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.

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

japan running news

Search This Blog