be announced in early January. For additional information about the elite athlete program and sponsorship, please visit www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/sportspartnerships.html or follow us @jhboston26 and @johnhancockUSA on Twitter.

About John Hancock and Manulife
John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers’ needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were over $1 trillion (US$806 billion) as of September 30, 2017. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com.

One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports approximately 10 million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, and college savings plans. We also offer advice through Signator, a network of independent financial advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

photo © 2017 Mike Trees, all rights reserved

High School Ekiden Canceled After 22 Runners Stung by Killer Hornets

The town of Kokonoe, Oita canceled the 28th Kokonoe Kyushu Invitational High School Ekiden on Sept. 24 after athletes were stung by killer hornets and the nest could not be removed. The ekiden had been previously canceled due to typhoons and the coronavirus pandemic, but it was the first time in its history that it was canceled because of killer hornets. According to the town's Board of Education, 18 boys' teams from schools from the prefectures in Kyushu and from Tokushima Prefecture had been invited by organizers to run the ekiden, a 7-stage, 42.195 km race around the Kokonoe countryside. While practicing on the course the day before the race, a total of 22 high school athletes from teams located in Fukuoka, Saga, Miyazaki and Kagoshima were attacked and stung by killer hornets. At least 3 athletes from Miyazaki and Kagoshima were taken to the hospital for treatment, but there were no serious injuries. After the incident was reported, town officials investigated and located

Sub-13:30 High Schoolers, 17 Teammates Sub-14 in One Race and More - Weekend Track Roundup

The National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Gifu were the main track action this weekend, but there were also two big time trial meets in the greater Tokyo area. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama Saturday, Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) was right up there with the best in the corporate leagues, soloing a 27:29.56 to win the B-heat by over 40 seconds. Antipas Kibet (Komori Corp.) won what was technically the A-heat in 27:57.48, with the next three runners including Taisei Nakamura (Yakult) squeezing under 28 minutes, in Nakamura's case in 27:59.96. Erika Tanoura (Sekisui Kagaku) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:47.07, but there wasn't much difference from the B-heat where Momoa Yamada (Tamagawa Univ.) won in 15:50.92. The women's 3000 m was low-key, with Harumi Okamoto (Yamada Holdings) taking the A-heat in 9:10.92 and the next four runners all getting under 9:12. The men's 1500 m saw one noteworthy perform

Sato and Aoki Win Silver, Tanaka Bronze After Hurdle Controversy - Hangzhou Asian Games Athletics Day 2 and 3 Highlights

After three days of athletics competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games Japan has yet to score gold, but its haul of silver and bronze medals more than doubled over the course of the two days. Men's 400 m NR holder Kentaro Sato took silver Saturday, starting slow as Fuga Sato did the leading in the first half of the race, then reeling in the competition over the last 120 m. Asian record holder Yousef Ahmed Masrahi of Saudi Arabia got away from him, just, winning gold in 45.55 with Sato in 45.57. Bahraini Abbas Yusuf Ali knocked Fuga Sato off the podium with a PB 45.65, Fuga 4th in 45.70. It took til Sunday night for the next medal to land, with Ryoma Aoki and Seiya Sunada going 2-3 in the men's 3000 m steeplechase. Favorite Avinash Mukund Sable of India took it out fast with a 2:40.97 first 1000 m, too fast to sustain but enough to set put him far out front for most of the race. Sable led at 2000 m with 5:27.48 before starting to fade, giving Aoki hope as he closed har

japan running news

Search This Blog