Yamaguchi Wins Setagaya 246 Half, Orita Takes Miyako

It's the point in the season where Hakone Ekiden-bound university coaches are farming out their squads to half marathons to sort through the contenders to make their 16-runner Hakone entry rosters. Next weekend's Ageo City Half Marathon is the biggest of them, but two key races happened today. In rainy conditions at the Setagaya 246 Half in Tokyo, Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) won a sprint finish against sub-60 man Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon), Kuira overtaking Yamaguchi after Yamaguchi had pulled away over the last km but Yamaguchi fighting back on the track. Both clocked 1:01:46, but Yamaguchi succeeded in snagging the win away from Kuira right before the line.

In 3rd, Aito Sato led a massive group from 2025 Hakone champ Aoyama Gakuin University with a PB of 1:01:57 for 3rd. 5 other AGU runner were under 63 minutes, all but one breaking 62:30 and most in PBs, with Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.), 8th in 1:02:28, and Yota Aoteki (Hosei Univ.), 10th in 1:02:46 breaking up AGU's control of the rest of the top 10. Former Nitori member Kaede Okajima (Kanto RC) won the women's race in 1:18:07, with 50-year-old Junko Ganbara running an excellent 1:20:09 for 3rd.

AGU's Sota Orita, 13:28.78 for 5000 m in high school, was at the Miyako Salmon Half in Iwate for his half marathon debut instead of Setagaya. Orita soloed a 1:02:51 for the win, opening up 9 seconds on Kosei Niitani from National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University, 2nd in a PB of 1:03:00. Also debuting, AGU's Ao Funakoshi ran 1:03:02 for 3rd. The duel between AGU and Komazawa was a preview of what is probably to come at Hakone less than 2 months from now.

Atsumi Nagashima (Saysky) won the women's race in Miyako in 1:25:15.

20th Setagaya 246 Half Marathon

Tokyo, 9 Nov. 2025

complete results

Women

1. Kaede Okajima (Kanto RC) - 1:18:07

2. Remi Tanaka (Hiratsuka T&F Assoc.) - 1:19:01

3. Junko Ganbara (Kasai Runners) - 1:20:09

Men

1. Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) - 1:01:46

2. Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:01:46

3. Aito Sato (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:57 - PB

4. Kyosuke Hiramatsu (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:04 - PB

5. Kaito Nakamura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:08 - PB

6. Kenta Torii (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB

7. Keito Kumai (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:25 - PB

8. Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.) - 1:02:28 - PB

9. Ibuki Sugiyama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:32 - debut

10. Yota Aoteki (Hosei Univ.) - 1:02:46 - PB

39th Miyako Salmon Half Marathon

Miyako, Iwate, 9 Nov. 2025

complete results

Women

1. Atsumi Nakashima (Saysky) - 1:25:01

2. Norie Kamamachi (unattached) - 1:27:59

3. Kako Washizu (Tohoku Univ.) - 1:28:26

Men

1. Sota Orita (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:51 - debut

2. Kosei Niitani (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:00 - PB

3. Ao Funakoshi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:02 - debut

4. Ryosuke Kamimura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:05 - debut

5. Hijiri Komatsu (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:27 - debut

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

Kawauchi Wins Inaugural Kawauchi Half Marathon

http://www.minyu-net.com/sports/running/FM20160501-070419.php translated by Brett Larner 川内優輝ロード pic.twitter.com/rEJk7CQPFV — みとっぽ (黒) (@mitoppo_tmyk) April 30, 2016 Yuki Kawauchi Road in Kawauchi, Fukushima Held to inspire former residents to return to the area after the nearby TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident five years ago, the village of Kawauchi held the first " Kawauchi no Sato Kaeru Half Marathon - From Reconstruction to Creation " on April 30. The course started and finished at the village heliport. 1188 runners from across the country gathered to celebrate the village's revival as they ran through its springtime streets. The event's organizing committee was made up of local government and board of education members with support from the Fukushima Minyu Newspaper and other sponsors. The race's purpose was to transmit the vitality and charm of the reconstructing Kawauchi village to the rest of the nation in hopes of helpin...

A Record-Breaking 22 High School Boys Under 14 Minutes for 5000 m This Season

As we saw with multiple national records at last Friday's long distance National Championships , the Japanese distance world keeps getting faster and faster. High school athletes are no exception. Breaking 14 minutes for 5000 m is the gold standard for a top-level high school runner. This season 22 boys have done it not including foreign student athletes, almost double the previous record for a single season, 12 in 2010. In 2010, Kenta Murayama , now part of the Asahi Kasei corporate team but then running for Miyagi's Meisei H.S., was the fastest high schooler at 13:49.45. Future Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura ran 13:50.38 that year while at Iga Hakuho H.S. Since then the number of boys under 14 minutes has held steady, with 10 in 2015, 10 in 2016 and 11 in 2019, showing how exceptional this season's number is. Leading this new generation is Tokyo Nogyo Daini H.S. 3rd-year Kosuke Ishida . While at Fukuoka's Asakawa J.H.S. Ishida ran 3:49.72 for 1...

japan running news

Search This Blog