Kanto Regionals Day Four Streaming and Preview

Sunday is the main event at the 102nd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, with finals for the half marathon, 3000 m steeplechase, 800 m and 5000 m. Complete meet schedule and entry lists here.

The D2/D3 men's half marathon kicks off at 9:00 a.m., with the D1 race starting 6 minutes later. Runners do four laps of the track, then head out onto the roads for 12 laps of a 1.58 km circuit before returning to finish on the track. 2023 Hakone Ekiden champ Komazawa University's Takuma Yamakawa is the fastest man in the D2/D3 field at 1:01:36, with Goki Takayama (Koku Gakuin Univ.) and Komazawa teammate Yuto Akahoshi just behind at 1:01:42 and 1:02:00.

Four men in the D1 race have run under 1:03, led by Kazuki Ishii (Juntendo Univ.) at 1:02:20. But there's a lot of potential in newcomer Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), already 27:51.65 for 10000 m in his first year on the collegiate circuit.

The D2 men's, D1 men's and D1 women's 3000 mSC go off back-to-back starting at 11:10 a.m. The 8:42.57 D2 men's meet record looks at risk of falling at the hands of Asahi Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.), but the fastest man in the race, Kento Uchida (Rikkyo Univ.) twisted his ankle after the last jump while leading in yesterday's heats and fell twice in the last straight as he limped in to finish 3rd. Whether he's ready to go remains to be seen. The 8:35.2 D1 men's MR will be more of a stretch, and the 9:57.46 D1 women's MR looks out of reach of this year's field.

The D2 men's, D1 women's and D2 men's 800 m finals are also back-to-back starting at 12:50. Nao Kurihara (Josai Univ.) is the fastest man in the D2 race at 1:50.00 but had the 2nd-slowest qualifying time, 1:55.93. The D1 men's race looks likelier to have a winning time under 1:50, with five guys holding PBs in 1:48-1:49 range and two of them, Kaishi Kitamura (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) and Hiroto Takamura (Nittai Univ.) having been just a fraction over in their heats. The D1 women's race is likely to be in the 2:08 range, but a good run from 1st-year Kiho Tanaka (Josai Univ.) or Heat 1 winner Salina Hiller (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) could push it down to 2:07.

The D2 men's, D1/D2 women's, and D1 men's 5000 m wrap the distance action at this year's Kanto Regionals, starting at 14:05. D2 men's 10000 m winner Victor Kimutai (Josai Univ.) is the favorite in the 5000 m too with a best of 13:26.77, his toughest competition being Taiyo Yasuhara (Komazawa Univ.) at 13:37.01.

It's the same story in the D1/D2 women's race, where 10000 m winner Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) leads the field at 15:33.29 and top woman Yuiri Ogata (Nittai Univ.) trails at 15:42.87. Risa Yamazaki (Nittai Univ.) and Moe Koda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) aren't far behind at 15:48.46 and 15:48.60 and should be in the race for the podium.

The D1 men's race should be the race of the meet. High school NR holder Hiroto Yoshioka (Juntendo Univ.) is the fastest man in the field at 13:22.99, D1 10000 m winner James Mutok (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) is right behind him at 13:24.73, 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) another step behind at 13:26.78, Shotaro Ishihara (Tokai Univ.) just back at 13:29.21, and the Waseda University duo Tomonori Yamaguchi and Taishi Ito both right around 13:35.

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