Retirement Season

Paris Olympics marathon team alternate Ai Hosoda and Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura both announced their retirements recently, but with the fiscal year ending in March there have been a raft of other retirements hitting the Japanese news in the last couple of weeks. Some of them:

Former women-only marathon NR holder Mao Ichiyama, 28, announced that she is retiring and leaving the Shiseido corporate team after a couple of dull seasons following her making the Paris Olympics team. Ichiyama's husband Kengo Suzuki, the former men's marathon NR holder, left the Fujitsu corporate team last fall to go it solo.
Kento Otsu, 34, announced he is quitting the Chuo Hatsujo team to retire and take a position on the Rikkyo University coaching staff after next month's Tokyo Marathon. Otsu helped Toyo University take the overall win at the 2012 and 2014 Hakone Ekidens, winning his stages in both races and named MVP of the 2014 Hakone for his role in helping Toyo take the overall title.
Kenta Murayama, 32, retired after last weekend's Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon. The U18 10000 m NR holder and until last month the fastest-ever Japanese half marathoner on U.S. soil, Murayama ran the 2013 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon while at Komazawa University along with Otsu.
Takuya Fujikawa, 33, retired from Chugoku Denryoku and the sport after the Marugame Half Marathon 2 weeks ago. A member of Sera H.S.' winning team at the 2009 National High School Ekiden, Fujikawa was captain at Aoyama Gakuin University when it won its first Hakone Ekiden title his senior year.
Kenji Yamamoto, 36, made a post-facto announcement that he was leaving Mazda and the sport after having run last weekend's National Corporate Half Marathon. Yamamoto was another member of Toyo University's 2012 Hakone Ekiden champion team and competed in both the Tokyo Olympics and Paris Olympics marathon trials races.
Ryo Kuchimachi, 31, will retire from competition and Subaru after Sunday's Ome 30 km Road Race. Kuchimachi won his stages at both the Izumo and National University ekidens in 2015, named MVP at Nationals for helping Toyo University claim its first national title.
Kazuma Taira, 31, is retiring from the Kao team and competition after the Tokyo Marathon. A stage winner at the National High School Ekiden, Taira was teammates with marathon NR holder Suguru Osako at Waseda University, his biggest achievement there being a 2nd-place finish on the Third Stage at the 2017 Hakone Ekiden.
Fuminori Shimo, 29, is leaving the sport and Toyota Boshoku after this weekend's Umashikuni Mie Ekiden. His 2nd year at Iga Hakuho H.S. Shimo won the Sixth Stage at the National High School Ekiden, coming back the next year to win the 10.0 km First Stage. Shimo went on to success at Komazawa University and Fujitsu before relocating to Toyota Boshoku in 2022.
4 members of the Nishitetsu corporate team will leave at the end of March, the most prominent among them being yet another member of Toyo University's 2012 and 2014 Hakone champ teams, Keita Shitara, 34, twin brother of former marathon and half marathon NR holder Yuta Shitara who also runs for Nishitetsu. Keita's plans after leaving the team are unclear.

Kobe Marathon Elite Field

Sunday's Kobe Marathon has announced its elite fields, finally. Japanese athletes have a shot at qualifying for next fall's MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, if they go sub-2:27 for the first Japanese woman across the line or sub-2:09 for the first 3 Japanese men to do it. There aren't a lot of contenders to pull it off. On the women's side, Kaede Hagitani , Ayaka Shimoyamada and Kotomi Tsubokura all ran 2:31-32 PBs in the spring and will need to step it up a couple of notches to get there. 2:23 Kenyan Antonina Kwambai is perfectly positioned to help. On the men's side, Keijiro Mogi is closest with a 2:09:06 at last year's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Hiroto Kanamori his closest domestic competition with a 2:10:01 PB in Osaka in February. The international trio of last year's winner Barnaba Kipkoech , Elisha Rotich and Goitom Kifle all have recent 2:06-7 times and should help set it up for someone to get there, wh...

Kenyan Graduate Student Athlete Posts Job Hunt for Ekiden Team on Twitter

A Kenyan runner who had tried to help lead his team to the Hakone Ekiden has taken an unusual approach to finding a post-graduation sponsor. Last week Patrick Kamau posted his job hunt on his Twitter account , saying, "I am looking for a club team or a corporate team where I can run in ekidens. I would be happy to run for any team that gave me a chance. I would be grateful for any opportunity and take it on with a positive attitude!" Kamau was 5th at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race half marathon in 1:01:10 last year during his 4th year at Jobu University . But despite his efforts, Jobu never qualified for Hakone during his 4 years there. He is currently working on a graduate degree while looking for "a team that will let me continue my competitive career." Fans responded to Kamau's job search posting, saying, "I hope it works out for you!" "Good luck comes to those who work hard" and "Kamau is going to graduate school? Given...

Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field (updated)

Another big race on the MGC qualifying calendar has posted its elite fields, the Dec. 6 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . It looks like a good race for the single MGC spot up for women under 2:27, and the 6 spots for men sub-2:09. Yuka Ando is the favorite in the women's race with a 2:21:18 in Nagoya 2 years ago, with her only real competition coming from Ayumi Morita , who broke 2:27 in Hofu last year but missed qualifying by not being the first Japanese woman across the line. CR holder Workneh Derese is back after his 2:06:58 win last year, leading Kenyan veteran Bedan Karoki and 4 Japanese men with a solid chance at sub-2:09, Tatsuya Maruyama , Ryoma Takeuchi , Shuho Dairokuno and Kento Nishi . Takeuchi set his 2:08:20 PB at Gold Coast in July, and Dairokuno is fresh off a great run at the final Kyushu Corporate Ekiden. Masatoshi Sakata , Yota Ifuku , Madoka Tanihara and Daiji Kawai have both come close to sub-2:09 in recent races and could factor in. 57th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite...

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