Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami Meet Results

Racing her second 5000 m in five days, national record holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) continued to build back from injury with a 3rd-place finish in 15:18.77 at Wednesday's Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami meet, 11 seconds up on what she ran Saturday in Abashiri. Pacer Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) gradually built up in speed, wearing down the lead pack but Hironaka staying with her as fast as it got. Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) and Eva Cherono (Toto) had a stronger kick over the last 200 m, going 1-2 in 15:15.55 and 15:16.35, but Hironaka's performance increased the chance she'll be ready for the 10000 m at next month's Budapest World Championships.

Marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) also had a quick turnaround from his 13:27.79 PB in Abashiri, tailing 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) most of the way through the 5000 m before going for a long surge. Miura started to close over the last 200 m, but going into the home straight Akasaki threw off the cap he was wearing and kicked hard to hold Miura off for the win in 13:28.70 to Miura's 13:31.31. Post-race Akasaki told JRN, "From here on out it's all about getting ready for the MGC Race." If Japan's Olympic marathon trials come down to a race over the last km again, Akasaki's performance today put him on the list of contenders.

High-potential U20 runner Sonata Nagashima (Asahi Kasei) had some bad luck early in the race. Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) collided with Nagashima while trying to come into the inside of the lane, and through whatever contact there was Nagashima lost a shoe. After stopping and putting it back on he was hopelessly separated from the pack, managing to pick up a few stragglers but finishing only 24th in 14:17.45. Yokota was 6th in 13:41.16. Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) won the B-heat in 13:32.75, edging Edwin Kipkemoi (Asahi Kasei) by just 0.05.

In the men's 10000 m, Benard Kimani (Comodi Iida) ran a patient race, taking his time in moving up from mid-pack to win by almost 8 seconds in 28:25.66. Ryo Saito (Asahi Kasei) briefly challenged him in the last 2000 m but ended up 2nd in 28:33.33, well up on 3rd-placer Shu Hasegawa (Kao).

Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) won the women's 3000 m A-heat in 8:53.82, the only runner under 9 minutes. Ai Fujita (Toyota Jidoshokki) ran a PB 4:18.46 to win the women's 1500 m, with Hiroto Takamura (Nittai Univ.) taking the men's 1500 m in 3:46.42 by 0.10 over Kaisei Sugiyama (Kao).

Complete results here. The Hokuren Distance Challenge series wraps up Saturday in Chitose.

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

Nat'l University Ekiden Updates Here

Looks like I just went over my update limit on Twitter - sorry, it's the first time I've tried to use it for this. I'll look for another option next time. In the meantime I'll add updates to the comments below. Not sure if that has a max too but I guess we'll find out. Update: Part one of the Nationals commentary can be found here .

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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