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

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...

japan running news

Search This Blog