japan running news

On May 13 the Uniqlo women's corporate team announced that it had appointed Aoyama Gakuin University head coach Susumu Hara as special advisor. Hara became head coach at AGU in 2004, turning from a team that had been absent from the Hakone Ekiden for decades into a winning program by 2015. In the 11 editions since its first win in 2015, AGU has won Hakone 8 times under Hara's leadership. In 2019 he became a professor in AGU's Department of Global Studies, and in 2024 he was named chair of the KGRR collegiate federation's ekiden committee. Along with Hara, Uniqlo announced that Ann Quinn , known for her success with wheelchair tennis star and People's Honor Award recipient Shingo Kunieda , has been hired as mental coach for the women's team. The Uniqlo women's team was founded in 1997. It won last October's Princess Ekiden , going on to finish 9th at the Queens Ekiden national championships in November. Shigeo Hasegawa became head coach in April this...

https://iau-ultramarathon.org/2026-iau-24h-asia-and-oceania-championships-announcement.html

The 104th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships wrapped with another windy day. In the D2 men's pole vault Hiroto Shinotsuka (Ikuei Univ.) delivered the day's only new meet record, clearing a PB 5.37 m to win by 20 cm. Arie Flores (Nittai Univ.) impressed again, edging Shihori Sato (Juntendo Univ.) in the last 50 m to win the D1 women's 200 m final 23.26 to 23.34 (+2.5) in her 8th race over the 4 days of the meet. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) made it another 5000/10000 double title, running most of the D1 women's 5000 m final with company from Daisy Cherop (Josai Kokusai Univ.) but pulling away to win easily in 15:49.26. Once dropped Cherop folded, ultimately fading to 5th with 2nd going to Airi Tajima (Juntendo Univ.) in 16:09.22. Both the D1 and D2 men's 5000 m were great 3-way last lap battles. 1st-year Rui Suzuki (Waseda Univ.) impressed in the D1 race, throwing in a big surge to catch up to 4th-year Kenyans Victor Kimutai (Josai Un...

Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) was back from the dead yet again to win today's Sendai International Half Marathon women's race. Starting out with company from Selly Kaptich (Kyudenko) and Yuri Mitsune (Hitachi), Suzuki was always a step ahead. Putting away Mitsune early in the 2nd half, it took until the last km for her to break Kaptich, winning in 1:11:00 with Kaptich 8 seconds back in 2nd. Mitsune faded over a minute, just hanging on to 3rd in 1:12:02 over Mayuka Fujita (Route Inn Hotels). Ibuki Kaneko (Komazawa Univ.) frontran the early going in the men's race, 7 seconds up on the main group at 5 km in 14:51 but out of the top 20 by 10 km. Andrew Lorot (YKK) took clear control in the 2nd half, 12 seconds ahead by 15 km and pulling away all the way home to the win in 1:01:41. After facing criticism for making the Tokyo World Championships marathon team off the JAAF's JMC series rankings in spite of not having broken 2:10 in his last two marathons, Naoki Koyama (Hon...

Day 3 of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships was mostly filled by qualifying rounds, with the only track finals being the men's 10000 m race walks. Yushi Nakajima (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) had the fastest time of the day, winning a close D1 men's race in a 39:41.90 PB. Sota Arai (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) also PBd to win the D2 race in 42:39.62 by just 0.40 over Takuma Hachimura (Rikkyo Univ.), with Kotaro Wake (Kokushikan Univ.) taking the D3 title in 41:49.89. On the field the most interesting competition came in the D1 men's triple jump. Manato Miyao (Toyo Univ.) opened with a 15.66 m (0.0) jump that ended up being his best of the day. Koki Kanai (Juntendo Univ.) equalled that on his 4th attempt, with his 2nd-best jump of 15.54 m (-0.7) putting him ahead of Miyao's 15.53 m (-0.6). Enter Gai Kitagawa (Tokai Univ.), who equalled Kanai and Miyao at 15.66 m on his last jump. With a 5th attempt of 15.57 m (-0.2) that was enough for him to take the...

Following up her collegiate record 51.71 last weekend in Shizuoka, Arie Flores (Nittai Univ.) lit up a windy 2nd day of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships with a solo 52.82 MR, over half a second under the old record and beating 2nd place by a second and a half. With her Japanese citizenship transfer from Peru still in processing it's only a matter of time before Flores officially erases the 2008-era 51.75 m NR. She wasn't the only athlete to set a new MR despite the windy conditions. The D1 women's and men's 1500 m finals were nothing special time-wise, but in the D2 men's race Ryuto Aoki (Rikkyo Univ.) set a D2 MR 3:44.92 for the win, with the next 3 all running new PBs. Women's hammer throw 3rd-placer Misaki Takako (Tsukuba Univ. Grad School) also set a D2 MR with a throw of 54.37 m. But except for Flores, the races of the day were the D1 and D2 men's 100 m finals. With a massive +4.5 m/s tailwind, #1-ranked Hiroki Yanagita (T...

Japan's best collegiate meet started Thursday at Kanagawa's Sagamihara Gion Stadium with the 104th edition of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . On the track only three finals happened, with the D1 women's 10000 m getting things rolling. In windy conditions meet record holder Sarah Wanjiru (3rd yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) pulled off a slow burner, leading start to finish but starting off on mid-33 pace and gradually ratcheting it up. Haruka Ogawa (3rd yr., Rikkyo Univ.) was the last one to stay with her, but by just past halfway Wanjiru was on her own and kept up the acceleration the whole way to win in 32:25.78. Ogawa was next in 33:10.37, with Mariya Noda (3rd yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) shaking off Yume Miyake (2nd yr., Takushoku Univ.) for 3rd in 33:34.46. Tomonori Yamaguchi (4th yr., Waseda Univ.) got the D1 men's 10000 m off to a fast start with a 2:43 opening 10000 m that killed off everyone except James Mutuku (4th yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Uni...

2025 Ueda Sky Race Ueda, Nagano, 4 May 2025 26 km, 3050 elevation change Men 1. Ruy Uuda (Japan/Redbull) - 3:33:12 2. Tsubasa Fuji (Japan/Nnormal) - 3:52:31 3. Marcel Hoche (Germany/Adidas Terrex) - 3:55:53 4. Kesete Habtetsion (Eritrea) - 4:02:44 5. Shota Matsumoto (Japan/The North Face) - 4:06:05 6. Lucas Mouret (France/Inverse) - 4:08:05 7. Fujio Ichige (Japan/Skywolf Kyoto) - 4:08:11 8. Tomofumi Miyagawa (Japan/Merrell) - 4:08:16 9. Blake Turner (Australia/ADCO Cons.) - 4:10:24 10. John Ray Onifa (Philippines/T8) - 4:13:42 Women 1. Takako Takamura (Japan/Skywolf Kyoto) - 4:19:55 2. Iris Bessey (France/Scott) - 4:41:20 3. Suzuha Kusuda (Japan/Sky Kyoto) - 4:53:05 4. Nikola Matkova (Slovakia) - 4:53:19 5. Simone Brick (Australia/Salomon) - 5:07:00 6. Kaede Hayashi (Japan/Ssessionzz) - 5:17:43 7. Mami Saito (Japan) - 5:31:19 8. Chihiro Aibara (Japan/Merrell) - 5:31:45 9. Akari Samata (Japan) - 5:42:38 10. Rachel Hebaus (U.S.A./Hagan SkiMo) - 5:45:02

https://www.launcestonrunningfestival.com.au/news/world-class-runners-to-chase-records-and-50-000-prize-pool-on-june-1 Entry list highlights with PBs: Men Brett Robinson (Australia) - 59:57 Tsubasa Ichiyama (Japan/Sunbelx) - 1:00:22 Kento Baba (Japan/Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:00:26 Andy Buchanan (Australia) - 1:00:28 Teruki Shimada (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:56 Hiroto Kuniyasu (Japan/Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:01:30 Ryuichi Yoshioka - (Japan/Honda Tochigi) - 1:01:38 Jinya Ozaki (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:42 Kento Otsu (Japan/Chuo Hatsujo) - 1:01:43 Ed Goddard (Australia) - 1:02:01 Joel Tobin-White (Australia) - 1:02:03 Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 1:02:10 Liam Adams (Australia) - 1:02:15 Isaac Heyne (Australia) - 1:02:27 Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:02:32 Ryan Gregson (Australia) - 1:03:00 Women Leanne Pompeani (Australia) - 1:09:01 Jess Stenson (Australia) - 1:09:04 Yumi Yoshikawa (Japan) - 1:09:32 Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh (Mongolia) - 1:10:32 Milly Clark (Australia) - 1:10:48 Sa...

  Another busy weekend in Japan and for Japanese athletes racing abroad. On the roads, the biggest thing at home was ASICS' Tokyo:Speed:Race  Wavelight-paced promo event for its new road shoe lineup. After setting a 59:27 NR at the Marugame Half in February, Tomoki Ota (Toyota) added another low-hanging NR fruit to his resume with a 13:30 for 10th in the 5 km. Harbert Kibet (Uganda) took the win in 13:00. Jemal Mekonen (Ethiopia) won the men's 10 km in 27:10, where Kyosuke Hanao (Toyota Kyushu) was the top Japanese man in 28:23, technically also a new NR, but come on. Triathlete Hayden Wilde (New Zealand) was 7th in an excellent 27:39, only to crash on his bike in Tokyo the next day and suffering multiple broken bones and a punctured lung. Marathon NR holder Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) had a mini comeback in the women's 5 km, finishing 13th in 15:48 as the top Japanese finisher. Caroline Nyaga (Kenya) won in a stellar 14:19, with the top 5 all breaking 15 minutes. Joy Chep...

Tuesday's Oda Memorial Meet in Hiroshima was the biggest action of the holiday, with what was probably the biggest result of the day coming in the men's 3000 mSC . With an aggressive middle 1000 m and a last kick for the win, Yutaro Niinae (Aisan Kogyo) solidified his position as Japan's 2nd-best steepler with a career 2nd-best 8:25.43 to beat teammate Philemon Kiplagat by just 0.44. Niinae will represent Japan at next month's Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea. Other meet highlights: Hitomi Nakajima (Hasegawa) and Chisato Kiyoyama (Ichigo) had breakthrough runs in the women's 100 mH final , going 1-2 in all-time Japanese #5 and #6 times of 12.93 and 12.94 (+1.8). 9 of Japan's 10 all-time best have now run their times since 2021. Tatsuki Abe (Juntendo Univ.) took the men's 110 mH final in 13.36 (+1.9). Australian Tess Kisropp-Cole set a meet record 2:02.74 to win the women's 800 m , with Ellie Sanford 2nd in 2:03.05 over 3 seconds ahead of...

The 2025 Asian Athletics Championships take place May 27-31 in Gumi, South Korea, a key chance for Japanese athletes to score points to help get them to September's Tokyo World Championships. Japan's team of 35 women and 36 men for the Asian Championships as of April 25 : Women 100 m Midori Mikase (Sumitomo Denko) - 11.37 Aiha Yamagata (Fukuoka Univ.) - 11.41 200 m Arisa Kimishima (DKS) - 23.16 Remi Tsuruta (Minami Kyushu Family Mart) - 23.17 400 m Nanako Matsumoto (Toho Ginko) - 52.29 800 m Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) - 1.59.93 Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:01.93 1500 m Yume Goto (Uniqlo) - 4:09.41 Tomoka Kimura (Sekisui Kagaku) - 4:09.79 5000 m Yuma Yamamoto (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:12.97 Sora Shinozakura (Yokoyama T&F Assoc.) - 15:23.82 10000 m Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) - 30:39.71 Mikuni Yada (Edion) - 31:20.09 100 mH Mako Fukube (NKK) - 12.69 Yumi Tanaka (Fujitsu) - 12.83 400 mH Ami Yamamoto (Fujitsu) - 56.06 Miku Takino (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 56.81 3000 mSC...

The National University Individual Track and Field Championships has always been the lesser cousin to September's National University Track and Field Championships, but in recent years it has started to see quality performances of its own, and with the reshuffling of the calendar this year to account for the Tokyo World Championships enough top-level collegiate talent came to Hiratsuka, Kanagawa to set 9 new meet records. A breakdown of top performances: Hiroki Yanagita (Toyo Univ.) kicked off his senior year with a solid 10.09 (+1.8) to lead the men's 100 m semifinals, but then sat out the final where his 3rd-year teammate Riku Oishi won in 10.19 (+0.8). Genta Iki (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) had a near-miss on the men's 200 m MR, winning easily in 20.65 (+1.2). The top 3 in the men's 800 m all broke the meet record set last year, with NR holder Ko Ochiai (Komazawa Univ.) winning in 1:45.88, just 0.13 shy of the collegiate record at the very start of his collegiate career...

Two good races happened Sunday at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon . The women's race was a head-to-head race between 2022 marathon world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and debuting Japan-based Janet Nyiva . Side-by-side through 15 km, Nyiva shattered Gebreslase with a massive surge over the last 5 km that ultimately put 52 second between them, Nyiva wining in 1:07:37 and Gebreslase next in 1:08:29. 2023 Asian marathon champion Eunice Chebichii Chumba held off the up-and-coming Kana Kobayashi , a member of Japan's marathon team for September's Tokyo World Championships, with a 1:09:07 for 3rd. Kobayashi's 1:09:09 for 4th was a PB by almost 5 minutes and the fastest time ever on the rolling Gifu course by a Japanese woman. Yumi Yoshikawa was 5th in 1:10:51. Five men went out front on mid-59 pace. Dawit Wolde , debuting Kiprono Sitonik , Vincent Yegon and veteran Bedan Karoki all took turns leading, with only Richard Kimunyan tucking in and declining to share the load. ...

On Apr. 23 the city government of Matsumoto, Nagano announced that it was canceling this fall's Matsumoto Marathon after discovering accounting fraud in the event's operation. "We are going to conduct a review of how the race has been conducted up to now," a statement from the city read. Mayor Yoshinao Gaun apologized at a press conference, saying, "We sincerely apologize for letting down everyone involved in putting the event together." The Matsumoto Marathon is run by an executive committee made up of representatives from the city, the Matsumoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper, and the relevant track and field associations. According to city officials, financial records for the November, 2023 edition of the race were fraudulently manipulated. Income from participants' entry fees was lower than expected, and although the city managed to get the Shinano Mainichi, to which it had outsourced overall event management, to r...

The grand prix distance events were absent from the program this year at the 73rd Hyogo Relay Carnival , with the top performances in the women's 5000 m and men's 10000 m Asics Challenge races going to steepler Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu) in 15:49.48 and Japan-based Kenyan Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) in 28:12.42. But there were a lot of new meet records, and one national record. Ryosuke Kusumi (Shiga) set a T37-class NR of 58.35 m in the para men's 400 m. Kairi Ikeno (Suma Gakuen H.S.) came less than 2 seconds short of a new high school record in the women's 2000 m , beating her own MR from last year by over 3 seconds in 5:55.36, almost 17 seconds ahead of 2nd place. The top 5 all broke or tied the men's high jump meet record, with both Yuto Seko (FAAS) and Tomohiro Shinno (Kyudenko) clearing 2.25 m and Takashi Eto (Kobe Digital Labo), Chao-Hsuan Fu (Taiwan) and Naoto Hasegawa (Niigata Albirex RC) clearing 2.20 m. Yuki Hashioka (Fujitsu) won the men...

Ayumi Morita (Tokyo Metro) won the women's race at Sunday's Nagano Marathon in dominant style, finishing almost 5 minutes ahead of runner-up Chifumi Ito (MRA) in 2:32:58. Hiroki Nagayama (Sumitomo Denko) had a narrower win in the men's race, running down breakaway leader Kiyohito Akiyama (Aichi Seiko) after 35 km to win 2:12:56 to 2:13:27, with last year's winner Kento Nishi  (Osaka Gas) 3rd in 2:15:48. Elsewhere, Sachi Ito (Pacer TC) won the Kasumigaura Marathon in 2:46:38, a 45-minute improvement on her last appearance at Kasumigaura 8 years ago. Yuki Kawauchi (ANDS) won the men's race in 2:19:10. Australian Ciaran Rushton won Kasumigaura's 10-mile race in 49:36 by 4 seconds over Nozomi Sugaya (Komazawa Univ.), with Aya Inden (Takushoku Univ.) winning the women's 10-miler in 59:30. At the Shanghai Half Marathon Aoi Ota (GMO) made his corporate league debut with a 1:03:05, far off the podium in a race that saw top 3 Roncer Kipkorir , Edmond Kip...

On Apr. 14 the Tokai University track and field team and Faculty of Engineering announced that in March they had installed an electronic pacing system at the university's home track at its Shonan campus. The pacing system involved LED lights placed around the edge of the track, which light up sequentially based on the set pace. It is the first time in Japan that this kind of system developed by a domestic manufacturer has been permanently installed at a track. LED pacing systems are used internationally at Diamond League meets and high-level time trial races. Domestically they have been introduced at events like the National Championships 10000 m, Hokuren Distance Challenge and Hachioji Long Distance meets. They have become popular with fans for adding color to the visual presentation of the race and for making it easier to follow the pace of the race. Tokai University began plans to develop and permanently install an electronic pacing system two years ago. The system was develope...

Former Komazawa University captain Mebuki Suzuki (Toyota) and 3-time 10000 m national champion Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) ran through rain that started just before the day's last two events to win the 10000 m national titles Saturday in Kumamoto at the Kanakuri Memorial meet. With Kenyan pacers and Wavelight in action both races were steady time trials that ground the fields down to a few legit contenders. In the men's race that was Suzuki, 2024 national champ Jun Kasai (Asahi Kasei) and Suzuki's teammate Yamato Yoshii . Yoshii made an early move to break away, but Suzuki and Kasai reeled him back in by 7200. At 9000 m the pace had slowed to 24:56, on track for 27:42, but Suzuki attacked with a 61-second lap from 9000 to 9400, a pace he held to drop a 2:32 last 1000 m for the win in 27:28.82. Kasai was next in 27:33.52 and Yoshii 3rd in a 27:36.33 PB with the top 8 all breaking 28 minutes. The women's race was down to just 2021, 2022 and 2023 national champion Hir...