japan running news

by Brett Larner

Sunday's Chicago Marathon saw the men go out unusually slowly.  Three Japanese men, Takuya Fukatsu (Team Asahi Kasei), Koji Gokaya (Team JR Higashi Nihon) and Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei) were in the top ten until late in the race, Fukatsu and Gokaya leading at halfway and Fukatsu, a graduate of Komazawa University, still in the top spot at 30 km.  When the move came they were left behind as two-time world champion Abel Kirui (Kenya) took the win in 2:11:23, Fukatsu ultimately finishing 7th in 2:13:53 and Gokaya 9th in 2:14:34.  Fukatsu's placing was the best so far by a Japanese man in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series X, although his time was nearly 3 minutes slower than that of Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) two weeks ago in Berlin.

The women's race was more what you would expect, the pace hot on high 2:20 / low 2:21 track throughout the race.  Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) held steady at that rate to win by almost 2 minutes in 2:21:32 ov…

by Brett Larner

Daegu World Championships marathon silver medalist Vincent Kipruto and Diane Chepkemoi made it a Kenyan double at the Aug. 31 Lille International Half Marathon, winning close men's and women's races in 1:00:39 and 1:10:14. After a slow opening 5 km, Kipruto, Philemon Rono Cherop (Kenya), Habtamu Assefa (Ethiopia) and a handful of others stepped up the pace, grinding the pack down over the middle stages of the race until only three remained.  Halfway through the second lap of the two-loop course Kipruto and Cherop shook free of Assefa, running side by side all the way to a sprint finish that saw Kipruto, this year's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon winner, take the title in a lean across the line. Assefa faded over the final quarter of the race but held on to 3rd in 1:01:05. Four top-placing Japanese men from March's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships also raced Lille with support from JRN, Muryo Takase (Team Nissin Shokuhin) finishing first in…

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20130210/ath13021015250001-n1.html
http://www.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga_sports.0.2395607.article.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

2009 double 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) easily won the Feb. 10 Karatsu 10-Mile Road Race in Karatsu, Saga, beating Kenyan sub-60 half marathoner Mekubo Mogusu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) while looking relaxed and fresh. Indifferently evaluating his winning time of 46:56, Ueno said, "I just ran at the pace I had planned." A member of the historic S&B corporate team set to disband at the end of March, Ueno will run his final race in the S&B uniform at the Mar. 17 National Corporate Half Marathon Championships in Yamaguchi. He called his performance in Karatsu "just a training run" for the half, looking confident as he said, "I'm in the middle of doing really hard training, so the time I ran today says I should do great in the half too."

Keiko Nog…