japan running news

Japan's mass participation world took another step back toward pre-pandemic normality with at least 30,000 finishers in four big marathons over the long weekend. On Thursday's national holiday, course record holder Tomomi Sawahata added another Gunma Marathon win to her resume in 2:47:13, 10 minutes slower than her CR but enough to better 2nd-placer Mai Arizuka by 1:12. Yuji Shibukawa led the 9,747 finishers with a 2:22:12 win in the men's race. In her first marathon since winning August's Hokkaido Marathon and qualifying for Japan's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials next year, Haruka Yamaguchi broke her own course record at the Chiba Aqualine Marathon with a 2:39:26 for the win, her 3rd-straight win in Chiba Aqualine's four runnings to date. Takashi Mino won the men's race in 2:25:07, with a total of 14,994 people starting the race. Yamaguchi will run next weekend's East Japan Women's Ekiden. The Toyama Marathon had 12,068 finishers, two-tim...

On Apr. 16 the city government of Tsukuba, Ibaraki just northeast of Tokyo announced that along with two other events in August and September, it was canceling the 40th running of the Tsukuba Marathon scheduled for Nov. 22 due to the effects of the coronavirus crisis. Last year the Tsukuba Marathon had 11,461 finishers with winning times of 2:14:18 for men and 2:46:24 for women, with another 2,002 finishers in its accompanying 10 km. Tsukuba is the third October/November Japanese marathon with a field of around 10,000 to cancel in the last few weeks, following the Oct. 18 Chiba Aqualine Marathon and the Oct. 25 Mito Komon Manyu Marathon , also in Ibaraki. The Nov. 1 Toyama Marathon and Nov. 8 Fukuoka Marathon, each with a field of over 10,000, both announced last week that they were suspending opening registrations for this year pending decisions about the races could realistically be put on. Tsukuba's Nov. 22 date makes it the farthest away race on the calendar to cancel s...

Set to stage its sixth edition this year, the Toyama Marathon has postponed opening entries. The race is scheduled to be held Nov. 1. Priority runner entries were to open on Apr. 11 with general division entries opening on Apr. 25. But with no official position established yet as to whether the race will go ahead amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, the prefectural government made the decision to postpone opening entries that require payment of entry fees. The prefecture currently plans to open entries sometime in early May, with further information to be announced on the race website. At the same time, the organizing committee of the Nov. 8 Fukuoka Marathon 's seventh edition likewise announced on Apr. 9 that they were postponing opening entries and volunteer recruitment due to the coronavirus situation. Both were scheduled to begin on Apr. 13. With regard to a new opening date, an official from the organizing committee commented, "We continue to monitor the status ...

On Mar. 27 the organizing committee of the Oct. 18 Chiba Aqualine Marathon 2020 announced that the race will be canceled. The decision to cancel the event was made earlier in the day at the organizing committee's general meeting at the Chiba Prefectural Government headquarters. Explaining the reasons for the decision, a spokesperson said, "Along with the spread of the novel coronavirus and the one-year postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, there has been an economic impact on sponsor companies. It would be difficult for us to guarantee the safety and security of our participants and as a result to offer them our characteristic warm hospitality, and going ahead with the marathon would also place an unfair burden upon our sponsor company partners." Entries for this year's Chiba Aqualine Marathon were set to open on Apr. 3. Translator's note: The Chiba Aqualine Marathon will surely not be the only race worldwide in the next year canceled...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141019-00000091-spnannex-spo translated by Brett Larner Enough with the hate mail.  Marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (27, Saitama Pref. Gov't) returned to the Chiba Aqualine Marathon , where he is the course record holder, to run its half marathon on Oct. 19, winning in 1:04:22 and beating 2nd place by more than 5 minutes.  "I had fun today!  I was grinning the whole time I was running," he said with a smile.  "I held my pace steadily and even picked it up at the end." His shot for a gold medal in the Asian Games marathon ending in bronze, Kawauchi has excused himself from running any of the domestic selection races for the Japanese team for next summer's World Championships marathon in Beijing, China.  Taking himself out of contention for the national team for the time being has lightened Kawauchi's load and left him feeling free.  "Up to now I've always had to worry about my time and place when I ran," h...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130125-00000301-yomidr-soci http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/news/130125/trd13012505000000-n1.htm http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/chiba/20130126/CK2013012602000123.html http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNZO50998060V20C13A1L71000/ translated and edited by Brett Larner Since the start of Japan's record-breaking running boom countless city and prefectural governments have started organizing new mass-participation marathons.  However, the widespread use of the standardized operation model employed by the Tokyo Marathon and Osaka Marathon has landed many of the new races deeply in red ink.  The issue of adapting race management to suit local conditions has begun to become of critical importance. At the 2nd edition of the Osaka Marathon last Nov. 25, Yokohama Metropolitan Sports Promotion Division Director Yuji Nishiyama  was in attendance to observe the event's operations.  "If they can do this here, why not in Yokohama?" he sa...

by Brett Larner Continuing his solid buildup to a shot at 2:07 at December's Fukuoka International Marathon, Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.) ran 2:17:48 to win the first running of the Chiba Aqualine Marathon on Oct. 21, his third-straight marathon win following a victory at August's Hokkaido Marathon and a course record at September's Sydney Marathon.  With second place over ten minutes back Kawauchi ran most of the race, a new mass-participation event with 13946 finishers running partially across the Aqualine bridge over Tokyo Bay, solo, splitting 1:08:37 at halfway.  "This time I focused on kicking hard after 40 km," Kawauchi told JRN after the race.  "It was good preparation for my next big race."  Chiba represented his final marathon-length tuneup for Fukuoka, with three half marathons and a 30 km race still on the menu before his attempt at a 2:07. 2012 Gold Coast Marathon winner  Kaori Yoshida  (Puma AC) took the women's race in 2:32:11 ju...