japan running news

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...

all photos by Brett Larner Two women from the Yamada Denki women's ekiden team, 2:28 marathoner Ayumi Nakayama and 1:10 half marathoner Maki Suzawa , will be running next month's Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Yamada Denki head coach Katsuaki Isobata invited JRN to attend Yamada Denki's altitude training camp in Sugadaira, Nagano the last weekend of August to watch some of Nakayama and Suzawa's training. Below are some photos of the weekend, primarily of a 30 km tempo run Nakayama did with accompaniment from several teammates. Click photos to enlarge. The start point of Sugadaira's main road loop, a course of about 6.5 km in length at 1300 m elevation. Nakayama, left, in singlet, on the first loop of her 30 km run paced by teammates Megumi Kanetomo and Aoi Miyaji . Coach Isobata follows in a car shouting out instructions and pace. Nakayama is wearing pink Mimura brand shoes custom-made by master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura . Miyaji takes a turn leading near the end o...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0002639286.shtml http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=ind_30&k=2010011300822 translated and edited by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner L-R: Yakult Swallows outfielder Norichika Aoki, Adidas Japan president Pascal Martin, shoe master Hitoshi Mimura, and 1991 World Championships gold medalist Hiromi Taniguchi in Tokyo on Nov. 13. Click photo for full-sized image. Sports maker Adidas Japan held a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 13 to announce the signing of Hitoshi Mimura, the master craftsman known for the handmade shoes he has long produced for the world's top athletes, to an exclusive advisor position with the company. Mimura, 61, will continue to develop his shoes at his 'M. Lab' workshop in Takasago, but said, "I want to make shoes that will set a world record." Beginning in April, Mimura's shoes will be an Adidas-branded product. Focusing on running and baseball, he will supervise product development for elite athletes, the d...

JRN's most-read articles of 2009 by month: January Japanese runners to watch in 2009. -  Jan. 8 Bringing back the classic: Fukushi in Osaka. - Jan. 23 February Masters runner Yoshihisa Hosaka sets 60+ world record at Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon.   - Feb. 2 March Reiko Tosa's "homemade" training for Tokyo finale. - Mar. 18 The man in the wig speaks.   - Mar. 25 April Mimura leaves Asics to start own company.   - Apr. 5 A report from Rikuren's New Zealand training camp. - Apr. 11 May Weekend Japanese track action roundup.   - May 18 June Phuket Marathon helping to rebuild local economy. - June 16 July From the editor: women's marathoning and the autumn sky. - July 2 Big Mouth scores the big ticket - Ueno in Berlin. - July 28 Life after 2:08 - an interview with Takayuki Nishida.   - July 29 August Osaka Mayor Hashimoto announces Osaka Marathon for 2011.   - Aug. 6 Showing women a new way: Yukiko Akaba's challenge. ...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090804/spg0908041931000-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner At its Kobe headquarters on Aug. 4, Asics unveiled its new custom-made shoes for members of the Japanese national team for this month's World Championships in Berlin. The shoes on display included women's 100 m and 200 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima's spikes and women's marathoner Yoko Shibui's new marathon flats. In terms of mechanics the spikes Fukushima will use in Berlin are essentially the same as those she used in last summer's Beijing Olympics and in her national record runs, ideally suited for her unique high-pitch leg turnover. In keeping with her 'Running Like a Flash' theme for the season, Fukushima's shoes this year have featured a dynamic striped pattern. However, in keeping with the red and white design of the national team uniform her Berlin shoes will be a lustrous white. Can she set a new record in such gorgeous shoes? Translat...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090401-477581.html translated and edited by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura (60), the man who made custom shoes for the likes of baseball's Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) and Olympic marathon gold medalists Naoko Takahashi and Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), retired from Asics on Mar. 31 after 42 years with the company. Mimura now plans to launch his own new brand, Mimura Shoes, from a workshop in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture. Certified as a 'modern artisan,' Mimura wants to continue helping support athletes from the ground up. Even on his last day with Asics, Mimura was to be found hard at work matching careful measurements of each individual athlete's feet as he hand-crafts all his shoes. Mimura joined Asics in 1967 and began to make his customized shoes in 1974. Seko, the Soh brothers, Nakayama, Taniguchi, Arimori, Suzuki, Takahashi, Noguchi....the list of Mimura's clients over the ye...

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/tochu/article/sports/news/CK2008071702000172.html translated by Brett Larner Athens Olympics women`s marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (30, Team Sysmex) received her superlight and superfast 'Golden Shoes' from Asics` grandmaster shoe craftsman Hitoshi Mimura at a press conference in Kobe on July 16th. Mimura has nicknamed the shoes his 'Beijing Special.' Noguchi had ordered five different types of shoe from Mimura, testing each out on the Beijing Olympic marathon course and selecting the one which felt the best. Mimura then modified the basic design to respond to the idiosyncrasies of Noguchi`s stride, coming up with a 'magical' shield against Beijing`s hard concrete roads for the Olympic champion. The shoes` last is angled slightly forward to improve motion and reduce fatigue, while the midsole cushioning has been reduced, lightening the shoes` weight by 13 grams from its previous design weight of 118 grams. The design of the mesh...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0001197915.shtml translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon favorite Mizuki Noguchi of Kobe-based Team Sysmex spoke at a press conference at Kobe`s Crown Plaza hotel the morning of July 3rd. Noguchi addressed a crowd of 220 supporters including Asics` master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura, who made Noguchi`s shoes for the Beijing Olympics. July 3rd also being Noguchi`s 30th birthday, the Olympic champion told her audience, "Having the Olympics to start off my 30`s is the best present I can think of." Having just returned from a series of test runs of the Beijing course, Noguchi commented, "My spirits are high and I`m feeling confident to defend my title. I think I can break the mark I set in Athens, but the important thing for me is to be relaxed during the race." Noguchi leaves for her final altitude training in St. Moritz, Switerland on July 4th.

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKF0368%2027062008 http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/080628/oth0806282316038-n1.htm http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/080629/oth0806291819009-n1.htm http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20080701-OHT1T00058.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), on track to defend her Olympic marathon gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, travelled to Beijing on June 27 for a series of test runs on the Olympic marathon course. Noguchi reported that she would be doing the test runs at jogging pace to reconfirm her image of the course after viewing videos and previous test runs as well as to get an idea of the weather conditions in Beijing. At 4:00 p.m. on June 28 Noguchi ran 26 km of the course, accompanied by her coach Hisakazu Hirose and wearing the race shoes custom-made for her by Asics` master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura. The two covered the final 15 km of the Olympic course in one hour. Conditions during the test run we...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/sports/olympics/11shoes.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0001115236.shtml translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) met the press at a conference in Okayama City on June 6. At age 22 the youngest marathoner on the men`s or women`s teams, Nakamura told the assembled crowd, "My biggest strength is my youth. [Thinking about the Olympics and] lasting until the end is scary, but I want to run a race which exceeds all expectations." Nakamura spoke in front of 500 members of the Okayama Track and Field Association and assorted members of the press. Her mentor from her days at Nishinomiya High School, Kenkichi Hagiwara, as well as Asics` master shoe craftsman Hitoshi Mimura who made the shoes she will use in the Olympic marathon, also attended. The event concluded with a video of Nakamura`s victory in March`s Nagoya International Women`s Marathon, her debut and the race which qualified her for the Olympics. Nakamura`s pride in her accomplishm...

translated and edited by Brett Larner; source article links below The six members of Japan's Beijing Olympic marathon team gathered at the National Training Center on Mar. 26 for a press conference to discuss their preparation for the main event. First and foremost, women's team member Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and men's team members Tsuyoshi Ogata and Atsushi Sato (both Team Chugoku Denryoku) will be running in the "Good Luck Beijing" Pre-Olympic Marathon over the official Olympic course on April 20. The runners' coaches Yasushi Sakaguchi and Hideo Suzuki stressed that this run will only be for the purpose of testing out the Beijing course and will not be at race effort, likely at 3:30 per km pace for the men. The course has a gross elevation difference of only 8 m and is thus quite flat, but the concrete used in Beijing's roads is reputed to be very hard. This combined with the high humidity likely in late summer suggests a high probabilit...