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.

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...

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...

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...

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