japan running news

62nd Kashima Yutoku Road Race Kashima, Saga, 2/24/13 click here for complete results Men's Half Marathon 1. Kiragu Njuguna (Kenya/Hiramatsu Hospital) - 1:04:00 2. Koji Kaneko (Team Kurosaki Harima) - 1:04:17 3. Yuki Matsumura (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:04:25 4. Shohei Nakayama (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:45 5. Tsubasa Akagi (Team Nishitetsu) - 1:04:50 Women's Half Marathon 1. Mayumi Watanabe (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:14:51 2. Natsumi Nakamura (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:15:59 3. Shiho Suetsugu (Nagasaki Univ) - 1:18:13 Men's 10 km 1. Junji Katakawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 29:23 - CR 2. Yuzo Hiratsuka (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 29:50 3. Shuhei Kitsukawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 30:13 Women's 10 km 1. Sakurako Fukuuchi (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 33:28 2. Chikako Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 33:51 3. Eri Tayama (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 34:10 4. Eri Utsunomiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 34:18 5. Mari Tayama (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 34:25 35th Yomiuri Inuyama Half Marathon Inuyama, Aich...

by Brett Larner Takuji Morimoto  (Team Chugoku Denryoku) won a close Himejijo 10-Miler on Feb. 11, nearly clipped at the line by Daisuke Kumon  (Kanagawa Univ.) after frontrunning the entire race.  The relatively slow 47:58 winning time meant a large pack was together behind Morimoto until late in the game, when only Kumon, Yuya Taguchi  (Team Toyota Boshoku), 2011 Himejijo winner  Takahiro Aso  (Team Aisan Kogyo) and Hiroaki Inoue (Team Toenec) were able to remain in pursuit.  2009 winner Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) led the chase pack to take 6th, with 2006 and 2012 winner Kazuyoshi Tokumoto (Team Monteroza) an apparent DNS. Local Misaki Hayashida  (Himeji Shogyo H.S.) had a similarly close victory in the women's 5 km, outrunning a pack of four from 2012 National High School Ekiden champion Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.  to win by 1 second in 16:24.   Yuki Fujiwara  was Ritsumeikan Uji's top finisher a stride behind Hayash...

by Brett Larner The 67th running of the Meigi Ekiden joined other races across the country in being blessed with good weather on Feb. 3, the kind of weather that produces course records. In the 6-stage, 52.6 km open men's division Team Toyota Boshoku  unseated defending champion and course record holder Team Toyota  for the win in 2:31:17, just 32 seconds off Toyota's 2012 record.  Toyota Boshoku started slow, its opening man Yoshiaki Shiota only 7th, but steadily advanced through the field until Kenyan ace Patrick Mutunga ran down Toyota's Chihiro Miyawaki  to put Toyota Boshoku ahead by 10 seconds.  Both Toyota Boshoku and Toyota's fifth men Yuya Taguchi  and Kenta Matsubara broke the stage record, Matsubara closing to within 1 second as he fought desperately to retake the lead, but on the anchor stage his teammate Minato Oishi  was no match for Toyota Boshoku anchor Yoshihiro Yamamoto , who ran a stage best 34:14 for the 11.8 km leg to secure...

2010 Nagoya Half Marathon Elite Athlete Field final running - 11/23/10 click here for complete listing Men Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 59:48 Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) - 59:48 Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 59:50 Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:07 Samuel Ndungu (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:17 Munehiro Sugaya (Team Toyota) - 1:02:22 Yoshiki Otsuka (Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:03:29 Hiroaki Inoue (Team Toenec) - 1:03:32 Satoru Kasuya (Team Toyota Boshoku) - 1:03:33 Satoshi Abe (Team Toenec) - 1:03:34 Yoshihiko Asaba (Team Toenec) - 1:03:35 Women Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC) - 1:08:45 Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:11:46 Kaori Akagawa (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:12:28