japan running news

by Brett Larner Entry lists are up for one of Japan's biggest spring meets, the Apr. 23-24 Hyogo Relay Carnival. With the cancellation of many of the spring's half marathons after last month's disasters, this year's meet features an exceptionally deep level of talent, particularly at the university level where the men's and women's 10000 m will serve as selection races for the half marathon team for this year's World University Games. The men's Grand Prix 10000 m has an all-star lineup led by two sub-27 men, Japanese all-comers record holder Josephat Ndambiri (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) and '07 World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist and 10 mile junior world record holder Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC). Lining up against them are '08 World XC Jr. champion Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia/Team Honda), '11 World XC runner-up Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko), sub-28 men Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo), Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), ...

JRN's most-read articles of 2010 by month: January Toyo University gets the star treatment. -  Jan. 4 Master shoe craftsman Mimura joins Adidas. - Jan. 13 February Yoshihisa Hosaka gets world record #3 at Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. - Feb. 7 Coach Ken Green talks about Jeff Hunt's race-making Beppu-Oita debut.   - Feb. 9 "I'm hoping I can be that next chapter in the history books." - Newmade marathoner Jeff Hunt in his own words. - Feb. 10 A tale of two Fujiwaras - Tokyo Marathon 2010.  -  Feb. 28 March Arata Fujiwara evaluates the 2010 Tokyo Marathon.   - Mar. 2 The 2010 Rome Marathon in pictures. - Mar. 25 April Yurika Nakamura on the frontlines in Boston.   - Apr. 15 May "I came here to test myself." - Stephen Mayaka on the Kenyan student runner's life.   - May 5 Hakone's new star takes first 5000 m win - Taku Fujimoto. - May 24 Iizuka redux: the future king of Japanese sprinting? - May 25 Arata Fujiwara sets Ot...

by Brett Larner Thanks in part to a big run from 2010 national university 5000 m champion Hiroki Mitsuoka on the 15.1 km Seventh Stage, Kyoto Sangyo University took its first-ever win Nov. 20 in the Biwako University Ekiden , western Japan's counterpart to January's Hakone Ekiden. Kyoto Sangyo defeated perpetual winner Ritsumeikan University by over 2 1/2 minutes, joining Bukkyo University's women's team in ending the Ritsumeikan stranglehold on western Japan men's and women's distance running. 2010 Biwako University Ekiden - Top Results click here for complete results Stage Best Performances First Stage (11.1 km) - Tetsuya Kimura (Osaka Keizai Univ.) - 33:12 Second Stage (7.3 km) - Kenji Nakamura (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 21:48 Third Stage (11.0 km) - Jackson Kwarai (Tanzania/Nara Sangyo Univ.) - 33:11 Fourth Stage (9.6 km) - Kiragu Njuguna (Kenya/Daiichi Kogyo Univ.) - 27:50 Fifth Stage (9.0 km) - Daiki Maruno (Daiichi Kogyo Univ.) - 27:50 Sixth Stage (12.8 k...

by Brett Larner On Nov. 12 the organizers of the 2010 International Chiba Ekiden announced the entry lists for this year's edition, scheduled as always for Nov. 23. The last of the great international ekidens, Chiba has in recent years scaled down to an interesting format of mixed-gender teams, with top men and women from 12 teams worldwide alternating stages on a six-leg, 42.195 course. Notable names on the list this year include: Bobby Curtis (U.S.A.) - 2008 NCAA 5000 m champion Atsushi Fujita (Chiba Pref.) - former marathon nat'l record holder Wilson Kiprop (Kenya) - 2010 African 10000 m champion Yuriko Kobayashi (Japan) - 1500 m nat'l record holder Maria Konovalova (Russia) - 3rd, 2010 Chicago Marathon Hiroki Mitsuoka (Japan Univ.) - 2010 nat'l univ 5000 m champion Ed Moran (U.S.A.) - 2010 U.S.A. road 10 km champion Craig Mottram (Australia) - 2005 WC 5000 m bronze medalist Kasumi Nishihara (Japan Univ.) - 2010 nat'l univ 5000 m champion Yuki Sato (Ja...

by Brett Larner Sophomore Shota Hiraga brings Waseda University in for a course record win at the 2010 Izumo Ekiden. With starting temperatures an unseasonable 27 degrees, Waseda University head coach Yasuyuki Watanabe finally put it together Oct. 11 with the biggest success of his career, a sleek and scintillating course record win at the 22nd Izumo Ekiden . Despite a slight edge on paper over rivals Komazawa University and Nittai University , Watanabe's history of drilling talented squads into the ground and arriving at important races in tatters stood against Waseda's chances. The fears of another blowup were groundless. All six Waseda runners, juniors Yo Yazawa and Yuki Yagi , sophomore Saku Chosei HS grads Hiroyuki Sasaki and Shota Hiraga and star frosh recruits and 2010 World Jr. Championships teammates Suguru Osako and Fuminori Shikata ran perfectly, the first time in recent memory that can be said of a Waseda team. Yazawa pushed Kenyan Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi ...

by Brett Larner Monday's 22nd Izumo Ekiden kicks off Japan's fall season, with some of the top university teams from the Kanto region squaring off against the best from the rest of the country over shorter distances than in any of the other major road events. An all-star team of American Ivy League alum also makes an appearance each year to add a bit of international color. The race will be broadcast live online on Fuji TV on Oct. 11 from 1:00 to 3:25 p.m. Japan time, and thanks to the miracle of modern computer technology overseas viewers can watch live online through Keyhole TV. That's midnight Sunday night for Ivy Leaguers, 9 pm on the West Coast, or, unfortunately, 5 a.m. Monday morning in London. Click here for more details on watching online . JRN will be doing live English commentary via Twitter on JRNLive . It looks like a foregone conclusion that the race is going to be a battle between two of the big powerhouse universities: Komazawa and Waseda . The Hakone Eki...

by Brett Larner The final day of the 2010 Japanese National University Track and Field Championships wrapped up with some of the best action of the meet's three days. Despite missing its three top-ranked runners Kiragu Njuguna (Kenya/Daiichi Kogyo Univ.), Taku Fujimoto (Kokushikan Univ.) and Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.), the men's 5000 m field included 18 men with PBs under 14 minutes. The conditions, 32 degrees, sunny and windy, meant that the race would be slow and allow some of the slower men to have a chance. With the early leaders taking it out on track for a 14:10, Hiroki Mitsuoka (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) took full advantage of the situation. One of the only men in the field from outside the Kanto region, with just the 15th-best PB in the field, 13:57.67, Mitsuoka patiently waited until the final 800 m to get into the race. With no warning he suddenly kicked from 700 m out and dropped a 59-second 400 m. Pursued partway by Waseda University ace Yo Yazawa , Mitsuoka brok...

by Brett Larner On the first genuinely hot day of the year, 10000 m university national record holder Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) took the win in the women's 5000 m at the 2010 Kansai Regional University Track and Field Championships on May 21. Yoshimoto led start to finish with a quick 3:03 first kilometer before settling into a more moderate pace. She finished in only 15:44.57, an indication perhaps of the high temperatures, but still had a lead of over 23 seconds on runner-up Risa Takenaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.). Defending champion Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.), who set the meet record of 15:32.89 at last year's Kansai Regionals, was clearly not on form as she was 6th in only 16:44.46. Both Yoshimoto and Nishihara are scheduled to race the 5000 m and 10000 m at next month's National Track and Field Championships. In the men's 10000 m, Hiroki Mitsuoka (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.), the only man in the field with a PB under 29:30, won in a leisurely 30:07.82. 2010 Kansa...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201003050232.html translated by Brett Larner Note: This article repeats that of a few days ago but fleshes out the details significantly. Led by Team Chugoku Denryoku head coach and Rikuren director of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi, the athletes in Rikuren's men's marathoning reinforcement training camp depart Mar. 7 for two weeks in New Zealand. Departing from the usual practice, this year's camp is targeting university runners. Among the five student athletes attending the camp is two year-straight Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage record setter Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.). We spoke to Director Sakaguchi about the training camp. Last year Rikuren revived the overseas training camps which had been a fixture of its calendar in the 1990's. What is the aim this time in focusing on athletes under age 23? Our goal is to get our most talented young runners looking toward the marathon from the start. We have a lot of runners who ...

by Brett Larner While the Tokyo-centered Kanto Region is the undisputed center of Japanese university men's distance running thanks to the prestigious Hakone Ekiden, the Kansai Region features two of the top women's schools, the unbeatable national champion Ritsumeikan University and its perennial rival Bukkyo University. This year's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships was spread out over three weekends, giving distance athletes the possibility of competing in multiple events from 1500 m to half marathon. The country's top university woman, Ritsumeikan fourth-year Kazue Kojima, scored a matter-of-fact win in the 10000 m on May 8, beating 2008 national university 10000 m champion and second-year teammate Michi Numata by nearly 40 seconds with a 32:55.64 clocking. The real show, however, came in the women's 5000 m on May 16. Bukkyo third-year Kasumi Nishihara, fresh from an impressive 32:29.59 PB win against Numata and a host of professional and un...