JRN's Ten Most-Read Stories of 2018

JRN's ten most-read stories in the best year in Japanese men's marathoning history and one of the best for Japanese women.

1. How it Happened - Apr. 20
Inside the first Japanese men's Boston Marathon win in 31 years. JRN's all-time most-read story. Based on actual events. Preview.

2. Kazami Breaks 100 km World Record at Lake Saroma - June 24
Nao Kazami (Aisan Kogyo) broke the longstanding men's 100 km world record on the same course where it had been set previously. The top five all broke 6:30, with 3rd and 4th-placers Takehiro Gyoba and Hideaki Yamauchi going on to medal at the 100 km World Championships.

3. Kawauchi Breaks Sub-2:20 World Record in Sub-Zero Temperatures - Jan. 1
Running solo in below-freezing temperatures, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) became the first person to run under 2:20 in the marathon 76 times with a 2:18:59 course record win at the Marshfield Road Runners New Year's Day Marathon.

4. Guinness Certifies Kawauchi's World Record 78 Career Sub-2:20 Marathons After Half Marathon in Panda Costume - Mar. 25
The Guiness World Records organization formally recognized Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) as the world record holder for most sub-2:20 marathons at a ceremony following a race in his hometown.

5. The Greatest Day in Japanese Men's Marathoning History - Feb. 25
Yuta Shitara (Honda) ran a national record 2:06:11 to lead nine Japanese men under 2:10 in the greatest single marathon in Japanese history. Dickson Chumba of Kenya and Birhane Dibaba of Ethiopia won the men's and women's races outright. Preview.

6. Aoyama Gakuin Runs Down Toyo for Fourth-Straight Hakone Ekiden Title - Jan. 2/3
After falling behind Toyo University on the first day of the 2018 Hakone Ekiden, Aoyama Gakuin University came back on day two to become one of only a handful of schools to win Japan's most prestigious race four years in a row.

7. Kawauchi Breaks Nobeyama Ultra Course Record - May 20
Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) won the 71 km Nobeyama Ultra in course record time despite walking late in the race. The straw that broke the camel's back, it took him six months to physically recover from the strain.

8. Osako Brings Japanese National Record Back to Chicago - Oct. 7
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) cracked Shitara's still-fresh national record, running 2:05:50 for 3rd at the Chicago Marathon. Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) had an overlooked breakthrough, running a 2:07:57 PB. Preview 1. Preview 2.

9. Ndirangu Wins, Robertson Sets NR, Nakamura Makes Olympic Trials in Lake Biwa Debuts - Mar. 4
Three first-timers from different corners of the globe made headlines at Lake Biwa, where Japan-based Kenyan Macharia Ndirangu (Aichi Seiko) took the top spot in 2:07:53. Preview.

10. How a Former National Team Level Marathoner Developed an Eating Disorder - Aug. 22
Former World Championships marathoner Yumiko Hara was arrested multiple times for shoplifting food, blaming an eating disorder she developed after being subjected to strict dietary restrictions at her corporate team.

Hakone Champ AGU Hits 50 km a Day in Spring Break Training Camp

Having scored its 3rd-straight Hakone Ekiden win this past January, Aoyama Gakuin University spent the Golden Week spring holidays training on the Myoko Plateau in Niigata from May 2-6. Along with the champion men's ekiden team, the first 2 members of AGU's new women's long distance team Nodoka Ashida and Kairi Ikeno , and AGU alumni and 2026 New Year Ekiden champion GMO team members Yuya Yoshida and Asahi Kuroda also took part in the training camp. Depending on the day's training schedule, mileage at the camp was over 50 km a day. AGU men's captain Kaito Nakamura confidently said, "This Golden Week training camp is where we lay the foundations for our 4th-straight Hakone title." A lot of people spend Golden Week on vacation, but the AGU ekiden team spent their time working hard on Myoko's rolling land amid the sprouting leaves of spring. On the 2nd day of the camp, May 3, team members woke up at 5:00 a.m. to do their warmup. The team assembled a...

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

70th Yamagata-ken Judan Ekiden

The 70th running of the Yamagata-ken Judan Ekiden happened over the start of the Golden Week holidays, a 3-day, 29-leg race covering 306.9 km around the northern prefecture of Yamagata. There used to be a lot more of these races where people from the prefecture run for their hometown teams on a Tour de Whatever prefecture or area it happens to be held in, but Yamagata's is one of the few to have survived this long. And amazingly enough, local broadcaster YBC live streamed the entire thing on Youtube. There aren't many corporate teams in the mostly rural area, so runners from the ND Software corporate team played a heavy role, its 2 best runners Masato Arao and Ryoma Takeuchi winning their stages on Day 2 with Takeuchi doubling to anchor the Kita-Murayama team to an overall 5th-place finish, and Koichi Shoji breaking the 2nd leg CR on Day 1 and winning the 2nd-to-last stage on Day 3 to play a key role in the Yamagata city team taking the overall win in 16:06:51, 3:09/km ...

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