Honda and Okamoto Break NR, Nonaka and Murayama Take XC Medals

Honda and Okamoto Break NR, Nonaka and Murayama Take XC Medals - Weekend Update

We've been in transit back from NYC, where Komazawa University 2nd-year Shunsuke Kuwata turned in the fastest-ever half marathon by a Japanese man outside Japan, and are catching up on a busy weekend in Japan and elsewhere.

Saturday saw 2 new records and 2 international medals. At the rebranded Fukuoka Ohori Road Running race, Ojiro Honda (Tottori Johoku H.S.) took 1 second off the NR in the men's road mile, coming up just short of a sub-4 in 4:00.2. Laura Nicholson (Ireland) won the women's mile in 4:44 by 3 seconds over Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu).

Caroline Kariba (Japan Post) had a big win in the women's 5 km, outrunning the more accomplished Medina Eisa (Ethiopia) and Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) to win in 15:15 with Medina 2nd in 15:20 and Akidor 3rd in 15:33. Marathoner Mao Uesugi (Tokyo Metro) was the top Japanese finisher at 4th in 16:11. Kio Furuhashi (Surugadai Univ.) took the men's 5 km in 13:45 by 2 seconds over steepler Ryoma Aoki (Honda), 2nd in 13:47 after doubling in the mile with a 4:03.0 for 3rd.

No Japanese athletes won individual medals at the IAU 50 km World Championships in New Delhi, India, but Haruki Okayama (Comodi Iida) came through with a 2:50:44 for 8th in the men's race, breaking the Asian area record behind winner Alex Milne (Great Britain), 1st in 2:46:09 to lead a British sweep of the top 6. 100 km NR holder Jumpei Yamaguchi was 23rd in 3:07:28 and Hiroki Kai 29th in 3:16:42 to put Japan 6th in the team scoring.

Hina Shiozaki led the Japanese women at 10th in 3:27:41, Mai Fujisawa and Haruna Takano going 13-14 in 3:34:32 and 3:35:50 to land the team bronze for Japan. A 1-2 finish by Naomi Robinson and Katrina Ballantyne gave Great Britain the women's team gold to go along the men's, Poland taking silver.

There were 2 individual medals for Japan at the FISU World University Cross Country Championships in Cassino, Italy on Saturday. Hiromichi Nonaka (Koku Gakuin Univ.) dueled with Ugandans Elisha Yeko and Solomon Cherotwo in the men's long race. Yeko won out in 30:27, with Nonaka holding off Cherotwo by 4 seconds to take silver in 30:36. Sota Orita (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was 9th in 31:16.

In the women's long race Amisa Murayama (Tohoku Fukushi Univ.) took bronze in 35:41 behind gold medalist Lucia Arnoldo (Italy), 35:20, and silver medalist Nursena Ceto (Turkey), 35:35. Haruka Ogawa (Rikkyo Univ.) was 9th in 36:44.

Other university women were in action at the Matsue Ladies' Half Marathon on Sunday, the host of the National University Women's Half Marathon Championships. Yumi Yamada (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) broke free of a pack of 10 in the last 5 km to win in 1:11:26, with Momoka Tsutano (Daito Bunka Univ.) 2nd in 1:11:59 and Sakura Yumiki (Ritsumeikan Univ.) 3rd in 1:12:03. Collegiate athletes took the top 6 places, corporate leaguer Kurumi Yoda (Panasonic) coming in 7th in 1:12:31.

After a 2:07:39 PB for 8th by Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) last year, the Seoul Marathon continues to grow as another option on the late winter calendar for Japanese marathoners. This time around Daisuke Uekado (Otsuka Seiyaku), already qualified for the 2027 L.A. Olympics marathon trials after winning August's Hokkaido Marathon in 2:11:36, was 12th in 2:09:03 after holding 2:06 pace through 25 km. Kensuke Horio (MABP Maverick) had to hit the 2:06:30 time standard in Seoul to qualify, but like Uekado he fell off that pace after 25 km and finished 15th in 2:10:01.

After a 2:34:41 PB at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in January and a 2:37:39 CR 3 weeks later to win the Kyoto Marathon, Miyu Fukada (Ritsumeikan Univ.) ran an evenly-paced race for 13th in Seoul, coming just short of her PB in 2:35:00.

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...

Kuwata Runs Fastest-Ever Half Marathon by Japanese Man Outside Japan at United Airlines NYC Half

When the NYRR changed the United Airlines NYC Half course back in 2018 to more or less its current Boston-style hilly one-way version it seemed like it had been repurposed from a fast course to something more tactical. That went out the window last year with new course records of 59:09 and 1:07:04 from Abel Kipchumba and Sharon Lokedi , and this year's results backed that up. Hellen Obiri ground Lokedi down and took over 30 seconds off her CR, winning in 1:06:33 with Lokedi only 6 seconds off what she ran in 2025 but a distant 2nd in 1:07:10. British road 10 km NR holder Megan Keith rolled up hard late in the race to finish 3rd in 1:07:13 less than 10 seconds off old CR too. The men's race saw a big group of 18 attack the hilly first half on sub-59 pace, American Joe Klecker leading through 5 km in 13:57 and Houston Marathon winner Zouhair Talbi through 10 km in 27:56. Right up in it was Shunsuke Kuwata , a 20-year-old 2nd-year at 2025 National University Ekiden champ Koma...

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...

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