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...

The organizing committee of the 31st Gunma Marathon , canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, have made the decision to go ahead with this year's race, with both the 10 km and marathon divisions scheduled to be held on Nov. 3 in Maebashi and Takasaki, Gunma. The overall field size will be reduced from 15,000 to 9,000, and the Riverside Jogging fun run, where it is harder to employ countermeasures against the spread of the virus, will not be held. Online entries will begin at 10:00 a.m. on July 4. The marathon will feature a field of 5,000, with another 4,000 places available in the 10 km. Both divisions will start and finish at Shoda Shoyu Stadium in Maebashi and follow their traditional courses, and both races will start in waves of 1,000 people to reduce runner density on the course.  As additional measures to reduce risk, no celebrity guests will be invited and no stage shows or other supporting events will take place. Runners will be required to wear masks before a...