UTMF, Gifu Half, Hyogo Relay Carnival and More

UTMF, Gifu Half, Hyogo Relay Carnival and More - Weekend Preview

It's a busy weekend ahead, with a major trail race, a half marathon, and at least three high-level track meets going on across the country.

The Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji is already underway, 100 miles around the foothills of Japan's most recognizable landmark in the long course race. It doesn't factor into national team selection for next year's World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, but UTMF is still the most prestigious trail race in the country. Catch streaming here and on the UTMF Youtube channel. Leaderboard and athlete tracking here.

Sunday is the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, in normal years Japan's only WA gold label half marathon and still one of its most competitive in this still not normal year. 2022 National Corporate Half Marathon champ Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) leads the women's field with her 1:07:56 CR at that race, her main competition on paper coming from Aussie veteran Sinead Diver, 1:08:50 at Marugame two years ago but a DNF at last month's Nagoya Women's Marathon.

World all-time #4 Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) leads the men's field with a best of 57:59, with five other sub-60 Japan-based Kenyans and sub-61 JPN men Yuki Sato (SG Holdings), Yuta Shitara (Honda) and Takahiro Nakamura (Kyocera Kagoshima) also in the race. The race is being streamed live on Youtube this year starting at 8:30 a.m. Sunday local time.

On the track, the Spring Nobeoka Time Trials get things moving Saturday in Miyazaki. The Asahi Kasei team will be tuning up for hosting the Golden Games in Nobeoka meet on the same track a week and a half later, with most of its best runners and those from local rival teams Kyudenko, Toyota Kyushu, Kurosaki Harima and Mitsubishi Juko also on the entry list.

In Kanagawa, the Nittai University Time Trials series holds its first edition of the new academic year. As usual, everything from 800 m to 10000 m except the men's 5000 m happens Saturday, with a relatively conservative 22 heats of men's 5000 m on Sunday. Marathoner Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) will be doubling, running 3000 m at Nittai Saturday afternoon before going for a PB in Gifu the next morning.

But most of the biggest names including multiple members of the Tokyo Olympics team will be in Kobe for the 70th edition of the Hyogo Relay Carnival. The women's 5000 m and men's 10000 m B-races will be on Saturday night, with the grand prix women's and men's 800, 1500 m, 2000 mSC and 10000 m capping Sunday's action. Live results will be posted here. Local broadcaster Sun TV has streamed the meet live in the past, so check its Youtube channel for info as the meet goes on.

JRN will be on-site at the Gifu Seiryu Half throughout the weekend.

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...

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