japan running news

Three Japanese athletes ran Sunday's Tartan Ottawa International Marathon in an effort to score qualifying marks for the 2023 MGC Race, Japan's marathon trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the men's race, Yuta Shimoda (GMO) and Takumi Oishi (Suzuki) went with the leaders all the way until eventual winner Andualem Shiferaw (Ethiopia) made his move before 30 km. Shiferaw, the favorite with a best of 2:05:52, was stellar over the second half, going 1:03:52 / 1:02:12 to set a new course record 2:06:04 for the win. When Shiferaw attacked, Oishi, coached by 2010 Ottawa winner Arata Fujiwara , immediately dropped off, ultimately finishing 8th in 2:15:50. Shimoda, who ran 2:08:35 at March's Tokyo Marathon and needed to run 2:11:25 here to qualify for the trials, hung on to 3rd, overtaken by Abdi Ali Gelchu (Bahrain) and dropping to 4th at one point but running down Leonard Langat (Kenya) just before the finish to retake 3rd. Yamaguchi went out in a pack of 6 women that...

Running with support from JRN, Takumi Oishi and Haruka Yamaguchi will be making their Canadian debuts at Sunday's Tartan Ottawa International Marathon . Japan's Olympic marathon trials are the hardest marathon in the world to qualify for, and both Oishi and Yamaguchi will be going for times that will help put them in position to make the September 2023 trials race. The auto-qualifier times for races outside Japan, 2:08:00 for men and 2:24:00, are pretty ambitious, but with an option for qualifying via a two-race average of 2:10:00 for men and 2:28:00 for women both Oishi and Yamaguchi will be aiming to get under those times in Ottawa before hitting a second race next winter. Oishi, a graduate of Josai University , was 4th on the Eighth Stage at the 2018 Hakone Ekiden. He now runs for the Suzuki corporate team alongside 2021 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Michael Githae . His coach at Suzuki is Arata Fujiwara , who won Ottawa in 2010 in 2:09:34, the first man to brea...

All good things must pass. Tomorrow is the final running of the  Fukuoka International Marathon , Japan's most iconic marathon and last remaining elite men-only race. On paper it has a field to rival the one that broke records at February's final running of the  Lake Biwa Marathon , and with excellent conditions on the forecast and the attitude on display at the pre-race press conference it looks like Fukuoka might get the sendoff it deserves.  Former half marathon and marathon NR holder Yuta Shitara  (Honda) was confident and mature in his answers at the presser, saying his training has been the same as in previous marathons, that he is in Fukuoka to win, and that he plans to run a controlled first half and then push the second. Shitara also announced a sponsor change from Nike, which which he's had a relationship since college, to Puma. Shitara's twin brother Keita Shitara  (Hitachi Butsuryu), 2:12:13 in Tokyo last year, is also in the race, creating the like...

interview by Brett Larner translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Running in miserable conditions at the 2010 Tokyo Marathon, Arata Fujiwara  came 2nd 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, training, future, and what went wrong and right. Part one of the post-race interview focused on this year's race. Part two, below, talks about Fujiwara's motivations, his training for Tokyo, and the Japanese corporate running system compared with the situation in Africa, Europe and the United States. Click here for Fujiwara's three-part pre-race interview. In 2008 Tokyo didn’t have prize money, so this was your first time really running for it. Did it make a difference? Yeah, when there’s prize money you have more guts. This time, in the last 2 km there was a negotiation between my legs and the prize money. (laughs) I got the ‘go’ sign. Having prize money encoura...

interview by Brett Larner translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Part four of a five-part interview . Running in miserable conditions at the 2010 Tokyo Marathon,  Arata Fujiwara  came 2nd in Tokyo 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, training, future, and what went wrong and right. Part four of the interview below focuses on this year's race. Part five talks about Fujiwara's motivations, his training for Tokyo, and the Japanese corporate running system compared with the situation in Africa, Europe and the United States. Congratulations on your first marathon in the 2:10’s. (laughs) Thanks, yeah, I broke through the wall. Having seen your last four marathons, when I watched the video of this year’s Tokyo Marathon I felt that it was the first time you had run like a marathoner, like you really understood the marathon. Compared to your last five mara...

interview by Mika Tokairin and Tsuguki Matsuda translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner In part one of his interview with JRN,  Arata Fujiwara talked about the 2008 Tokyo Marathon 2:08:40 run that made him famous. In part two of the interview he discussed the mental and physical aspects of his training. Now in part three he talks about racing; his strategy, tactics and long-term goals. Do you think it’s important to have practice runs on the course, to study the course and know where the curves and hills are? Yes, definitely, if you have the chance to do that it’s always a good idea. The first time you run a course it’s totally different whether you know a course well or not at all. The time passes more quickly if you know the course. For example, if you go somewhere on a training camp and jog for 60 minutes on a road you don’t know it feels longer. So, it’s a big advantage to know the course well. If you know the course you know what’s coming next, and after that...

interview by Mika Tokairin  and Tsuguki Matsuda translated by Mika Tokairin  and Brett Larner In part one of his interview with JRN,  Arata Fujiwara talked about the 2008 Tokyo Marathon 2:08:40 run that made him famous. In part two of the interview, Fujiwara discusses the mental and physical aspects of his training and how they differ from established Japanese training methods. How many marathons have you done? I’ve run five so far. After the first one I didn’t think I would run any over 2:10, that I’d be a stable sub-2:10 guy, but it hasn’t really worked out that way. Actually, I’ve never run a marathon in the 2:10’s. Always sub-2:10 or over 2:20. (laughs) What was the difference between those two levels of performance? My rhythm, and something just not clicking. It’s complex, and there are a lot of factors. For example, when you come back from injury you tend to run well. Sometimes you can set a new PB right after coming back. Some people say the spr...

interview by Mika Tokairin and Tsuguki Matsuda translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner Arata Fujiwara  was a relative unknown when he ran the 2008 Tokyo Marathon , but his 2nd place finish in 2:08:40 made his name both domestically and worldwide. He fell five seconds short of being named to the Beijing Olympics team but made the Berlin World Championships thanks to a 2:09:47 at the Fukuoka International Marathon later that year. In this interview for the first time Fujiwara talked to JRN in detail about his now-famous 2008 Tokyo Marathon run, his thoughts and feelings before, during and after the race. What can you say about your first marathon? You really slowed down a lot. It was at Biwako [Lake Biwa] in March, 2007. That time I had stomach problems and blisters. Without them I would have won. (laughs) But I got a lot of confidence out of that race. Problems like blisters are easy to understand, you know? It’s not like if you don’t have enough stamina or a large...