Aoyama Gakuin Dominates MARCH Taikosen 10000 m Meet

The bar was raised again for the Hakone Ekiden's 100th running on Jan. 1-2. Wednesday night at the Meiji-Aoyama Gakuin-Rikkyo-Chuo-Hosei pentangular MARCH Taikosen 10000 m meet in Machida, Tokyo, hosts Aoyama Gakuin University dominated with 10 of its members running new sub-29 PBs, 6 of them going sub-28:30. AGU 4th-year Issei Sato led the way with a meet record 28:11.00 to win the fastest heat, 2nd-year Asahi Kuroda following up great runs at both the Izumo and National University ekidens with a 28:15.82 PB for 3rd and 4th-year Genta Kuramoto just getting under 28:20 with a 28:19.31 PB for 4th.

2023 Hakone runner-up Chuo University and some of the other teams that just ran the Ageo City Half Marathon on Sunday had a lighter presence, but 2 Chuo runners did go sub-28:30, 4th-year Jin Yuasa taking 2nd behind Sato in a PB 28:12.17, and 3rd-year Haruki Abe running a 28:26.58 PB for 6th. The fastest finishers from Rikkyo University and Hosei University both clocked PBs, Rikkyo 3rd-year Kotaro Hayashi running 28:49.09 for 12th and Hosei 2nd-year Koei Yahara 28:54.60 for 5th in the B-heat. Meiji's fastest man was 2nd-year Sosuke Hori, 28:48.86 for 2nd in the B-heat.

Slickly produced by the AGU head coach Susumu Hara-affiliated Kizuna AC and GMO Internet Group, the MARCH Taikosen had what it described as scholarship money on offer for all 5 teams based on aggregated time of its 10 fastest finishers, with AGU totaling 4:44:31.87, a 10-man average of 28:27.19, to take the ¥300,000 prize for 1st, worth roughly $2000 USD. Sato earned ¥30,000 for 1st overall, with a ¥10,000 bonus for breaking the National Championships qualifying standard of 28:16.00, bringing his individual earnings to around $275 USD. Individual scholarship money went 8-deep, and Chuo's Yuasa also earned the ¥10,000 bonus for sub-28:16.00.

MARCH Taikosen 10000 m Meet

Machida, Tokyo, 22 Nov. 2023

complete results

Heat 4

1. Issei Sato (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:11.00 - MR, PB

2. Jin Yuasa (Chuo) - 28:12.17 - PB

3. Asahi Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:15.82 - PB

4. Genta Kuramoto (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:19.31 - PB

5. Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:20.63 - PB

6. Haruki Abe (Chuo) - 28:26.58 - PB

7. Kosei Shiraishi (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:27.96 - PB

8. Kento Yamauchi (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:28.75 - PB

9. Tomoki Aramaki (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:32.48 - PB

10. Kenta Torii (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:33.64 - PB

11. Yuto Tanaka (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:38.58

12. Kotaro Hayashi (Rikkyo) - 28:49.09 - PB

13. Kento Ozaki (Meiji) - 28:50.89 - PB

14. Hiroto Kuniyasu (Rikkyo) - 28:53.80 - PB

15. Kazuki Aya (Meiji) - 28:56.53 - PB

Heat 3

1. Shunya Udagawa (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:43.70 - PB

2. Sosuke Hori (Meiji) - 28:48.86

3. Sena Minawatari (Aoyama Gakuin) - 28:49.30 - PB

4. Daisuke Inazuka (Rikkyo) - 28:49.55 - PB

5. Koei Yahara (Hosei) - 28:54.60 - PB

Heat 2

1. Yuji Tadauchi (Rikkyo) - 29:17.35 - PB

Heat 1

1. Yuichiro Baba (Meiji) - 29:53.31

Team Scores

1. Aoyama Gakuin University - 4:44:31.87 - 28:27.19 avg.

2. Chuo University - 4:54:28.35 - 29:26.83 avg.

3. Rikkyo University - 4:54:32.60 - 29:27.26 avg.

4. Meiji University - 4:55:32.90 - 29:33.29 avg.

5. Hosei University - 4:57:33.37 - 29:45.34 avg.

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...

JAAF Announces Marathon Teams for Nagoya Asian Games

On Mar. 25 the JAAF announced Japan's marathon team lineups for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) and Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) make up the men's team, with Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) and Mikuni Yada (Edion) representing Japan in the women's marathon. Each country can field up to 2 men and 2 women per marathon team at the Asian Games. The top-ranked male and female athletes in the 2025-26 MGC Series rankings were given first priority, with the second slots going to people with high-level performances in the 2025-26 MGC Series. Yoshida ran 2:05:16 to win the 2024 Fukuoka International Marathon, and at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon ran an excellent 2:06:59 to take the top Japanese spot in the race and in the MGC rankings. After having run the Tokyo World Championships marathon last fall this will be his second-straight marathon national team in a major international championships. Yamashita ran 2:06:18 at February's Osak...

japan running news

Search This Blog