japan running news

http://www.germanroadraces.de/274-1-30436-the-artifact-of-the-month-viii-.html

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120620-970454.html

translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner

At a special meeting of the Tokyo Marathon Foundation last week at Tokyo City Hall, complexities arose which prevented the selection of a new chairperson alongside the election of other board members.  The Foundation, which came into existence in 2010, has been headed by Japanese Federation advisor Hiroaki Chosa in a position with a term of two years.

The Federation and Tokyo Metropolitan Government each recommended nine different candidates to succeed Chosa in his position, all of whom were rejected by the selection committee.  The twenty-one Foundation board members who were not among those nominated for the chairperson's position did succeed in determining the new temporary vice-chairperson.

It appears that this exceptional perplexity was the result of a power struggle within the Foundation between the Federation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.  To…

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20100802-OYT1T00642.htm?from=main3

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The mass marathon boom is overheating. Races everywhere are selling out within a matter of hours. Tokyo's "Runner's Paradise," the Imperial Palace loop, is packed solid with runners even at the peak of summer heat. On Aug. 1 the spark that set off the wildfire, the Tokyo Marathon, opened applications for next year's edition scheduled for Feb. 27. Applications exceeded the field size of 32,000 in less than 48 hours. Organizers expect to measure the total number of applicants in the hundreds of thousands.

The trend has spread to other races. The Nov. 28 Tsukuba Marathon, with a field limit of 12,000, sold out in 13 hours. Last year's race took 3 days to reach the limit. The 8,000-limit Nagano Marathon this past April 18 sold out in 5 and 1/2 hours. The Teganuma Eco Half-Marathon on Oct. 31 filled all 7,000 spots in 8 hours 20 minutes after taking 2 days la…