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JRN's 10 Most-Read Stories of 2025


It's been a busy year, and a record-breaking one that kicked off with a Hakone Ekiden CR by Aoyama Gakuin University and ended with a new men's marathon NR from Suguru Osako. JRN's 10-most read stories of 2025:

After fears of hot conditions were used as a justification to move the Tokyo Olympics marathons to Sapporo, concern was high about the conditions at September's Tokyo World Championships. Ultimately, though, it wasn't much of an issue, with longer distance events being moved slightly earlier in the mornings on which they were scheduled.

Australian business owner Matthew Inglis Fox who had come to Japan to run the Osaka Marathon was arrested on suspicion of illegally importing cannabis products. After several months of confinement Fox returned to his home country.

Aoyama Gakuin Breaks Hakone Ekiden CR for Second Year in a Row - Jan. 2/3
2024 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University broke the event's overall course record for the second year in a row, running 10:41:19 for the 10-stage, 217.1 km course. After sitting in 4th at the end of Day One, runner-up Komazawa University outran AGU over the second day of the race, setting a CR of 5:20:50 for the 109.6 km Day Two course thanks in part to a brilliant new Seventh Stage CR by star 3rd-year Keita Sato, but still finished almost 3 minutes behind in 10:44:07. Preview. A post-race review of the Hakone numbers.

Like in Osaka a week earlier, Ethiopians took the top spots in both the men's and women's races at the Tokyo Marathon, Tadese Tekele running a world-leading 2:03:23 and Sutume Asefa Kebede following that with a women's world lead of 2:16:31. Following his breakthrough win at the National Corporate Half Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama cracked the top 10 with a 2:06:00 PB. Tomoki Suzuki and Catherine Debrunner both set CR in the wheelchair races. Original elite field listing. Pre-race preview.

Japan announced a team of 35 women and 36 men for the May 27-31 Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, a key chance for Japanese athletes to score World Rankings points ahead of the qualification deadline for September's Tokyo World Championships.

Ethiopian Yihunlign Adane outkicked the debuting Ryota Kondo by 2 seconds to win the Osaka Marathon in a 2:05:37 CR despite mid-race snow. Abdisa Tola and Kyohei Hosoya also went under 2:06, with Hakone Champ AGU's Asahi Kuroda setting a new collegiate record of 2:06:05 in his debut. Ethiopian women swept the top 3 spots, Waganesh Mekasha winning by 7 seconds in 2:26:33. Preview.

The Asahi Kasei corporate team won an anchor stage battle against 2024 national champion Toyota and 2022-2023 winner Honda to take the 2025 New Year Ekiden national title, its first since 2020. A member of Asahi Kasei's winning lineup, Emmanuel Kiprop Kipruto would be suspended later in the year by World Athletics over a financial conflict with his agent. Preview.

The JAAF named Yuka Ando, Kana Kobayashi and Sayaka Sato as the women's marathon team for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, with Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki as alternate. Ryota Kondo, Naoki Koyama and Yuya Yoshida were picked for the men's team, Kyohei Hosoya controversially picked as alternate over his former Chuo Gakuin University teammate Tsubasa Ichiyama.

The Tokyo Marathon Foundation announced that it would increase entry fees by 20% for Japanese residents and by 43.75% for international entrants for its 2026 edition, bringing the event closer to the other Abbott World Marathon Majors races in costs for participants.

Favorite Sheila Chepkirui had no problem winning the Nagoya Women's Marathon, running 2:20:40 with a long push from 30 km. Sayaka Sato ran a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd that ended up being the fastest Japanese women's time of the year, enough to get her onto Japan's team for the Tokyo World Championships. Original elite field listing. Pre-race preview.

© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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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...
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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...
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Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
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