Kipyegon and Yamaguchi Win Kanto Regionals D1 and D2 Half Marathon Titles

The men's half marathon component of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships relocated this year away from the main part of the meet in May to be held as part of the Yaizu Minato Half Marathon in Shizuoka, a longstanding part of the collegiate half marathon calendar with its Pair Marathon team competition.

At Kanto Regionals D1 and D2 teams are usually split into 2 separate starts with a time stagger and run on a loop course. This time around they started together, giving people who wouldn't usually be racing together the chance to go head-to-head. Soka University 3rd-year Shoki Yamaguchi was the only one to try to go with Yamanashi Gakuin University 4th-year Brian Kipyegon, both hitting 5 km in 14:28 before Kipyegon said goodbye.

Kipyegon rolled on solo to take the D1 title in 1:01:23, just 9 seconds off his own meet record on a different course. Yamaguchi hung on well enough for 1st in the D2 field in 1:02:55, runner-up Kuranosuke Yoshida of last year's Izumo Ekiden winner Koku Gakuin University closing on him after 10 km but coming up short in 1:03:17. Teikyo University 4th-year Yuta Asakawa was 3rd in 1:03:25, with Daisuke Sato of Chuo University and Junpei Nakano of Tokai University taking 2nd and 3rd in the D1 race in 1:03:50 and 1:03:54.

YGU 4th-year Tsubasa Hirai was 5th in 1:04:07, together with Kipyegon giving them the team title in 2:05:30. Soka was 2nd in 2:06:40 off Yamaguchi and a solid D2 5th-place run by 4th-year Yuta Kinugawa in 1:03:45. KGU was 3rd in 2:07:15 thanks to Yoshida and 2nd-year Kenshin Noda, 6th in 1:03:58.

105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships

Men's Half Marathon

Yaizu, Shizuoka, 5 April, 2026

complete results

D1 Men

1. Brian Kipyegon (4th yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:23

2. Daisuke Sato (3rd yr., Chuo Univ.) - 1:03:50

3. Junpei Nakano (3rd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 1:03:54

4. Atsuyuki Kodaira (4th yr., Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:56

5. Tsubasa Hirai (4th yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:07

6. Yuto Kobayashi (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 1:04:17

7. Yuki Kani (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 1:04:25

8. Shitaka Kumai (4th yr., Josai Univ.) - 1:04:32

9. Tatsuya Furukawa (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 1:04:54

10. Gensuke Sema (3rd yr., Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:00

D2 Men

1. Shoki Yamaguchi (3rd yr., Soka Univ.) - 1:02:55

2. Kuranosuke Yoshida (4th yr., Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:17

3. Yuta Asakawa (4th yr., Teikyo Univ.) - 1:03:25

4. Kenta Torii (4th yr., Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:32

5. Yuta Kinugawa (2nd yr., Soka Univ.) - 1:03:45

6. Kenshin Noda (2nd yr., Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:58

7. Kosei Niitani (4th yr., Komazawa Univ.) - 1:04:06

8. Ryoga Mihara (4th yr., Kanagawa Univ.) - 1:04:41

9. Sho Fukutomi (3rd yr., Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:46

10. Rintaro Enoki (3rd yr., Soka Univ.) - 1:05:05

Pair Marathon Team Scoring

1. Yamanashi Gakuin University - 2:05:30

2. Soka University - 2:06:40

3. Koku Gakuin University - 2:07:15

4. Aoyama Gakuin University - 2:08:18

5. Tokai University - 2:08:19

6. Waseda University - 2:08:56

7. Teikyo University - 2:09:03

8. Juntendo University - 2:09:11

9. Chuo University - 2:09:22

10. Josai University - 2:09:54

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

Akasaki 2nd, Maeda 9th - Berlin Marathon Japanese Results

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Even with a few withdrawals there was a massive group of Japanese athletes at the Berlin Marathon this year, most of the group that typically goes to the Chicago Marathon seeming to opt for Berlin instead. With men's winner Sebastian Sawe taking a shot at the world record, Akira Akasaki , Yuhei Urano and NR holder Kengo Suzuki sat back in a 3rd group targeting the JAAF's 2:06:30 standard for 2028 Olympic marathon trials qualification. The group held steady on that pace, quickly passing and leaving behind Hakone fan favorite Aoi Ota , who went out with a 14:26 opening 5 km only to finish in 2:14:02. Suzuki dropped off, but Akasaki and Urano were together through 30 km until Urano did the same. The top Japanese finisher in the Paris Olympics last year, from there Akasaki had what had to have been an incredibly fun last 12 km, picking faster people off one by one as he rolled on. Ultimately he made it all the way up to 2nd in a 2:06:15 PB. ...

Watching Japanese Race Broadcasts Online

One option for watching Japanese races online from overseas is Keyhole TV . The quality and reliability of the streaming varies, but it is usually at least watchable. A paid premium key usually results in significantly better quality. Go here or here to get the Keyhole TV player, or just Google it to find up-to-date sites offering it. If you have downloaded Keyhole before, make sure you have the most recent version of the player for optimal performance. Another option that looks promising is http://www.jpplayer.com/ This also looks good but takes time to set up so might be a better long-term option: http://www.nihonnamaterebi.com/ A list of these and other options: http://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73546 This site sometimes has some channels not available elsewhere. JRN also offers live English race commentary for some races via Twitter @JRNLive . To use Keyhole, once you have downloaded, installed and o...

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