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.

Komazawa University One Step Away From Perfect Season With Hakone Ekiden Day One Win

Already the course record-breaker at the Izumo Ekiden and National University Ekiden this season, 2021 Hakone Ekiden champion Komazawa University came one step away from its first-ever triple crown of single-season ekiden wins as it won a highly competitive 2023 Hakone Ekiden Day One over defending champ Aoyama Gakuin University and last year's 6th placer Chuo University . Things got off to an unexpected start when Select Team runner Hayate Nitta of non-qualifier Ikuei University decided to take his one and only Hakone shot and run it up to his ability on the 21.3 km 1st leg even though the rest of the field opted to jog. At one point Nitta had a lead of almost a minute and a half, but as beautiful as it would have been for him to pull it off, Meiji University 's Shunpei Tomita and Komazawa's Kensuke Tsubura still managed to run him down in the final kilometer. Tomita took the stage win in 1:02:44, 1:02:08 half marathon pace vs. his 1:02:10 PB despite the slow s...

Heisei Mountaineering Stops Takigahara SDF Base From Scoring 10-Year Streak at Mount Fuji Ekiden

by Koichi Iwasa of DogsorCaravan On Aug. 2 the 51st Mount Fuji Ekiden took place, starting and finishing in Gotemba, Shizuoka and covering 11 stages up to the peak of Mount Fuji and back down. Teams of 6 runners tackle the tough course, each running handling one uphill and one downhill leg with the 6th runner reaching the peak before turning around to head back to the exchange zone where they started. The Heisei Mountaineering Club team took the overall win in 3:50:39, beating 9-time winner Takigahara SDF Base by 2:07 and stopping them from achieving a 10-year victory streak. The independent team division and SDF team division were separated in 2005, and this was the first time that the winning independent team outran the fastest SDF team to take the overall title. The roster that Heisei Mountaineering put together for this year's race raised eyebrows among everyone familiar with the Japanese trail running scene. Handling the 5th and 7th legs was Ruy Ueda , winner of the Fuji M...

"Hell Running" - Chinese Site Calls Japanese Women's Distance Running Too Cruel

http://www.yukawanet.com/archives/5166613.html translated by Brett Larner High schooler Yumika Nagahama leading the Jan. 15 National Women's Ekiden for the Kanagawa team. Since the start of the month it's been cold in Japan. A record-breaking kind of cold that has seen snow piling up even on the Pacific side of the country, and for better or worse that word "snow" has been generating buzz around the world. Yes, it has been a cold winter, and now that fact has become a hot topic in China. Particularly in relation to women's distance running. The picture above is from the " National Women's Ekiden " that took place in Kyoto on Jan. 15. Kyoto experienced a blizzard, even "whiteout" conditions. Far too harsh to go ahead with staging a running race in conditions like that. It's natural to wonder why the race wasn't cancelled, but it seems likely that they weren't expecting the snow to escalate to the point that it wo...

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