Karemi and Matsuda Break Okukuma Course Record - Weekend Half Marathon Roundup

For the second year in a row Japan-based Kenyan Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Toyota Kyushu) broke the course record at Kumamoto's Okukuma Half Marathon. Coached by 1992 Barcelona Olympics marathon silver medalist Koichi Morishita, Karemi took 27 seconds off his winning time last year to win by over a minute in 1:01:21. Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) was a distant 2nd in 1:02:40, with Karemi's teammate Yuki Oshikawa (Toyota Kyushu) taking the top Japanese spot at 3rd in 1:03:13. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) was 9th in 1:04:04 a week after running the Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon.

In the women's race, Anna Matsuda (Kyocera), coached by former men's half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato, took 26 seconds off the course record to win in 1:13:10. Not far off, Kotomi Tsubokura (Wacoal) was a clear 2nd in 1:03:27 with Maki Saito (Higo Ginko) improving on her 10th-place finish last year to take 3rd in 1:14:46.

Also Sunday, up in Tokyo the Akabane Half Marathon celebrated its tenth running with a new men's course record. Yuki Kuroda (Comody Iida) became the first man to break 64 minutes on the Akabane course as he led the top three under the old course record set last year to win in 1:03:33. Last year's women's winner Tomomi Sawahata (Sawahatters) won again, 10 seconds off her 2018 mark in 1:15:12.

7th Okukuma Half Marathon

Kumagun, Kumamoto, 1/20/19
complete results

Men
1. Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:01:21 - CR
2. Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:02:40
3. Yuki Oshikawa (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:03:13
4. Tomoya Nishi (Komori Corp.) - 1:03:18
5. Kazuhiro Kuga (Fujitsu) - 1:03:38
6. Masanori Sumida (Aichi Seiko) - 1:03:40
7. Ryunosuke Hayashi (SGH Group) - 1:03:41
8. Takeru Tanoue (Toyo University) - 1:03:45
9. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:04:04
10. Nobuyuki Matsumoto (Aisan Kogyo) - 1:04:14

Women
1. Anna Matsuda (Kyocera) - 1:13:10 - CR
2. Kotomi Tsubokura (Wacoal) - 1:13:27
3. Maki Saito (Higo Ginko) - 1:14:46
4. Sachihio Suzuki (Nittai Unviersity) - 1:14:59
5. Ayami Hirano (Nittai University) - 1:15:27
6. Aoi Shiozaki (Meijo University) - 1:15:32
7. Mirai Kamoshida (Meijo University) - 1:16:44
8. Sakura Kawakami (Noritz) - 1:17:13
9. Sena Komori (Meijo University) - 1:17:38
10. Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Noritz) - 1:17:51

10th Akabane Half Marathon

Akabane, Tokyo, 1/20/19
complete results

Men
1. Yuki Kuroda (Comody Iida) - 1:03:33 - CR
2. Fuma Nakamura (Teikyo University) - 1:03:45
3. Masahiro Kamidoi (Asia University) - 1:04:15
4. Shun Yoshizato (Surugadai University) - 1:04:23
5. Shuhei Mita (Sunbelx) - 1:04:54

Women
1. Tomomi Sawahata (Sawahatters) - 1:15:12

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

Nat'l University Ekiden Updates Here

Looks like I just went over my update limit on Twitter - sorry, it's the first time I've tried to use it for this. I'll look for another option next time. In the meantime I'll add updates to the comments below. Not sure if that has a max too but I guess we'll find out. Update: Part one of the Nationals commentary can be found here .

Keita Satoh Running New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile

1500 m U20 NR holder Keita Satoh (Nike Swoosh TC) is running this weekend's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile , the first time that a Japanese man has been invited in the race's 45-year history. In university Sato had to change focus away from middle distance to the half marathon-scale lengths of the Hakone Ekiden stages, but since graduating in March and relocating to Flagstaff he has refocused on the 1500 m, going from 3:43.19 in April in his first 1500 m in almost 4 years to 3:38.30 over the course of 5 races. Fifth Avenue will be his last race before heading back to Japan for one more track 1500 m and some down time. Men's entries with best 1500 m times in last 3 years: Stefan Nillessen (NED) - 3:29.23 (2025) Flavien Szot (FRA) - 3:30.74 (2025) Oliver Hoare (AUS) - 3:31.07 (2024) Jake Heyward (GBR) - 3:31.18 (2026) Titouan Le Grix (FRA) - 3:31.46 (2026) Romain Mornet (FRA) - 3:31.62 (2025) Adam Spencer (AUS) - 3:31.83 (2026) Pieter Sisk (BEL) - 3:31.85 (2025) Gary Martin (...

japan running news

Search This Blog