Kimunyan Runs Fastest-Ever 10000 m in Japan, Iizawa Up to 1500 m All-Time #2

Kimunyan Runs Fastest-Ever 10000 m in Japan, Iizawa Up to 1500 m All-Time #2 - Weekend Track Update

Three big pre-ekiden season meets happened this weekend and produced some big results. Saturday at the Nittai University Time Trials in Yokohama, Richard Kimunyan (Hitachi Butsuryu) and Benard Koech (Kyudenko) pushed each other under Josphat Ndambiri's longstanding 10000 m Japan all-comers record of 26:57.36, Kimunyan setting the new record at 26:54.76 and Koech next in 26:55.04. Those times made them the only Kenyans under 27 minutes this year worldwide, with the Hachioji Long Distance meet still to come next month. Three others were under 27:30 led by Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) in 27:12.84, with Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) the top Japanese man at 6th in 27:53.00.

Justus Soget (Honda) took the 5000 m A-heat in 13:24.01, the top five all under 13:30 and another Fujitsu runner, Olympian Hiroki Matsueda, filling the top Japanese spot at 8th in 13:34.62. Harumi Okamoto (Yamada Holdings) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:49.72, and Kenyan Hellen Ekarare (Toyota Jidoshokki) led the 3000 m in 8:49.31.

The biggest news at Niigata's Athletics Challenge Cup was in the men's 1500 m, where Kazuto Iizawa (Tokai Univ.) ran a hard solo last lap to moved up to all-time Japanese #2 in 3:36.55. Iizawa's time was also the fastest-ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner, 0.04 under the time Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) ran in April. 8 of the 10 fastest Japanese men's 1500 m times ever have now been run since July 17, 2021, with only one having happened before July 9, 2019. Abraham Guem (Ami AC) was the only other runner under 3:40, running 3:39.35. Yume Goto (Toyota Jidoshokki) won the women's 1500 m in 4:10.79.

Olympian Yuta Bando (Fujitsu) ran the fastest Japanese men's 5000 m time of the weekend, taking the A-heat win in Niigata in 13:21.94. Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.), younger brother of former U20 5000 m NR holder Yamato Yoshii, ran 13:40.26 for 5th, while the holder Yoshii, also at Chuo, was 13th in only 14:19.19. Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) had a solid win in the women's A-heat in 14:56.81, with National Corporate Championships 10000 m winner Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) negative splitting the B-heat in 15:01.62 for the win. Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) took the women's 800 m in 2:04.41.

At the Chugoku Corporate Time Trials meet in Hiroshima, Anthony Maina (Toyota Kyushu) turned in a solid 27:41.70 for the 10000 m A-heat win by less than a second over Evans Kipkemei (JFE Steel). Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko) took the 5000 m A-heat in 13:26.62. Marathoner Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) had her best race in a long time, winning the women's 5000 m in 15:55.70.

19-Yr-Old Munakata Breaks Miura's U20 NR to Win Ageo City Half Marathon

The Ageo City Half Marathon is always big, the main race that the coaches of Hakone Ekiden-bound university men's teams use for firming up their entry rosters for the big show. That makes what's basically an idyllic small town race into one of the world's great road races, with depth unmatched anywhere. One of the top-tier people on the start list at 1:02:07, Kodai Miyaoka (Hosei Univ.) took the race out fast, but the entire pack was keying off the fastest man in the race, Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), 1:00:31. Yoshida reeled Miyaoka in before 5 km and kept things steady in the low-1:01 range, wearing down the lead group to around 10 including his CGU teammate Taisei Ichikawa , a quartet from Izumo and National University Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University , 2 runners from local Daito Bunka University , 2:07:54 marathoner Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda), and Australian Ed Goddard . Right after 15 km Komazawa went into action, Yudai Kiyama , Hibiki Murakami and Haru Tanin

Ageo City Half Marathon Preview and Streaming

This weekend's big race is the Ageo City Half Marathon , the next stop on the collegiate men's circuit. Most of the universities bound for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden use Ageo to thin down the list of contenders for their final Hakone rosters, and with JRN's development program that sends the first two Japanese collegiate finishers in Ageo to the United Airlines NYC Half every year a lot of coaches put in some of their A-listers too. That gives Ageo legendary depth and fast front-end speed, with a 1:00:47 course record last year from Kenyan corporate leaguer Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) and the top 26 all clearing 63 minutes. Since a lot of programs just enter everybody on their rosters you never really know who on the entry list is actually going to show up, but if even a quarter of the people at the top end of this year's list run it'll be a great race, even if conditions are looking likely to be a bit warmer than ideal. Chuo Gakuin University 's Reishi Yoshi

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and

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