japan running news

On a windier than usual race morning the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon was kind of a throwback to ancient pre-pandemic history, 2019 to be specific. In the women's race, 2019 winner Rodah Jepkorir Tanui was the last woman left standing after a CR-pace 1:12:19 first half, fading the least in the strong headwinds after the turnaround point near 36.5 km and coming to the line in 2:27:10, 46 seconds better than when she won last time. 2018 winner Ruth Chebitok lost touch with Tanui around 25 km but held on for 2nd in 2:28:17. In 3rd, Australian Genevieve Gregson moved up through the field after a more conservative 1:14:19 first half, executing her debut perfectly with a 5-second negative split to finish in 2:28:33. In her first race since 2019, two-time world champion and two-time winner of both the Chicago and Berlin marathons Florence Kiplagat was 6th in 2:36:29. "I wished only to finish," she told JRN. "This was a start to again have something to my name." Top Jap...

by Brett Larner Sunday's Chicago Marathon saw the men go out unusually slowly.  Three Japanese men, Takuya Fukatsu (Team Asahi Kasei), Koji Gokaya (Team JR Higashi Nihon) and Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei) were in the top ten until late in the race, Fukatsu and Gokaya leading at halfway and Fukatsu, a graduate of Komazawa University, still in the top spot at 30 km.  When the move came they were left behind as two-time world champion Abel Kirui (Kenya) took the win in 2:11:23, Fukatsu ultimately finishing 7th in 2:13:53 and Gokaya 9th in 2:14:34.  Fukatsu's placing was the best so far by a Japanese man in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series X, although his time was nearly 3 minutes slower than that of Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) two weeks ago in Berlin. The women's race was more what you would expect, the pace hot on high 2:20 / low 2:21 track throughout the race.   Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) held steady at that rate to win by almost 2 minutes ...

by Brett Larner photo by Dr. Helmut Winter 2013 World Championships bronze medalist and half marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) ran arguably her most confident marathon to date in Chicago, hanging with the lead pack throughout the race and doing her share of pushing the tempo but ultimately unable to handle winner Florence Kiplagat 's big move.  Kiplagat took the win in 2:23:33 over Ethiopian Yebrgual Melese , with Fukushi coming up just short of Ethiopian Birhane Dibaba , 2:24:24 to 2:24:25, just 4 seconds off Fukushi's best from Osaka Women's two years ago.  Contemporary Japanese women's marathoning being what it is, Fukushi's time was still good for #2 this year behind the 2:22:48 run by Sairi Maeda (Daihatsu) in Nagoya in March. Chicago Marathon Chicago, U.S.A., 10/11/15 click here for complete results Women 1. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 2:23:33 2. Yebrgual Melese (Ethiopia) - 2:23:43 3. Birhane Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:24...

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Behind Wilson Kipsang's brilliantly self-controlled world record run at the 40th Berlin Marathon , 2:09:10 man Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) and last year's fastest Japanese man overseas, 24-year-old Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) with a 2:10:40 best from the 2012 Chicago Marathon, spent the race sparring with Brazilian great Marilson dos Santos  in the second pack.  Keying off dos Santos through 10 km, Ishikawa fell back three seconds between 10 and 15 km with Kobayashi staying at his side before deciding to stay in the race and regain direct contact. In a virtual replay of his run against Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.) in Chicago last year, Kobayashi stayed glued to dos Santos on low-2:07 pace until 35 km before starting to lose ground and then fading badly.  As dos Santos went ahead to take 6th in 2:09:24 Ishikawa, who had fallen as much as a minute behind, closed hard to retake Kobayashi in the final 2 km.  Ishi...

by Brett Larner With organizers sticking by the 1:30 p.m. start time they introduced last year and temperatures in the high 20's with humidity around 80% there was little chance of fast times at this year's Sapporo International Half Marathon despite excellent fields on both the men's and women's sides. 2010 World Half Marathon champion Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) led wire-to-wire to win the women's race in 1:10:29, with defending champion Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) holding off course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) to pick up his third Sapporo title in 1:01:47. Kiplagat's win was a virtual forgone conclusion, but she had company through the first half of the race from Japan-based Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) in Chepyego's first half marathon. The pair went through the downhill first 5 km in 15:55 and 10 km in 32:54 before Kiplagat picked things up to put Chepyego away. Kiplagat indicated after the race that she plan...

by Brett Larner Update 7/2: Defending women's champion Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) has withdrawn from tomorrow's Sapporo International Half Marathon with an unspecified leg injury according to a tweet by her coach Manabu Kawagoe . 2010 Tokyo Marathon winner Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) and 10000 m national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) have also withdrawn. With most of the spring half marathon season cancelled in the wake of the Mar. 11 disasters, this year's Sapporo International Half Marathon will mark a return to the distance for many of Japan's top athletes. Scheduled to be run again with the 1:30 p.m. start time put in place last year times are unlikely to be fast in the peak of the summer heat, but both the women's and men's races should be thickly competitive. Sapporo will be broadcast live by Nihon TV on July 3. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online via Keyhole TV . JRN will be doing live English commentary vi...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110616-OHT1T00176.htm?from=related http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110616-OHT1T00235.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner On June 16 Rikuren announced the elite field for the July 3 Sapporo International Half Marathon . Headlining the race are 2010 World Half Marathon women's champion Florence Jebet Kiplagat (Kenya) and 2010 Asian Games men's marathon gold medalist Youngjun Ji (Korea). Defending champions Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) and Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) and 2009 Sapporo winner Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) will also return . At the top of the domestic men's field are three members of the Japanese team for this summer's Daegu World Championships marathon, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.), Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki). Also in the women's race is 10000 m national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo). The p...