30th Izumo Ekiden Preview

Monday marks the 30th anniversary of the start of university men's ekiden season, the first of the Big Three University Ekidens, the Izumo Ekiden. When you think Japanese university distance running the first thing that comes to mind is the Hakone Ekiden and its ten half marathonish stages. Izumo is short and sweet by comparison, with just six stages averaging 7.5 km apiece.

Aoyama Gakuin University has been the king of Hakone for four years straight and looks bound to hang on to its hegemony this season with all the tenacity of the white men of the Republican party. Last year Tokai University shook AGU up with a surprise win at Izumo, and this year it's bound to be a race between the two of them. Tokai has a slight edge, its ten-man entry roster featuring eight men with sub-14 minute bests for 5000 m and four sub-29 for 10000 m with AGU having seven and four respectively. Tokai's top pair of third-years Shota Onizuka and Hayato Seki have bests of 13:38.58 and 28:17.52 and 13:35.81 and 28:23.37, and the addition of indoor mile national record holder Ryoji Tatezawa adds some extra muscle on one of the shorter stages. AGU fourth-year Taisei Hashizume approaches Onizuka and Seki over 5000 m with a best of 13:37.75, but they have no one under 28:30 for 10000 m.

2011 winner Toyo University is a probable 3rd place with four men sub-14 and four sub-29. 4th and 5th place look to be a duel between Waseda University and the American Ivy League Select Team. The Ivy League team rarely performs up to potential, but despite a lack of 10000 m talent it includes four men sub-14 plus the addition of 3:38 1500 m man James Randon and should place in the single digits even with a typically sub-par run. Hosei University and Josai University should be competing for 6th and 7th, with Takushoku University and Nittai University close behind.

It's rare to see a team from outside the Tokyo-centric Kanto Region make the top ten at Izumo. Of the ten non-Kanto Japanese teams only two, Sapporo Gakuin University and Kogakkan University, include runners under 14 or 29, SGU in the form of Kenyan Lawrence Ngure and Kogakkan in Shoya Kawase. Neither team looks to have the depth to place, however, that distinction most likely to go to Ritsumeikan University or Kyoto Sangyo University.

The Izumo Ekiden starts at 1:05 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 with a live broadcast on Fuji TV. Your best bet for watching live online from overseas is mov3.co. JRN will also be covering the race @JRNLive.

30th Izumo Ekiden Entry List

Izumo, Shimane, 10/8/18
21 teams, 6 stages, 45.1 km
detailed entry lists

Bib #1 - Sapporo Gakuin University (Hokkadio)
2 - Sapporo Kokusai University (Hokkaido)
3 - Tohoku Region University Select Team (Tohoku)
4 - Aoyama Gakuin University (Kanto)
5 - Toyo University (Kanto)
6 - Waseda University (Kanto)
7 - Nittai University (Kanto)
8 - Tokai University (Kanto)
9 - Hosei University (Kanto)
10 - Josai University (Kanto)
11 - Takushoku University (Kanto)
12 - Teikyo University (Kanto)
13 - Chuo Gakuin University (Kanto)
14 - Hokushinetsu Region University Select Team (Hokushinetsu)
15 - Kogakkan University (Tokai)
16 - Ritsumeikan University (Kansai)
17 - Kyoto Sangyo University (Kansai)
18 - Osaka Keizai University (Kansai)
19 - Hiroshima Keizai University (Chugoku/Shikoku)
20 - Nippon Bunri University (Kyushu)
21 - Ivy League Select Team (U.S.A.)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

japan running news

Search This Blog