Weekend Overseas Race Roundup

Most of the action was overseas this weekend, with the Chugoku Jitsugyodan Time Trials meet in Hiroshima being the only really noteworthy domestic event. Dan Kiplangat (JFE Steel) had the fastest time in the six heats of men's 5000 m, beating Kibet Mangata (Mazda) by 0.38 seconds for the win in 13:35.44. 2:06 marathoner Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) was 5th in 13:58.28, with teammate Kakeru Ide (Kurosaki Harima) taking the B-heat in 13:58.34 and high schooler Itsuki Takaishi (Kochi Kogyo H.S.) joining the sub-14 club with a 13:59.04 to win the C-heat. Rose Wangui (Sera H.S.) got her ekiden season prep off to a good start with a 9:00.27 win in the women's 3000 m.

With Kenyan Brimin Kipkorir Misoi soloing a 2:06:18 for the win Japanese men went 4-5 at the Sydney Marathon in Australia, Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) 4th in 2:08:54 and Ken Nakayama (Honda) 5th in 2:09:23. 2:06 marathoner Hidekazu Hijikata (Asahi Kasei) was only 11th in 2:14:46. On the women's side, Mao Uesugi (Tokyo Metro) was 6th in 2:29:18, seven and a half minutes behind winner Workenesh Edesa who ran 2:21:41 to take 1st.

Shunya Kikuchi (Chugoku Denryoku) was the top Japanese man at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, 19th in 1:01:45. Marathon NR holder Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu) was 22nd in 1:02:20 after going out with the lead group, with Taiyo Iwasaki (JFE Steel) just behind him in 1:02:26 for 23rd. Kenyan Sabastian Sawe was in another league entirely, 1st in 58:05. Margaret Chelimo took the women's race in 1:05:11, meaning all three Japanese men were closer to her than they were to Sawe. Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) was 11th in the women's race in 1:09:03.

Two other Japanese women opted for the Porto Half Marathon instead of Copenhagen. With Cynthia Chemweno winning the women's race in 1:09:58 Yuki Nakamura (Panasonic) was 2nd in 1:12:23 and Chiharu Suzuki (Hitachi) 3rd in 1:13:10.

Five Japanese athletes were at the Brussels Diamond League final. Olympic gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi was the star of the show, coming up with a season best 66.13 m for a second-straight Diamond League title on her final attempt.

Roderick Genki Dean wrapped a great 2024 with a 5th in the men's javelin throw at 80.37 m.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown was 6th in the men's 100 m in 10.10 (+0.1).
Shunsuke Izumiya also took 6th in the men's 110 mH, running 13.33 (+0.4).
Nozomi Tanaka was yet another 6th in the women's 5000 m in 14:31.88, 22 seconds behind winner Beatrice Chebet's 14:09.82.

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance? Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance. This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere. It was put into place in 1986. In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made. Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km. When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

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