japan running news

Saturday’s main event was a time trial meet in remote Miyazaki, the Golden Games in Nobeoka. With a heavy emphasis on 5000 m, the biggest news of the day was split between the two men who ran 2:06 at Feburary’s Tokyo Marathon, national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) and Hiroto Inoue (MHPS). Having taken time off after Tokyo, Shitara returned to action in the lone 10000 m in Nobeoka but was unable to stay in the action, ultimately dropping out of the race won in 28:00.49 by local boy Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei). Inoue, for his part, rocketed back into post-Tokyo action with a 13:38.44 PB in the 5000 m A-heat, outkicking 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) for the win. Shitara and Inoue's results capped an interesting weekend for the current main four contenders for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon team. Like Shitara, 5000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) was a DNF over 10000 m, opting to run Stateside at Stanford . Bo...

Ekiden season is in full swing, and across the country it was another busy weekend. Although there were four major ekidens nationwide, the best action came as runners from high school to the pros tuned up for the string of national championship ekiden races stretching from the end of this month to mid-January. At Kanagawa's Nittai University Time Trials meet, two-time steeplechase junior world champion Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) pipped 5000 m junior world championships bronze medalist William Malel (Honda) at the line in the 10000 m A-heat, winning in 27:22.73 to Malel's 27:22.79. Four other Kenyans including Ndiku's junior teammate Richard Kimunyan broke 28 minutes as their coaches eye who to run at the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden. Evans Yego of the tiny Sunbelx supermarket team won the more conservative 5000 m A-heat in 13:48.04, a race most notable for high schoolers Luka Musembi (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), Masato Suzuki (Suijo H.S.) and Reito Hanzawa (Gakuho Is...