japan running news

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...

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. ...

After running the 2nd-fastest time ever by a Japanese man, 2:05:12, to finish 6th at the Sept. 29 Berlin Marathon, Yohei Ikeda (26, Kao) made an appearance at city hall in his hometown of Shimada, Shizuoka on Oct. 3. Ikeda told Mayor Kinuyo Someya , 70, "I'm disappointed that I missed my goal of breaking the Japanese national record by 16 seconds. But the work I put in paid off. This was a race that's going to lead to something more." Ikeda was a member of the baseball team when he was a student at Shimada Ichi J.H.S. before switching full-time to the track team at Shimada H.S. Starting his second year at Nittai University he was a regular on Nittai's Hakone Ekiden team. After graduating he joined the Kao corporate team, running 2:06:53 in his marathon debut at the 2023 Osaka Marathon. Berlin was his third shot at the marathon distance, and he succeeded in improving his PB by 1:41. Local residents flocked to join city officials in greeting the new local hero ...

Results at this year's Berlin Marathon were big overall, with 6 women under 2:21 and 14 men under 2:07, and in both the women's and men's races multiple Japanese athletes had great days. In the women's race Paris Olympics marathon alternate Ai Hosoda (Edion) and Tokyo Olympics marathon alternate Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) ran the entire way together, 1:10:13 through halfway and 2:13:09 at 40 km. Hosoda had the better closing speed, finishing in an all-time Japanese #7 2:20:31 for 5th. Matsuda, who had previously broken 2:21 in her win at the 2022 Osaka International Women's Marathon, took 10 seconds off her time in that race for an all-time Japanese #8 2:20:42 for 6th. Having floated retirement after missing the Paris team, it was a great payoff for Matsuda's decision to give it one more go. Hosoda's 2:20 was a major breakthrough, but as her 5th time going under 2:22 Matsuda's performance solidified her position as one of Japan's best ever. After a ...

https://worldathletics.org/news/report/tigst-assefa-world-marathon-record-berlin-kipchoge-2023 Japanese half marathon national record holders Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) and Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) both ran the Berlin Marathon. Ogura finished 51st in 2:17:39 a few steps ahead of women's runner-up Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, with Niiya 11th in 2:23:08. Although Niiya’s run was billed as an attempt at the 2:19:12 national record, she was never on NR pace and slowed continuously after 10 km.  Complete results .

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220925/p2g/00m/0sp/032000c Photo: Behind the scenes of a world record: The timing system design and operation team behind Eliud Kipchoge 's world record in Berlin, Sean Hartnett  and Helmut Winter , post-race. Rika Kaseda (Daihatsu), Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) and Hikari Onishi (Japan Post) qualified for next year's MGC Race women's Olympic marathon trials at Sunday's Berlin Marathon . Kaseda's 2:21:55 PB for 7th was the fastest by a Japanese woman in Berlin since Mizuki Noguchi 's 2:19:12 NR there in 2005. On the men's side, Tatsuya Maruyama (Toyota) and Rintaro Takeda (Yakult) hit MGC qualification. Already qualified, top Japanese man Kenya Sonota (JR Higashi Nihon) ran 2:07:14 for 7th, the fastest Japanese time in Berlin since Takayuki Inubushi 's then-NR 2:06:57 in 1999. photo © 2022 Dr. Helmut Winter, all rights reserved text © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Hidekazu Hijikata  (Honda), 2nd at February's Lake Biwa Marathon in 2:06:26, went out in the 2nd pack that included eventual runner-up Bethwel Yegon  (Yegon). Hitting halfway on national record pace just 15 seconds off his half marathon PB in 1:02:17, by 25 km Hijikata was in free-fall. his 5 km splits going from the 14-min range to 15, to 16, and finally to 17:11. He ultimately finished 9th in 2:11:47. Kazuki Muramoto  (Sumitomo Denko) and Taku Fujimoto  (Toyota) were initially in the same group with Yegon and Hijikata but only lasted 10 km before backing off together. Muramoto, 11th in Lake Biwa in 2:07:36, dropped further back, but after getting caught by top German Philipp Pflieger  he tacked on and regained ground. With 3 km to go he passed Fujimoto, the 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon winner, finishing 14th in 2:14:11. Fujimoto was 15th in 2:14:18, 43 seconds up on Pflieger. © 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

It's the perfect time for a classic. Fresh off her Olympic gold medal in Sydney, at the 2001 Berlin Marathon Naoko Takahashi becomes the first woman in history to break the 2:20 barrier.

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...

Behind Kenenisa Bekele 's near-miss on the men's marathon world record, half marathon talent Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) gave the Japanese national record another go at the Berlin Marathon. Almost dead even through halfway in 1:02:21, Murayama began to slip slightly over the second half before things started to fall apart after 30 km. Run down by China's Guo Jian Dong just before the finish, Murayama took 9th in 2:08:56, a PB by about a minute but far off his plans. Not far behind him, Yuichi Yasui (Toyota), a training partner of MGC race runner-up Yuma Hattori , negative splitted a 2:10:26 for 11th, adding to Toyota's claim as Japan's top current marathon team. Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany, 9/29/19 complete results Men 1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:01:41 - NR 2. Birhanu Legese (Ethiopia) - 2:02:48 3. Sisay Lemma (Ethiopia) - 2:03:36 4. Jonathan Korir (Kenya) - 2:06:45 5. Felix Kandie (Kenya) - 2:08:07 ----- 9. Kenta Murayama (Japan) - 2:08:...

Having improved his PB to 2:09:03 while finishing 6th at the Sept. 24 Berln Marathon , Rio 10000 m Olympian Yuta Shitara (25, Honda) returned to Narita Airport on Sept. 26 from his trip to Europe. Shortly before Berlin, Shitara set a new national record 1:00:17 at a half marathon in the Czech Republic on Sept. 16 . Despite this challenging schedule which was only decided in August, Shitara told reporters, "I didn't feel particularly tired [in Berlin] . There wasn't much lingering damage and I was able to meet the marathon's demands and hang on better in the second half." The difference in his splits between his debut in Tokyo in February and his second marathon in Berlin, a minute slower over the first half in Berlin and a minute and a half faster over the second half, was evidence of his growth since Tokyo. Shitara is already planning his third marathon and could run it before the end of the year. "I'm the kind of guy who likes to race a lot. I g...

Fresh off a 1:00:17 half marathon national record last weekend and a 28:55 road 10 km the one before, Yuta Shitara (Honda) lived up to expectations at today's Berlin Marathon, trying to go with the lead group and running the first part of the race alone between the first and second groups. Whatever his plan, Shitara was swallowed up by the second pack, a good turn of events as it was travelling ahead of Japanese national record pace on track for just sub-2:06. Shitara hung with that group through 25 km before his projected time started to creep away, drifting to high-2:06 pace by 30 km, high-2:07 by 35 km, and high-2:08 by 40 km. In the end he was well short of Toshinari Takaoka 's 2:06:16 national record, but with a 2:09:03 for 6th Shitara took 24 seconds off his best with the fastest Japanese men's performance in Berlin since Takayuki Inubushi 's then-NR 2:06:57 in 1999. And just 8 days after the greatest half marathon performance in Japanese history. 『ベルリンマラ...

Newly-crowned half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) is one of three elite Japanese men entered in Sunday's Berlin Marathon. How will he do? Yuta Shitara ran 60:17 JPN 1/2 mar NR last wknd. Debuted this spring in 2:09:27 off 61:55 1st half. How fast will he run in #berlinmarathon ? — Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) September 21, 2017

A week after his 28:55 at the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10 km and just eight days out from the Berlin Marathon, Yuta Shitara (Honda) made the great leap forward, taking 8 seconds off Atsushi Sato 's 2007 half marathon Japanese national record, finishing 8th at the Czech Republic's Usti nad Labem Half Marathon . Shitara is probably most well-known outside Japan for going through halfway under 62 minutes during his marathon debut at this year's Tokyo Marathon and still ending up with a 2:09:27, but he's been turning heads in Japan since his second year at Toyo University when he broke a stage record at the 2012 Hakone Ekiden and outkicked the U.S.A.'s Dathan Ritzenhein to finish in 1:01:48 at the NYC Half two months later, until this year the fastest time ever by a Japanese man on U.S soil. Three weeks before Tokyo this year he ran a 1:01:19 PB at the Marugame Half. Many people would call that a solid tuneup three weeks out from a serious marathon, but eight d...

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201701120002-spnavi translated by Brett Larner Ahead of his nomination to the London World Championships Marathon team, Sportsnavi published a three-part series of writings by Yuki Kawauchi on what it took for him to make the team, his hopes for London, and his views on the future of Japanese marathoning.  With his place on the London team announced on Mar. 17 , JRN will publish an English translation of the complete series over the next three days. See Sportsnavi's original version linked above for more photos. Click here for part two, " Bringing All My Experience Into Play in London ," or here for part three, " The Lessons of the Past Are Not 'Outdated.' " The Fukuoka International Marathon was held on Dec. 4 last year. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) took part despite nursing injuries he had sustained in training. Falling rain contributed to less than ideal conditions during the race, but from th...

by Brett Larner Japan's fastest-ever under-20 marathoner, Reia Iwade (Team Noritz) took 4th in a solo run behind winning Ethiopian trio Aberu Kebede , Birhane Dibaba and Ruti Aga  at Sunday's BMW Berlin Marathon .  With all three going under the 70 minute mark at halfway, the #3-ranked Iwade was alone in 5th, 20 seconds behind Kenyan Janet Ronoh .  Just before 40 km Iwade ran Ronoh down to move into 4th at almost the same time that Kebede took the win in 2:20:45.   Dibaba and Aga were over a kilometer behind in 2nd and 3rd, Iwade another 3 1/2 minutes further back in 2:28:16. Hopeful of breaking his 3-year-old PB of 2:08:14, Kawauchi ran with support from two pacers and company from Eritrea's Yohanes Gebregergish and France's Jean Habarurema .  In a classic race that saw greats Kenenisa Bekele and Wilson Kipsang front a lead pack that went through halfway in 1:01:11 on the way to Bekele's sprint finish 2:03:03 win, Kawauchi's group planned to hit h...

by Brett Larner Japan's Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and Reia Iwade (Team Noritz) will be in the field for Sunday's BMW Berlin Marathon .  Berlin has been good to Japan in the past, with the country's first 2:06 men's national record and the last three women's national records all happening on the ultra-flat Berlin course.  But in the last decade Berlin has seen fewer and fewer quality runs from Japanese athletes.   Kurao Umeki placed 3rd in 2006, but the fastest time over the decade was only 2:10:24 in 2013 by future Rio Olympian Suehiro Ishikawa .  For women too, Tomo Morimoto placed 3rd in 2010, her 2:26:10 also the fastest time in the last ten years but far off the quality of the 2:19 marks set  in Berlin by Naoko Takahashi , Yoko Shibui and Mizuki Noguchi .  The ten-year average times and places for Japanese athletes in the top ten in Berlin are 2:12:00 for 8th for men and 2:29:26 for 7th for women. Can Kawauchi and Iwade beat those aver...

NEWS RELEASE – BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on September 25: Wilson Kipsang and Kenenisa Bekele face strong competition Expectations are high once again for a very fast race in the 43rd edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on September 25. All the omens are favourable with the recruitment of another high quality field which, given good weather conditions, points to another year of outstanding, world class times. The former world record holder Wilson Kipsang of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele have taken centre stage as the pre-race build-up has taken place, but alongside them are a clutch of athletes possessing the talent to be right up there with them. Seven runners in the field have best times under 2:06. At the head of the women’s field is the double BMW BERLIN-MARATHON champion Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia. The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series and an IAAF Gold Label event, the highest category of road race awarded by the International Association...

Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) and Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) have been announced for the September 25 Berlin Marathon:   http://run.hwinter.de/?p=6966

by Brett Larner Today's retirement press conference marks the end of the road for one of the sport's all-time greats, Mizuki Noguchi .  Noguchi is best remembered, rightfully, for her achievements in the marathon.  Five wins and seven top three finishes in ten marathon starts.  An Olympic gold medal.  A World Championships silver medal.  A Japanese national record of 2:19:12.  That time still a Berlin Marathon course record no one has been able to touch more than ten years later, the only World Marathon Majors course record held by a Japanese runner. Her gold medal win at the 2004 Athens Olympics brilliantly executed, her loss to Catherine Ndereba at the 2003 Paris World Championships showing her exactly what she had to do to beat Ndereba a year later on the bigger stage and then doing it perfectly, almost down to the second, breaking Paula Radcliffe in the process.  Her DNS at the the 2008 Beijing Olympics a national heartbreak.  Her co...