Ichiyama, Maeda and Yamanouchi Return

Ichiyama, Maeda and Yamanouchi Return - Weekend Track Roundup

Track season in Japan goes almost year-round, with the fall time trial meets acting mostly as tune-ups for ekiden season. Both of the big meets this weekend played that role. At the Chugoku Corporate Time Trials meet Saturday in Hiroshima, the top five men, all Kenyan, broke the old 5000 m meet record of 13:36.36 thanks in part to the presence of a large number of teams from the Kyushu region. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) got the win in 13:19.05. Africans took the top seven spots, Shunya Kikuchi (Chugoku Denryoku) the first Japanese man at 8th in 13:53.33. Kenyans went 1-3 in the women's 3000 m, Teresiah Muthoni (Daiso) taking 1st in 9:03.11 over teammate Rebecca Mwangi, 2nd in 9:03.47, and Rose Wangui (Sera H.S.), 3rd in 9:04.40. Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) was the top Japanese woman at 4th in 9:30.52.

The 298th Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama was smaller than usual, with only twelve heats of men's 5000 m on Sunday. Saturday saw newcomer Nelson Mandela Mubiti (Obirin Univ.) make his Japanese debut, running a PB of 28:41.53 to win the men's 10000 m A-heat over a group of other 1st-year Kenyans at minor Kanto Region universities. 2017 World University Games half marathon gold medalist Kei Katanishi (JR Higashi Nihon) was the first Japanese man across the line, 5th in 29:22.76.

Women's 5000 m NR holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) doubled in the 1500 m and 3000 m, winning both in 4:21.42 and 8:56.20. Minami Yamanouchi was a surprise in 2nd, making her debut with the Shimamura team, if not in its uniform, with a solid 8:57.15, just 0.13 off her PB. That PB came in 2018, the same season she set her 5000 m and 10000 m bests of 15:21.31 and 31:16.48, and almost equalling it here was the first good result she's had since losing Atsushi Sato as a coach when he left his position at the Kyocera team. Two high schoolers went under 9:06, Haruka Ogawa (Junten H.S.) 5th in 9:05.46 and Mariya Noda (Kitakyushu Shiritsu H.S.) 6th in 9:05.85.

Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) soloed a 15:10.97 for the win in the women's 5000 m A-heat. Erika Tanoura (Sekisui Kagaku) outkicked Hokkaido Marathon winner Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) for 2nd, 15:43.75 to 15:48.67, with another lost veteran, marathon collegiate record holder Sairi Maeda (Daihatsu), dropping a surprise comeback with a 15:58.43 for 5th. Women-only marathon NR holder Mao Ichiyama (Shiseido) was 6th in 16:06.61 in her first race since a last-second positive COVID test kept her out of this summer's Oregon World Championships marathon.

When Sunday rolled around the men's 5000 m wasn't quite as fast as what had happened in Hiroshima the night before, but it wasn't far off. James Muoki (Konica Minolta) ran 13:23.36 for 1st in the A-heat, with Hakone Ekiden star Vincent Yegon (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) 2nd in 13:25.68 and Muoki's KM teammate Dominic Langat 3rd in 13:31.33. The top Japanese man was Nagiya Mori (Honda), 6th in 13:56.51.

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance? Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance. This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere. It was put into place in 1986. In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made. Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km. When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

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