Post-Hakone Aoyama Gakuin Half Marathon Action

In our post-Hakone Ekiden analysis of this year's record-breaking race we wrote that winner Aoyama Gakuin University head coach Susumu Hara excels at developing depth of quality and can usually fill gaps caused by graduation. It's a sign of how much depth he has that his B- and C-squad runners occupied podium places at two fast half marathons just a week after Hakone.

The Takanezawa Genki-Up Half Marathon in Tochigi is the usual destination for AGU benchwarmers and has seen some breakthrough performances from future A-squad stars. Local independent Ryuichi Yoshioka got the win in 1:03:00, but AGU runners took the next 6 spots, all under 1:03:40, led by Riku Anjima and Daiki Sasaki in 1:03:04 and 1:03:06. And they weren't even the fastest AGU people in action.

At the rebranded Tokyo New Year Half Marathon, previously the Hi-Tech Half, Kaito Nakamura and Kyosuke Hiramatsu went head-to-head with former 10000 m NR holder Kota Murayama from the GMO corporate team. Murayama, who announced that he will retire after running next month's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, got the win in a photo finish with Nakamura, both clocking 1:02:46. Hiramatsu was close behind in 1:02:49 for 3rd, with Toyo University's Koha Kuramoto 4th in 1:02:57 and independent Yudai Fukuda 5th in 1:02:58.

AGU is losing 6 of the 10 members of its Hakone-winning squad including 3 of its very best, but as the results here show there's plenty more coming down the pipeline, including Zen Kuroda, younger brother of Second Stage CR-breaker Asahi Kuroda, 6th in Takezawa in 1:03:16. It still won't be easy for Komazawa University and the other top-end competition to take AGU down come Jan. 2-3 next year.

Takanezawa Genki-Up Half Marathon

Takanezawa, Tochigi, 12 Jan. 2024

1. Ryuichi Yoshioka (Honda Tochigi) - 1:03:00

2. Riku Anjima (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:04

3. Daiki Sasaki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:06

4. Aito Sato (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:09

5. Taisei Endo (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:13

6. Zen Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:16

7. Kaito Iida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:38

8. Shumon Rohomon (Tokai Univ.) - 1:04:02

9. Junpei Nakano (Tokai Univ.) - 1:04:12

10. Shunto Hamakawa (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:23

Tokyo New Year Half Marathon

Kita-ku, Tokyo, 12 Jan. 2024

1. Kota Murayama (GMO) - 1:02:46

2. Kaito Nakamura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:46

3. Kyosuke Hiramatsu (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:49

4. Koha Kuramoto (Toyo Univ.) - 1:02:57

5. Yudai Fukuda (Ishikawa T&F Assoc.) - 1:02:58

6. Chihiro Ono (GMO) - 1:03:09

7. Shuto Sugiura (Tokai Univ.) - 1:03:12

8. Shusei Ohashi (Kodaira T&F Assoc.) - 1:03:16

9. Kotaro Ito (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:18

10. Hibiki Sawanaka (Hosei Univ.) - 1:03:19

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview

The Nagoya Women's Marathon , the world's largest women-only marathon and the last race in the selection cycle for September's Tokyo World Championships, happens Sunday. Weather conditions are looking better than what they had in Tokyo and Osaka the last two weekends, 7˚ at the start and rising to 12˚ with sunny skies. The wind looks a bit stronger than ideal, but it could be worse. Fuji TV has the live broadcast starting at 9:00 a.m. Sunday local time, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch the TVer streaming . One option for a leaderboard is here , and another here . We'll have some coverage on @JRNLive . Just like last time around there are three Ethiopian and Kenyan-born athletes at the top list, this time it being sub-2:20 women Sheila Chepkirui , winner in NYC last year, and Ruti Aga , winner in Xiamen in January, and last year's Nagoya runner-up Eunice Chebichii Chumba . But last year Yuka Ando still pulled off the win, so there's a c...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

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