japan running news

The 2026 National High School Championships wrapped Wednesday. It's been a big season for the high school girls' 100 m hurdles, with 6 of the 10 fastest-ever times by Japanese high school girls having been run across 5 different races since May 29. A bit surprisingly, only one of those 6 made the final at high school Nationals, but Yui Yoshinaga (Nagasaki Nichidai H.S.) showed her quality with a 13.44 win by 0.31, 0.11 off her all-time #7 mark of 13.33 from June despite a -2.1 m/s headwind. Koki Takajo (Miyazaki Nishi H.S.) took the boys' 110 mH in 13.90 (-1.2) and Yutaro Takenobu (Fukodai Joto H.S.) the boys' 3000 mSC in 8:48.64. The boys' shot put saw the biggest performance of the day, as Takara Ogaki (Atsuma H.S.) threw a 18.62 m PB on his 4th attempt, enough for the win by 90 cm and landing him at all-time Japanese #3 on the high school lists. The day's other field event titles went to Yukiya Izutani (Oji Kogyo H.S.), 5.10 m in the boys' pole vaul...

Chihiro Miyawaki age: 28 sponsor: Toyota graduated from: Chukyo H.S. best time inside MGC window: 2:08:45, 8th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon PB: 2:08:45, 8th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon other PBs: 5000 m: 13:35.74 (2011) 10000 m: 27:41.57 (2012) half marathon: 1:00:53 (2012) marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019) 8th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon, 2:08:45 – PB 11th, 2017 Chicago Marathon, 2:13:32 other major results: 12th, 2019 Hakodate Half Marathon, 1:03:31 25th, 2017 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:16:51 11th, 2015 National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, 1:02:18 15th, 2014 Tokyo Marathon, 2:11:50 3rd, 2013 Kumanichi 30 km, 1:29:51 – PB 4th, 2012 National Corporate Championships 10000 m, 27:41.57 – PB tie 1st, National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, 1:00:53 – PB 3rd, 2011 Hachioji Long Distance Meet 10000 m A-Heat, 27:41.57 – PB Miyawaki is one of the three men in the field who didn’t go to university. He had the skills to have been one of the top Hako...

With the traditionally season-opening Oda Memorial Meet coming a week late this year the outdoor track season got started with two main time trial meets Saturday. Runners from the Toenec corporate team dominated Aichi's Chukyo University Saturday Time Trials, with Daichi Takeuchi following up his runner-up finish at last month's Inuyama 10 km with a win in 13:42.57 over Kenyan Nicholas Kiplimo (Aichi Seiko). His teammate Daiji Kawai returned from a 2:10:50 at Lake Biwa to take 3rd in 13:51.52. The B-heat was also decently quick, winner Ryusei Takahashi (Aichi Seiko) just dipping under 14 minutes in 13:59.00. Usually maxing out at 3000 m at this point in the season, this time around Tokyo's Setagaya Time Trials featured both women's and men's 5000 m and even a men's 10000 m. Kenyan Grace Kimanzi (Starts) won the women's 5000 m in 15:43.53, with Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage winner Yuhei Urano (Koku Gakuin Univ.) taking the fastest men's heat in 13:...

interview and photo by Brett Larner On Jan. 2-3 Aoyama Gakuin University won the biggest title in Japan for the first time, setting an incredible new course record at the 91st running of the Hakone Ekiden in large part thanks to a spectacular run up the mountain on the Fifth Stage by third-year Daichi Kamino and more outstanding runs by his fellow  third-years Kazuma Kubota and Yusuke Ogura .   Back in the spring of 2012 JRN interviewed then-Aoyama Gakuin third-year Takehiro Deki and head coach Susumu Hara ahead of Deki's marathon debut at Lake Biwa, where he ran 2:10:02 .  Hara, a graduate of 2014 National High School Ekiden champion Sera H.S. , went to school outside the Kanto region at Aichi's Chukyo University and never ran the Hakone Ekiden, going on to a short-lived and unsuccessful career at the Chugoku Denryoku corporate team before leaving the sports world for an office job.  Years later he returned to take over at Aoyama Gakuin, at the time...

by Brett Larner Earlier this year when Oregon-training then-future 3000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Team Nissin Shokuhin) ran in a U.S. track meet its webcast announcer, talking about Osako's PBs, said in a mocking tone of voice, "Who runs track in November?"  The answer, of course, is just about every elite Japan-based runner. November is full of track time trial meets that coaches use to assess fitness within their rosters ahead of the mid-December to mid-January national championship ekiden season.  One of the biggest happens on Saturday, the Hachioji Long Distance time trials meet in Tokyo's western suburbs featuring seven men's 10000 m heats packed with much of the top talent in the country.  The A-heat features 18 of the best Japan-based Africans paced by sub-27 man Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC), young sub-28 Japanese athletes Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), Keita Shitara (Team Konica Minolta), Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) and Tetsuya Yoroizaka (T...

  http://www.izumo-ekiden.jp/entry/index.html The first of the Big Three University Ekidens that make up the core of the year for Japanese collegiate distance men, the six-stage, 45.1 km Izumo Ekiden takes place Oct. 13.  On July 30 organizers released the full of 21 teams that will compete at this year's 26th running, led by defending champion and course record holder Komazawa University and 2014 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University .  The U.S, Ivy League Select Team will also return for its 17th Izumo appearance. 2014 Izumo Ekiden Field Kanto Region Komazawa University (22nd appearance) Toyo University (15th appearance) Nittai University (17th appearance) Waseda University (22nd appearance) Aoyama Gakuin University (5th appearance) Meiji University (6th appearance) Nihon University (21st appearance) Teikyo University (6th appearance) Takushoku University (3rd appearance) Daito Bunka University (16th appearance) Tokai Region Chukyo University (9th a...

http://www.nikkansports.com/general/news/p-gn-tp0-20090703-513564.html translated by Brett Larner National-level track and ekiden powerhouse Chukyo High School of Gifu Prefecture announced on July 2nd that a then-18 year old Kenyan man who disappeared two years ago while running on the private school's team as a third-year exchange student was found in Nagoya in April. The former student was discovered by Nagoya police when they stopped him on the street to investigate whether the bicycle he was riding was stolen. When asked for identification the Kenyan man, now 20, told police officers, "My visa has expired and I want to go back to my country," before being taken to the Nagoya Immigration Violation Prison. By the time of Chukyo's announcement the former student had already been deported. Chukyo High School Vice-Principal Hisashi Wada (46) discussed the case, saying the man had become an exchange student at the school in April, 2005 and had run in the National High S...