JAAF Announces Schedule for July's Hokuren Distance Challenge Series

On May 14 the JAAF announced the schedule and program for the five-meet Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido. Scheduled after the end of the Olympic qualifying period, the series will still play a key role for middle and long distance athletes tuning up for the Tokyo Olympics and fall ekiden season.

Sat. July 3 - Shibetsu Meet

men: 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m

women: 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m

Wed. July 7 - Fukagawa Meet

men: 5000 m, 10000 m

women: 3000 m, 5000 m, 10000 m

Sat. July 10 - Abashiri Meet

men: 1500 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m, 3000 mSC

women: 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m, 3000 mSC

Wed. July 14 - Kitami Meet

men: 800 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m

women: 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m

Sat. July 17 - Chitose Meet

men: 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, 2000 mSC

women: 800 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10000 m, 2000 mSC

Entires for all five meets are open June 7-18 for all athletes who have met the qualifying standards since Jan. 1, 2020. International athletes who may already be in Japan ahead of the Olympics by then should contact the JAAF concerning entries and what will be needed with regard to including competing at any of the Hokuren meets in their registered pre-Olympic itineraries. Contact Satoe Hidano, Shizuka Hirose and Kaho Ono at the JAAF here: hokurendc@jaaf.or.jp

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...

japan running news

Search This Blog