Wanjiru and Etir Win 10000 m Titles on First Day of National University Championships

No real surprises on the opening day of the 2023 National University Track and Field Championships. A new wave of humidity that swept into the Kanto region Tuesday meant tough conditions for the 10000 m races, but heavy favorites Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka University) and Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai University) had no trouble taking the national titles in their debut seasons.

Wanjiru, winner of both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the spring's Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, soloed a 33:18.93 to win by almost 45 seconds. Nanaka Miyahara (Fukuoka Univ.) won a last-lap battle against Hikaru Kitagawa (Osaka Geijutsu Univ.) and Fuka Fukunaga (Ritsumeikan Univ.) for 2nd in 34:01.46, Kitagawa 3rd in 34:02.34. National champion Meijo University had three of its best runners in the field, Saki Harada going 5th in 34:15.57, Nanase Tanimoto 7th in 34:18.15, and Yuka Masubuchi dropping out mid-race.

The men's race immediately separated into two groups, one all-Kenyan and one all-Japanese. Collegiate 10000 m record holder Etir made a series of moves to shake the pack up before breaking free, with only Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) able to stay close but never really in position for the win. Etir took the win in 28:15.75, Kipkemei next in 28:17.38 and Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) 3rd in 28:22.31. With top-tier programs like national champion Komazawa University and Aoyama Gakuin University giving it a miss the top Japanese spot went to Kenzo Ijichi (Koku Gakuin Univ.), 8th in 29:31.20.

In qualifying rounds, Konan University had an excellent run in the women's 4x100 m heats, 0.01 off the meet record at 44.52 to lead the qualifiers for the final by 0.37. MR holder Fukuoka University was the only other team to go under 45 seconds, clocking 44.89. Juntendo University was the only men's team under 39 seconds in the 4x100 m heats at 38.95, but with Keio University 2nd in 39.00 and Tsukuba University 3rd in 39.05 it looks like a good final ahead on Friday.

In the women's 100 m heats, Konan's Yume Okuno and Miu Kurashige had the two fastest times in the field, Okuno running 11.83 -1.5 m/s to win Heat 1 and Kurashige 11.84 -2.4 m/s to take Heat 7. Heat 5 winner Haruka Taji (Chuo Univ.) was the only other runner under 11.90, running 11.86 -0.1 m/s. Juntendo's Shoto Uno was fastest in the men's 100 m heats at 10.25 -0.0 m/s, with Naoki Okami (Sendai Univ.) and Yugo Haitamataira (Hachinohe Gakuin Univ.) the only others under 10.30 at 10.26 +0.2 m/s and 10.29 -0.0 m/s. Favorite Hiroki Yanagita (Toyo Univ.) eased through with a 10.33 -1.5 m/s win in Heat 2.

In the women's 400 m, Marin Adachi (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) was the only runner under 55 seconds in the heats, winning Heat 5 in 54.96. Budapest World Championships team member Joseph Nakajima (Toyo Univ.) was a DNS in the men's 400 m heats, leaving Heat 5 winner Masataka Tomoda (Tokyo Rika University) to lead the heats in 46.46.

Complete results here. The National University Track and Field Championships continue through Sunday in Kumagaya, Saitama.

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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