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Showing posts with the label Akinori Shibutani

Berlin Marathon - Results (updated with photos)

all photos (c) 2010 Thomas Jung
all rights reserved
photos courtesy of Dr. Helmut Winter

Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya)

Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda)

Fujiwara in no-man's land.

Akinori Shibutani (Team Kurosaki Harima)









2010 Berlin Marathon
click here for complete results
Men
1. Patrick Makau (KEN) - 2:05:08
2. Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) - 2:05:10
3. Bazu Worku (ETH) - 2:05:25 - PB
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9. Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) - 2:12:00
22. Akinori Shibutani (Team Kurosaki Harima) - 2:22:09

Women
1. Aberu Kebede (ETH) - 2:23:58
2. Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) - 2:24:58
3. Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) - 2:26:10
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Fujiwara Aiming for 2:06 in Berlin as Fall Marathon Season Gets Underway

by Brett Larner

This weekend marks the real beginning of the fall marathon season. With no major domestic women's marathon on the fall calendar and a relatively wide window in which to qualify for next summer's World Championships, a larger than usual number of Japanese marathoners are lining up overseas.

First and foremost, 2010 Tokyo Marathon winner Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) will be running tomorrow's Berlin Marathon as he aims to fulfill his post-Tokyo promise of delivering Japan its fourth 2:06. Fujiwara holds the Japanese collegiate and debut marathon records thanks to his 2:08:12 run at the 2003 Biwako Mainichi Marathon. For the next six years he suffered a continuous series of overtraining-induced injuries, but his Tokyo win signals that he is back to full capactiy. Fujiwara's coaches Kiyoshi Akimoto and Yosuke Osawa told JRN that he plans to go through halfway in 1:03:15 and then if all goes well to take a shot at the Japanese national record of 2:06:16. Als…
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Arata Fujiwara Evaluates the 2010 Tokyo Marathon

interview by Brett Larner

Running in miserable conditions this past Sunday, 2:08 marathoner Arata Fujiwara of Team JR Higashi Nihon came 2nd at the Tokyo Marathon for the second time in his career. The next day, a badly limping Fujiwara generously met with JRN at a favorite bar of his to talk about the race, what went wrong and right, his training and the future. Some highlights of the interview are included below. Click here to read the complete interview.

Congratulations on your first marathon in the 2:10’s.
(laughs) Thanks, yeah, I broke through the wall. This time I was more focused on peaking properly than on getting my body stronger. My training this year was solid and consistent, but rather than saying, “I need more stamina, so let’s work on that,” or, “I don’t have enough speed so I need more speedwork,” I focused on keeping an overall good feeling and peaking properly.

When you got up yesterday and saw the weather what changed in your plans?
I didn’t have much time to get ready fo…
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Shibutani Wins 40th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

by Brett Larner

Veteran Akinori Shibutani (Team Yanagawa Seiki) came within steps of breaking his nearly 10 year-old PB on Dec. 20 as he scored his first-ever win at the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, taking the 40th anniversary edition of the race in 2:13:58. Following the departure of pacemaker Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) at 25 km after a 1:06:38 first half Shibutani emerged from the pack to first edge and then cruise away to victory. It was a major triumph for Shibutani, a former teammate of national record holder Toshinari Takaoka at Team Kanebo, who found a position with the minor-league Team Yanagawa Seiki after losing his place on the Kanebo lineup several years ago. For his win Shibutani picks up an invitation to the 2010 Berlin Marathon.

2003 Fukuoka International Marathon winner and Athens Olympian Tomoaki Kunichika (Team S&B) initially remained behind in the pack when Shibutani broke away and was followed by Fumiyuki Watanabe (Team Asahi Kasei) and 2009 Copenhagen Marathon winner T…
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2:07 Man Kunichika Headlines 40th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

by Brett Larner

The last competitive marathon of the year takes place this Sunday, Dec. 20 in Hofu, Yamaguchi at the 40th anniversary Hofu Yomiuri Marathon. Long one of Japan's second-tier elite marathons, Hofu is a place where younger pros come to debut and older veterans go for one more win. The occasional first-rate race results, as in Ethiopian Hailu Negussie's course record 2:08:16 battle against future Olympic team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) in 2002.

Like other elite marathons on the Japanese circuit Hofu has struggled to adapt to changes in the marathoning environment, particularly those brought on by the rise of the Tokyo Marathon. Where venerable races like the Biwako Mainichi Marathon and Beppu-Oita Marathon have redesigned their courses in the last year to improve their appeal as fast races and taken other steps to improve their image, Hofu has embraced the amateur. Beginning with this year's 40th anniversary race Hofu has relaxed its qualificatio…
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Kentaro Ito Scores Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Win

by Brett Larner

Kentaro Ito of Team Kyowa Hakko Bio outlasted an international cast of rivals at the 39th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon on Dec. 21, running 2:16:01 in stormy conditions to score his first win in the race where he set his PB back in 2001.

2008 Asian Marathon Champion Koichiro Fukuoka (Team Mitsubishi Juko) ran as the designated pacemaker, taking the lead pack of 22 through 5 km in 15:42. Just before 10 km, 2008 Beijing Olympics Test Marathon winner Batochir Serod (Mongolia) lost patience and set off on his own, reaching 10 km in 31:14, 7 seconds ahead of Fukuoka and the pack. At 15 km he was 44 seconds up in 46:26, and at 20 km was 1:06 ahead in 1:01:54. Halfway came for Serod in 1:05:16, well ahead of the pace he ran in his 2:14:15 PB win in Beijing. Fukuoka brought the pack, now down to 11, through the half in 1:06:26.

Fukuoka bowed out after reaching 25 km in 1:18:51, at which point only 7 runners remained in pursuit of Serod who was all but invisible and now 1:37 ahead. Serod …
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Nakamori Looks For Second Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Win

by Brett Larner

2007 winner Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) returns to defend his title as the favorite in the 2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon field. Hofu is part of Japan's elite men's marathon circuit. A 2nd-tier competition following shortly after the 1st-tier Fukuoka International Marathon, Hofu is a development race for young marathoners but has nevertheless attracted the likes of Ethiopian greats Turbo Tumo and Hailu Neggusie, the latter of whom set the course record of 2:08:16 in a battle against future World Championships and Olympic marathon team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) in 2002.

Nakamori, who races sockless, won last year's Hofu in 2:15:40 after overtaking and then dropping Mitsuru Irifune (Team Kanebo) in the final kilometers despite severe blistering on his feet. His strongest competition includes Batochir Serod (Mongolia), who set his PB of 2:14:15 earlier this year in Beijing, along with Japanese runners Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon)…
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Nakamori Wins Hofu Yomiuri Marathon (updated)

http://4ch.kry.co.jp/tv/marathon_2007/

by Brett Larner

*Updated 12/11/07 with links to photos and many more detailed articles in Japanese.

Kazuya Nakamori of Team Otsuka Seiyaku ran 2:15:40 to win the 2007 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon yesterday, coming from behind in the final kilometer to stage an upset over breakaway leader Mitsuru Irifune of Team Kanebo.

An early pack of 24 led by Team Toyota`s Kazuki Enoki went through 5 km in a solid time of 15:31. Enoki maintained both lead and pace, passing 10 km in 31:04, 15 km in 46:42, and 20 km in 1:02:20. By the halfway point, 1:05:47, the lead pack had dwindled to 8 runners including Korean elite Hyon Je Yon who ran his PB of 2:10:37 while finishing 2nd in the 1999 Hofu.

Shortly after the halfway point, Enoki and Nakamori broke away from the other contenders, hitting 25 km in 1:18:17 compared to the remaining 6 leaders` 1:18:37. The pack broke apart between 25 and 30 km as Irifune, the younger brother of 2005 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner and H…
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Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Preview

Translator`s note: Beyond the 3 elite men`s marathons used in the selection process for world-level events, Japan has a 2nd tier of elite men`s marathons which serve as development races for younger marathoners gaining experience. The most famous of these is February`s Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Betsudai, as this race is also known, sometimes acts as a 4th selection race along with Fukuoka, Tokyo and Biwako. The others, December`s Hofu Yomiuri Marathon and March`s Chunichi Toyohashi Marathon, are lesser-known outside Japan. This year`s Hofu takes place on Sunday, Dec. 9.http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/feature/houfu/http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/spomain/sp_07120801.htmtranslated by Brett Larner and Mika TokairinOn Nov. 21 the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon announced the elite field for its 38th running on Dec. 9. The field includes 7 domestic elites, 3 invited runners from Korea, and 451 open field entrants. The 42.195 km course begins at the Hofu Civic Track in Yamaguchi Prefecture …
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