10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance

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 getting there ahead of their teammate has a real impact on their futures.

A lot of the top Japanese people will be targeting 27:50 in Heat 7 at 18:30, but the main event is Heat 8 at 19:05. It's being set up to try to deliver Tokyo World Championships standard performances, Japan's first sub-27, or at least a new NR. The withdrawal of current 27:09.80 NR holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu), all-time #4 Jun Kasai (Asahi Kasei) and #6 Ren Tazawa (Toyota) doesn't help the chances of that happening, leaving Mebuki Suzuki (Toyota), #8 at 27:26.67, Takuya Hanyu (Toyota Boshoku), #9 at 27:27.49, and Ayumu Kobayashi (NTT Nishi Nihon), #10 at 27:28.13, as the top people on the list. Kotaro Shinohara (Komazawa University), 27:35.05, Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima), 27:43.11, and Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko), 13:10.69 for 5000 m, are the only other Japanese men in the race, getting a boost from another seven Japan-based Kenyans led by 26:54.76 man Richard Kimunyan Yator (Logisteed).

A special addition is Indian record holder Gulveer Singh, who beat Suzuki and Shinohara while setting a new 5000 m NR of 13:11.82 in Niigata in September. Hiroaki Oyagi, coach of both Suzuki and Shinohara, told JRN, "Suzuki's training in the U.S. went well, and he's ready to do something special. Shinohara is interesting too." In the Niigata 5000 m Shinohara ran a PB of 13:15.70, the fastest outdoor time ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner that matched his 1:00:11 half marathon best, also the fastest time ever by a Japanese-born collegian. 27:21.51 or better would be enough to add the 10000 m to that list, giving him a solid case for the title of Japan's best-ever collegiate runner.

The entire meet will be streamed live on Youtube starting at 15:00 local time Saturday. Full meet schedule and entries are here. JRN will be on-site to cover the meet live.

Yuya Yoshida 2:05:16 CR to Win Fukuoka International Marathon

Yuya Yoshida 's story is really the kind you love to read. A guy who never got to run the big races at Aoyama Gakuin University until his very last chance his senior year, when he dropped a course record at the 2020 Hakone Ekiden in what he was thinking of as his last race. Then a 2:08:30 marathon debut for 3rd at Beppu on his coach's advice. Then a 2:07:05 win at the Fukuoka International Marathon later the same year after deciding to keep going and joining the GMO corporate team. A few years of setbacks, then a 2:06:37 PB in Osaka this spring. And now this. A 2:05:16 CR for the win in Fukuoka, 1:02:58 at halfway and a smoking 1:02:18 mostly solo 2nd half, 2 seconds under the old record set back in pre-super shoe days in 2009 by the great Tsegaye Kebede . Really, what else is there to say? Yoshida was great. In the pack through 25 km, then throwing down at dropping 2:06:31 man Yusuke Nishiyama and everyone else except Israeli Tadesse Getahon , who lasted another 5 km befor...

Fukuoka, Hofu, Kosa 10-Miler and More - Weekend Preview

It's a massive weekend of racing in Japan, so let's get to it. Fukuoka International Marathon Right now only four Japanese men have qualified for next year's Tokyo World Championships, and with recent times between 2:05:59 and 2:06:54 the main domestic group up front, Kenya Sonota , Yusuke Nishiyama , Yuya Yoshida , Kazuya Nishiyama and Daisuke Doi , will be aiming to add to that list. It's been a while since there's been this good a Japanese field in Fukuoka. There was a near-miss on China scoring its first Fukuoka win last year, and there's a strong Chinese contingent back this time including NR holder Jie He , 2:06:57, Shaohui Yang , 2:07:09, Jianhua Peng , 2:09:59, and Bo Li , 2:11:23. Israel has a small crew of three, Tesema Moges , Tadesse Getahon and Yitayew Abuhay , and the main Kenyan group including two-time winner Michael Githae , Bidan Karoki , Bethwel Yegon , Lemeck Too and Vincent Raimoi , is pretty well-positioned to help make it a race under t...

Wanjiru Breaks 5000 m Collegiate Record, 18 Men Sub-28 at Nittai

Corporate women had their national championship ekiden last weekend, but for everyone else the biggest races of the year are still coming up in the next month, and a lot of them were at Nittai University this weekend for one of the last big tune-ups. The men's 10000 m fast heat had a massive 18 people break 28 minutes, and this just a week after the main 10000 m of the season in Hachioji . Up front there was a thrilling photo finish, with steeplechase specialist Philemon Kiplagat going right to the line with NR holder Kazuya Shiojiri who had scratched from Hachioji, both of them clocking 27:36.37 but Kiplagat getting the win. Shiojiri's corporate team Fujitsu had 7 men break 28 including marathon NR holder Kengo Suzuki , with Asahi Kasei turning out 3 and Subaru 2, raising the stakes for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden. Speaking of steeplechase and Subaru, NR holder Ryuji Miura was nowhere near the NR attempt he'd floated pre-race but still had a decent run in the 5000 m...

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