japan running news

The Yaizu Minato Half Marathon took place Apr. 2 in Yaizu, Shizuoka, its second year back after coronavirus pandemic-era cancelations in 2020 and 2021. In windy conditions 2023 Hakone Ekiden champion Komazawa University 4th-year Ibuki Kaneko took the overall win in 1:04:31, beating 4th-year Hayato Shiki of Aoyama Gakuin University by 6 seconds. Local Ayumi Sano won the women's race in 1:22:21. The Yaizu Half has long been a fixture on the collegiate circuit, attracting many of the top university men's ekiden teams. It Doubles as the National University Pair Marathon Championships, with each university scored on the combined times of its top two placers. Aoyama Gakuin won this year, with individual runner-up Shiki and 2nd-year Tomoki Aramaki , 6th in 1:05:04 to give AGU a total of 2:09:36 for the win. Komazawa and last year's Pair Marathon winner Toyo University tied for 2nd in 2:10:16. 38th Yaizu Minato Half Marathon Yaizu, Shizuoka, 2 Apr. 2023 Men 1. Ibuki Kaneko ...

20 runners from  Aoyama Gakuin University  who were not among the school's 10 starting members in its course record win at last week's Hakone Ekiden ran the Hi-Tech Half Marathon Sunday in Tokyo. 3rd-year Takehiro Sekiguchi , who had been scheduled to run Hakone's 20.9 km Fourth Stage but was swapped out on race morning by head coach Susumu Hara , won in 1:02:26, the fastest time this school year by a Japanese-born college student. "I've got one year of school left," said Sekiguchi post-race. "Next season I want to build on the momentum of this win." Including Sekiguchi, a total of 5 AGU runners who had been on the team's 16-man Hakone entry list but not among its 10 starters ran the half marathon. It was a week after the main event, but the race, nicknamed the "Eleventh Stage" by the team, gave them the chance to do something with the fitness they'd built through hard training for Hakone.  Traditionally AGU has run its non-starti...