This has been updated to reflect withdrawals announced late Friday.
This weekend kicks off three in a row with major races across Japan. First up Saturday is the National Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka. The senior women's 8 km lost its biggest draw, 18-year-old 30:45.12 10000 m runner Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.), earlier this month when she pulled out to focus on prep for May's 10000 m national championships. In her absence, some of the bigger names include National Corporate Half Marathon winner Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.), 3000 m steeplechase Olympian Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko), last year's 5th-placer Momoka Kawaguchi (Toyota Jidoshokki), and 31:16.48 10000 m runner Minami Yamanouchi (Raffine).
Despite losing 10000 m NR holder Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) and 3000 m SC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo University) to last-minute withdrawals, the senior men's 10 km is thicker on top-level talent, including 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m high school NR holder Keita Sato (Rakunan H.S.), triathlon Olympian Kenji Nener (NTT), 2021's #1-ranked Japanese man Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei), sub-61 half marathoner Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima), 3:37.90 1500 m runner Masaki Toda (SG Holdings), last year's runner-up Hiroki Matsueda and Fujitsu teammates Kazuya Shiojiri and Yuta Bando, Hakone Ekiden heavyweights Takumi Karasawa (Komazawa Univ.), Ayumu Yamamoto (Koku Gakuin Univ.), Kosuke Ishida (Toyo Univ.), and a million more. It's a great range across the spectrum like XC should be, everyone except the marathoners, who've got other things to do.
Both senior races will be broadcast on TBS on Saturday afternoon starting at 15:30 Japan time. The junior races will be streamed live on Youtube linked above, the U20 men's 8 km at 13:50 and the U20 women's 6 km at 14:30. Sato and Fuwa won those races last year, and both races have seen other past winners go on to bigger things.
2021 National High School Ekiden girls' winner Sendai Ikuei H.S. is absent from the U20 6 km, but 2nd-placer Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. and 4th-place Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. are both well-represented, Ritsumeikan Uji with 14 names on the list including top member Aiko Hosoya, 9:14.82 for 3000 m, and Osaka Kunei bringing a squad of 9 including its core trio of Nationals Fourth Stage winner Nanoha Myokai, 9:10.50 3000 m runner Kana Mizumoto, and Marin Nishizawa, 9:14.24 for 3000 m. Other top individuals include Akari Matsumoto (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.), 9:11.96, and Mariya Noda (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.), 9:14.29.
Japan has a lot of high school boys going sub-14 for 5000 m these days, and some of the best are entered in the U20 8 km, including Hiroto Yoshioka (Saku Chosei H.S.), 13:38.96, Sonata Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.), 13:46.21, and Fumiya Oshima (Senshudai Matsudo H.S.), 13:50.04, plus a squad of 23 from 2021 National High School Ekiden winner Sera H.S. Both U20 races would be solid college races in most other countries.
Sunday is the Osaka Marathon. Osaka, in the past a late-fall mass-participation race, takes over from the historic Lake Biwa Marathon this year, but with its mass-participation field of 20,000 dropped on short notice to leave only a domestic elite field, this time around it really is essentially just Lake Biwa transplanted back to its original home with a few women tacked on. 2016 Gold Coast Marathon winner Misato Horie (Sysmex) and debuting Universal Entertainment teammates Azusa Sumi and Rui Aoyama are the most noteworthy names on the women's list.
Although it only has three non-Japanese athletes the men's list is deep, with ten current 2:07 guys, eight at the 2:08 level, four at 2:09, eight at 2:10, seven at 2:11, and a half dozen high-potential debuts. Some of them are also entered in other races including Tokyo, but while not everyone will run it should still be a solid 2:07 race. Check our earlier preview for a more detailed look at who's in the men's race.
NHK will be broadcasting Osaka live and ad-free starting at 9:00 a.m. local time Sunday. Official streaming will be on NHK+, which you'll probably need a VPN to see if you're outside Japan. JRN will be on-site in Osaka for the race.
Comments
I think to the names you memtioned for the senior XC race we can add Kosuke Ishida. He won the under 20 XC National in 2020 as an High schooler and he even beat Miura in that final.
After performing greatly at the Izumo and All Japan Ekiden he didnt take parte in Hakone.
Other names to watch include Tamaki Fujimoto who battled with Miura at Hakone and Ayumu Yamamoto fresh off a great half marathon at the corporate.
The men race should be outstanding.
A bummer Fuwa wont be there in the women final.