japan running news

  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...

by Brett Larner Japan's ekiden season begins each year with the university men's Izumo Ekiden , a 44 km six-stage course pitting the Kanto-region Hakone Ekiden schools against the best the rest of the country has to offer and a team made up of Ivy League alumni. With individual stages ranging from 5.0 to 10.2 km Izumo is completely different in character from other university ekidens, with less emphasis on strategy and endurance and more on pure speed. This was clear at last year's Izumo when Kenyan Daniel Gitau (Nihon Univ.) made up a 1:29 deficit on leaders Komazawa university over the 10.2 km anchor stage to steal the win with a stage-record 28:28. Gitau returns to lead Nihon, but despite the graduation of top Japanese member Takuma Sasaya Nihon must be viewed as the favorite once again, particularly if it fields but Gitau and first-year Benjamin Gando. It is unusual for a Japanese race to allow a team to field two foreign runners, but at last year's Izumo 4th-placer...

by Brett Larner Buoyed by its finishes as the top-placing western Japan university at October's Izumo Ekiden and the National University Ekiden Championships earlier this month, #3-ranked Daiichi Kogyo University upset defending champion Ritsumeikan University at the Nov. 15 Biwako University Ekiden (alternate site here ), western Japan's equivalent to eastern Japan's Hakone Ekiden. 22 teams competed in the 8-stage, 84.3 km championship. Ritsumeikan, which has not finished out of the top 2 since 2001, when it was 3rd, could never close the gap on Daiichi Kogyo's runners after trailing its rival by 6 seconds on the 11.1 km 1st stage. Nara Sangyo University Tanzanian Jackson Kwarai scored the stage best of 33:07 on the opening leg, with Daiichi Kogyo's Shoto Atsuchi 3 seconds behind and Ritsumeikan's Takuya Kawakami another 6 seconds back. Despite running only 1 of its 2 Kenyans and missing ace Ryohei Nakano, Daiichi Kogyo took stage best titles on 4 of the rem...

by Brett Larner The late fall and early winter ekiden season is the cornerstone of the Japanese running year, and nowhere is this more true than in university men's running. The university season comprises a series of 3 major ekidens culminating in the Biwako University Ekiden for schools from western Japan and the Hakone Ekiden for those in eastern Japan. It's one of the peculiarities of the Japanese distance running world that the major race of the season for university men is a regional event which takes place after the National Championships. There's no question that Hakone is the most important distance running event in Japan, but November's All-Japan University Men's Ekiden Championships offer a rare opportunity to see schools from other areas of Japan take on the famed powerhouses of eastern Japan. The National Ekiden covers an 8 stage, 106.8 km course from Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture to Ise in Mie Prefecture. October's Izumo Ekiden offers the season...