Kamimura Gakuen Girls Win First-Ever National High School Ekiden Title, Kurashiki Boys Make in Two

video highlights by NHK

The National High School Ekiden Championships took place Dec. 23 in Kyoto on a course starting and finishing at Nishi Kyogoku Field. Kagoshima's Kamimura Gakuen H.S. won its first national title in the 30th anniversary edition girls' race, covering the five-stage, 21.0975 km course in 1:07:25. Okayama's Kurashiki H.S. won the seven-stage, 42.195 km boys' race in 2:02:09, its second national title in the event's 69-year history.

Starting the 5.0 km Fifth Stage in 5th place and 31 seconds back from leader Sendai Ikuei H.S. anchor Chinatsu Takeda, Kamimura Gakuen's Tabitha Kamau blasted a 15:06 just two seconds off the ten-year-old stage record to put Kamimura Gakuen 26 seconds ahead by the finish and all-time #9 in the record books. In the home straight Nagano Higashi H.S. anchor Narumi Kobayashi overtook Takeda to take 2nd in 1:07:51, knocking the defending national champions back to 3rd.

Kurashiki took the lead on the Third Stage as Kenyan Philemon Kiplagat tried in vain to do what so many before him have failed to achieve, breaking the late Samuel Wanjiru's 22:40 course record for the 8.1075 km stage. Course record holder Sera H.S. went to the front on the 8.0876 Fourth Stage with first-year John Mwaniki tying Sera grad Bedan Karoki's 22:32 course record and held on to the lead through the Fifth Stage. But on the Sixth Stage Kurashiki's Shotaro Ishihara overtook Sera's Sunao Kitamura for 1st, and anchor Shun Ida held on with a stage-winning run to bring Kurashiki home in an all-time #4 mark of 2:02:09.

Sera was next in 2:02:23 for all-time #6, with Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. 3rd in 2:02:52 for all-time #10. 2017 national champion Saku Chosei H.S. was 5th in 2:03:54, losing out in a sprint battle against 4th-placer Kyushu Gakuin H.S.

National High School Ekiden

Kyoto, 12/23/18
complete results

Girls
58 teams, 5 stages, 21.0975 km

Top Individual Stage Performances
First Stage (6.0 km) - Ririka Hironaka (3rd yr., Nagasaki Shogyo H.S.) - 19:01
Second Stage (4.0975 km) - Rebecca Mwangi (2nd yr., Kojokan H.S.) - 12:32
Third Stage (3.0 km) - Saho Aoki (3rd yr., Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 9:38
Fourth Stage (3.0 km) - Matsuri Kohara (2nd yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 9:26
Fifth Stage (5.0 km) - Tabitha Kamau (3rd yr., Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 15:06

Top Team Performances
1. Kamimura Gakuen H.S. - 1:07:25
2. Nagano Higashi H.S. - 1:07:51
3. Sendai Ikuei H.S. - 1:07:51
4. Oita Tomei H.S. - 1:08:04
5. Suma Gakuen H.S. - 1:08:15
6. Toyokawa H.S. - 1:08:16
7. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 1:08:20
8. Kojokan H.S. - 1:08:32
9. Narita H.S. - 1:08:34
10. Kita Kyushu Municipal H.S. - 1:09:03

Boys
47 teams, 7 stages, 42.195 km

Top Individual Stage Performances
First Stage (10.0 km) - Tetta Shiratori (2nd yr., Saitama Sakae H.S.) - 29:16
Second Stage (3.0 km) - Takuya Kozasu (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 8:12
Third Stage (8.1075 km) - Philemon Kiplagat (2nd yr., Kurashiki H.S.) - 22:55
Fourth Stage (8.0875 km) - John Mwaniki (1st yr., Sera H.S.) - 22:32 - CR tie
Fifth Stage (3.0 km) - Ryosuke Otsuka (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 8:36
Sixth Stage (5.0 km) - Toki Miyauchi (3rd yr., Saku Chosei H.S.) - 14:21
Seventh Stage (5.0 km) - Shun Ida (3rd yr., Kurashiki H.S.) / Maro Imamura (3rd yr., Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) - 14:21

Top Team Performances
1. Kurashiki H.S. - 2:02:09
2. Sera H.S. - 2:02:23
3. Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. - 2:02:52
4. Kyushu Gakuin H.S. - 2:03:54
5. Saku Chosei H.S. - 2:03:54
6. Saitama Sakae H.S. - 2:03:59
7. Yachiyo Shoin H.S. - 2:04:19
8. Toyokawa H.S. - 2:05:19
9. Rakunan H.S. - 2:05:38
10. Tosu Kogyo H.S. - 2:05:52

source article:
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2018122300268&g=spo
translated and edited by Brett Larner

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...

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...

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