japan running news

In what looked to have been his official 10000 m debut, Justus Soget (Honda) survived constant turnover to take the top spot in the fastest heat at this year's Hachioji Long Distance meet, winning it in 27:35.57. With everyone focused on getting ready for January's New Year Ekiden and Hakone Ekiden, 15 other men followed him under 28 minutes in the same heat. Among them, Shinobu Kubota (Toyota) following up his comeback run at last week's Chubu Region Corporate Ekiden with a 27:55.07 for 14th, his first time under 28 in six years..  Justus Soget being interviewed by JRN's Mika Tokairin post-race. Two other men went sub-28 in the previous heat, Silas Kingori (Hiramatsu Byoin) leading the way in 27:49.38. Kubota was the only Japanese man to go under 28, but nine others were under 28:15 including collegians Shunya Kikuchi (Josai Univ.), 5th behind Kingori in 28:08.25, and Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.), 21st in the fast heat in 28:10.41. Along with the 18 men to brea...

click photo for complete video of race 3rd two years ago and runner-up last year, Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) finally got the better of two-time champ Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Toyota Kyushu), breaking away inside the first 5 km to solo a 1:00:44 for the win and taking more than 30 seconds off Karemi's course record at the Okukuma Road Race  half marathon.  Hiroshi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) led a small group of Japanese men who tried to follow Mwaura's move, while Karemi initially hung back. Once Karemi caught back up, he and Ichida ran past halfway together before he put on a surge at a water station to drop Ichida and try to close the gap to Mwaura. But a third-straight title in his last race in Japan wasn't to be, as Karemi finished just over a minute behind Mwaura in 1:01:49. Ichida held on to the top Japanese spot at 3rd in a 3-second PB of 1:02:21. The women's race initially played out as a head-to-head between duos from the Wacoal and Kyocera corporate teams,...

The Fukuoka International Marathon and Osaka Marathon were the two big headline-makers on the Japanese scene this weekend, but they were far from the only action to be had. Just 13 days after running a four-minute CR of 2:27:39 to win the Kobe Marathon , Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) ran the first nighttime edition of the Singapore Marathon . Starting conservatively, Yamaguchi moved up through the field mid-race to be in four-way contention for 3rd place. In the last dash to the finish she ended up 5th in 2:37:29, the fastest time ever by a Japanese woman on Singaporean soil by almost 10 minutes. Among those she beat was Ethiopian Aberash Feysa , who outkicked Yamaguchi for the win at June's Stockholm Marathon . In Okinawa, local Tatsunori Hamasaki (Nanji AC) won the 35th edition of the Naha Marathon in 2:22:48. Corporate leaguer Hanae Tanaka (Shiseido) won the women's race in 2:42:40. In Kumamoto, the Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler held its 44th running. Locally-based Keny...

In a 100 km race that came down to a sprint finish over the last 100 m the ascendant Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems team came up just short of stopping old-school powerhouse Asahi Kasei from scoring a third-straight New Year Ekiden corporate men's national title. Unremarkable over the first two stages, it took a Third Stage win by Tetsuya Yoroizaka with pressure from the superb 32-year-old  Ryosuke Maki (Subaru) to put Asahi Kasei in range of the front. But on the day's longest stage, the 22.4 km Fourth Stage, MHPS' Jakarta Asian Games marathon gold medalist  Hiroto Inoue had other ideas. Running with incredible smoothness and poise Inoue ran down some of 2018's best Japanese marathoners including Berlin 4th-placer Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) and Chicago 2:07:57 man Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) to go 35 seconds out front, 16 seconds faster than he ran last year before his 2:06:54 in Tokyo but still 18 seconds off Yuta Shitara 's course record. With Fukuoka wi...

Fujitsu and Asahi Kasei led the first round of qualifiers for the New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, winning Saturday's East Japan and Kyushu regional corporate ekidens. Starting in 7th, Fujitsu took the lead in the East Japan race thanks to a stage-winning run from second man Hiroki Matsueda and never looked back, its final margin of victory over the 7-stage, 76.9 km course standing at 46 seconds over runner-up Kanebo . Racing for the first time since his 4th-place 2:08:16 finish at September's Berlin Marathon, Fujitsu's Shogo Nakamura had a strong run on the 9.5 km Fourth Stage, finishing 2nd on time in 27:59 behind fellow Komazawa Unviersity graduate Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta). 6th at the final exchange, last year's East Japan winner Honda moved up to 4th thanks to a stage-winning run from anchor and half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara . Shitara was the only runner to break 38 minutes for the 12.9 km Seventh...

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-rock-roll-marathon-san-diego-results-20180603-story.html Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon San Diego, U.S.A., 6/3/18 click here for complete results Men 1. Titus Ekiru (Kenya) - 1:01:02 2. Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) - 1:02:18 3. Josphat Kipchirchir (Kenya) - 1:02:22 4. Kenji Yamamoto (Japan/Mazda) - 1:02:45 5. Aaron Braun (U.S.A.) - 1:02:54 6. Brendan Gregg (U.S.A.) - 1:03:32 7. Hiroshi Ichida (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 1:03:53 8. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Japan/Toyota) - 1:03:57 9. Yuki Oshikawa (Japan/Toyota Kyushu) - 1:04:16 10. Jeffrey Eggleston (U.S.A.) - 1:04:29 Women 1. Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) - 1:08:26 2. Jane Kibii (Kenya) - 1:12:00 3. Kaitlyn James (U.S.A.) - 1:13:52 4. Kristen Findley (U.S.A.) - 1:14:14 5. Brittney Favor (U.S.A.) - 1:15:02

Wind and rain hit the 20th anniversary Nagano Marathon hard enough to slow things down, Japan's Asami Furus e (Kyocera) and Ethiopian Abdela Godana taking the top spots in the women's and men's races. Coached by former men's half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato , Furuse and teammate Saki Tokoro were part of a lead group of five women that set out on low 2:33 pace. Kenyan Beatrice Jepkemboi dropped off he group near 20 km and Yukiko Okuno (Shiseido) did the same a few minutes later, leaving the Kyocera duo to face remaining Kenyan Pauline Wangui over the second half. Tokoro cracked just before 30 km and Wangui around 32 km, leaving Furuse to push on alone to an evenly-paced 2:34:09. Wangui faded to 4th, run down first by Tokoro and then by Okuno. Tokoro made it a 1-2 finish for Kyocera, another success for Sato is his short coaching career to date. 4th last year, former Tenmaya runner Aki Otagiri moved up from the second pack to take the 5th spot...

With the addition of Kenyan Abraham Kipyatich making them almost unbeatable, 2017 national champions Asahi Kasei defended their title in the first major race of 2018, the New Year Ekiden  corporate men's national championships. 遠藤日向区間賞！！！！ 34分55！！！ #ニューイヤー駅伝 #遠藤日向 pic.twitter.com/JkN3m15bly — わたる (@wYCzgTTlEB00gsB) January 1, 2018 1:00:54 half marathoner Keijiro Mogi led Asahi Kasei off, doing much of the work up front on the first of the day's seven stages but losing out to 19-year-old rookie Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) and a handful of others in the last sprint to the first exchange. Kapyatich was quick to make up the 10-second deficit he inherited, going straight to the front on the Second Stage and opening a 6-second lead. Farther back, Bedan Karoki (DeNA) passed 18 people, most of them fellow Kenyans, to win the  8.3 km stage in 22:25 just four weeks after running the Fukuoka International Marathon . The winner on the New Year Ekiden's longest stage ...

by Brett Larner The four-ring circus surrounding selection for the Japanese men's London World Championships marathon team pitches its final tent this Sunday at the 72nd edition of the  Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon .  Coming fresh in the wake of last weekend's record-breaking Tokyo Marathon Lake Biwa may seem like a lesser afterthought, but for certain Japanese men and for the fans it's everything. Up front there's a quality international field led by 2015 Beijing World Championships bronze medalist Munyo Solomon Mutai (Uganda), 2015 Tokyo Marathon winner  Endeshaw Negesse  (Ethiopia), 2015 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner  Tewelde Estifanos  (Eritrea), 2014~15 Madrid Marathon winner  Ezekiel Kiptoo Chebii  (Kenya), 2013 Lake Biwa winner and Daegu World Champs silver medalist  Vincent Kipruto  (Kenya), and, in his debut, Japan-based Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel), the former successor to Bedan Karoki as the king of Hir...

by Brett Larner photos by @rikujolove Living up to the promise of its 2015 recruiting coup after a disappointing performance last year , the Asahi Kasei team won its first New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships title in 18 years on the strength of its double set of twins. ニューイヤー駅伝　優勝　旭化成 １区　村山紘太 ２区　鎧坂哲哉 ３区　大六野秀畝 ４区　市田孝 pic.twitter.com/GGSNHGVsO3 — M.Kawaguchi (@rikujolove) January 1, 2017 Fresh from running 2016's fastest Japanese 10000 m, 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama led off for Asahi Kasei but unexpectedly proved to be its weakest link, finishing 13th of 37 on the 12.3 km First Stage, 11 seconds back from leader Masaki Toda (Nissin Shokuhin).  Defending champ Toyota also struggled to get off on the right foot, lead runner Taku Fujimoto only 10th. One of only 7 teams in the field without an African on board to boost its chances, Asahi Kasei fielded Tetsuya Yoroizaka , all-time Japanese #2 for 5000 m and 10000 m, on the 8.3 ...

by Brett Larner Japanese athletes scored three overseas road race wins Sunday.  In Australia, Tomohiro Tanigawa (Team Konica Minolta) and Kei Katanashi (Komazawa Univ.) doubled at the Sydney Marathon , Tanigawa outlasting the field in the men's marathon to score a second-straight win for Japanese men and Katanishi soloing his way to the half marathon title.  At Portugal's Sport Zone Porto Half Marathon , Nao Isaka (Team Hitachi) followed up with a win in the women's race, running down #1-ranked Martha Akeno (Kenya) to win in 1:12:12.   Hiroshi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) was the top Japanese man in Porto, 9th overall in 1:04:01, while Yusei Nakao (Smiley Angel AC) was a DNF after coming down with a fever during his flight to Porto.  At the Czech Republic's Usti Nad Labem Half Marathon , last year's Sydney Half women's winner Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Team Noritz) equalled Ichida's performance, 9th in 1:13:26 with teammate Misato Horie 39 seconds back in 11th....

by Brett Larner Portugal's Sport Zone Porto Half Marathon celebrates its 10th running with a strong men's field.   Silas Kimutai (Kenya) leads four men with recent times under 61 minutes followed closely by five more under 62.   Hiroshi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) and Shun Inoura (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) lead the third group of sub-63 men followed by countryman Yusei Nakao (Smiley Angel AC), the top Japanese man at May's Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon for the last three years in a row. Martha Akeno (Kenya) is the top-ranked woman in the field under 71 minutes but could get some competition from Japan's Ayumi Kubo (Team Kagoshima Ginko) who ran 1:11:29 last December.   Nao Isaka (Team Hitachi) should provide a good target for top Portuguese woman Filomena Costa with just 25 seconds separating their recent bests. 10th Sport Zone Porto Half Marathon Porto, Portugal, 9/18/16 times listed are best within last three years Men Silas Kimutai (Kenya) - 1:00:17 (2014) ...

by Brett Larner Japan's best spring distance meet, the Golden Games in Nobeoka came up short on Rio qualifying marks but still delivered some fast times with the winners of all the major races running PBs to get to the top. Ethiopian newcomer Shuru Bulo (Team Toto) was the only woman to clear the 15:24.00 women's 5000 m Rio standard, winning the women's A-heat in a PB 15:18.54.  Top Japanese woman Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) was far short of the mark in 15:42.29 for 4th.  After having helped Sera H.S. break the legendary Samuel Wanjiru -era National High School Boys Ekiden course record last December, Kenyan Paul Kamais (Team Chugoku Denryoku) continued to dominate in the 5th week of his pro career, leading four Japan-based Africans under the 13:25.00 men's Rio standard to win the 5000 m C-heat in a PB 13:17.50.  Hopes of another Japanese man getting the standard went unrequited, but top Japanese man Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.) still delivered a solid 13:34...

by Brett Larner videos by Ekiden News Two months after his 3rd-place finish on the Hakone Ekiden's most competitive stage helped put Aoyama Gakuin University in position for the overall win and a month after running a 1:02:09 PB at the Marugame Half, 20-year-old AGU second-year Tadashi Isshiki scored his first national title with a 1:02:11 win at the 18th National University Men's Half Marathon Championships in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park.  After record-setting depth last year when a world record 207 men broke 1:06:00 the National University Half blew minds again this year, the top 12 all breaking 1:02:30 and 27 collegiate men going under 1:03:00.  With perfect conditions today the field excelled, completely rewriting the record books as 265 men went under 1:06:00. With places on the Japanese team for this summer's World University Games half marathon for the top three finishers and a bigger dream hovering in the distance 5 1/2 years away the massive pack wen...

by Brett Larner video and photos by Ekiden News Second only to May's Prefontaine Classic, one of the world's few remaining ultra-deep 10000 m races went down Saturday in the misty mountains of Tokyo's western suburb of Hachioji at the Hachioji Long Distance Time Trials meet.  Japan-based Million Zewdie (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) ran a PB 27:36.35, the fastest time by an Ethiopian man in 2014, to lead 11 men sub-28 in one of the big tuneups for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships.  Right with him was Kenyan Bernard Kimani (Team Yakult) with a 27:36.60 PB for 2nd, while a few strides back Zewdie's teammate Kassa Mekashaw (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) added to the PB haul in 3rd in 27:38.93. The biggest news from the Japanese point of view came in 4th, where Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei), already the fastest Japanese collegiate ever with a 27:44.30 in the U.K. in 2011, ran 27:38.99 for 4th, all-time #5 in the Japanese record books a...

by Brett Larner A local Ugandan newspaper as tweeted by WUCCC organizers FISU . Hosts Uganda  dominated the 19th edition of the World University Cross Country Championships Mar. 22 in Entebbe, winning both individual gold medals and the women's team gold.  The women's race, four laps of a roughly 1.5 km loop, went out as a race between Uganda and neighboring Kenya , with Kenya's Sheila Kandie leading Uganda's Winnie Nanyondo  and Dorcus Ajok through the first lap before Nanyondo moved to the front.  Uganda's third woman, Prim Twikiriza , sat a few seconds back in the chase back with Japan's Ayumi Uehara , Fuyuka Kimura  and Natsumi Ozawa . On the third lap Nanyondo surged, covering it in 4:56.24, to drop both Kandie and Ajok, and from there she ran alone all the way to the finish to claim gold by a margin of nearly 30 seconds.  Ajok also got clear of Kandie on the third lap for silver, but on the fourth lap she was nearly run down by Twikiriza wh...