NR Attempt at Marugame, Hirabayashi at Beppu-Oita

NR Attempt at Marugame, Hirabayashi at Beppu-Oita - Weekend Preview

Japan's two big races this weekend both have a lot of excitement around them, but cold rain threatens to hold back the quality of performances people are hoping for.

At the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon there are 19 men with times in the 58-60 minute range within the last 3 years, and among them sometime training partners Tomoki Ota and Kotaro Shinohara, 1:00:08 and 1:00:11 in Marugame 2 years ago, will be taking a serious shot at the 1:00:00 Japanese national record. Shinohara told JRN that he is targeting 59:45, and that Ota is his only real competition to get the NR. The rain forecast looks light with headwinds in the first half and tailwinds on the return trip, so between that and a front group including Alexander Mutiso, Cleophas Kandie, Bedan Karoki and Emmanuel Maru it's possible one of them, or someone else, will turn in Japan's first sub-60.

The women's race features Dolphine Omare, Pauline Kamulu and Dominique Scott in the 66-67 minute range, with Japan's top talent being Rika Kaseda, 1:08:11, and debuting sub-31 track 10000 m runner Haruka Kokai. BS Fuji has the live TV broadcast starting at 10:30 a.m. local time, but it doesn't look to be available on TVer at this point. JRN will be on-site in Marugame.

Across the water, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon has a pretty interesting race lined up. After running 2:06:18 to win last year's Osaka Marathon in his debut, Koku Gakuin University ekiden captain Kiyoto Hirabayashi has chosen Beppu-Oita for his follow up. It's a lower-key choice that his coach Yasuhiro Maeda said was made in order to keep the pressure down. The only faster runner in the field, Kenyan Vincent Kipchumba, last finished a marathon at London 2021 when he ran his PB of 2:04:28, so Hirabayashi's main competition will probably be 2:06:57 man Shohei Otsuka, and maybe last year's winner Derese Workneh or fellow Ethiopian Tesfahun Akalnew if things go a little slower.

Other collegiate runners making their debuts including KGU's Goki Takayama and a duo from 2025 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University could also be factors, especially given AGU's recent history of success at Beppu-Oita. Cold rain is in the forecast, and given how thin Hirabayashi is that would seem to work against him, but he excelled in exactly the same kind of conditions in Osaka last year. TBS is broadcasting Beppu-Oita live at 11:50 a.m., with streaming on the Youtube link above.

Another good half with a lot of collegiate runners, the Kanagawa Half Marathon also happens Sunday in Yokohama. No field listing is available at this point, but with a flat course and always a solid collegiate field it's usually a fast race.

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. Update: On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner

East Japan Corporate Ekiden English Commentary

For the time being I'll be using this post for English commentary on today's East Japan Jitsugyodan Ekiden Championships. Reload article to see updates. Race broadcast starts at 1:55 p.m. Japan time. Click here to watch TBS' broadcast online.

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