japan running news

Stop 4 on the 2026 Hokuren Distance Challenge happened Wednesday in Fukagawa . Things were pretty low-key, with the main results coming in the men's 1500 m and women's 800 m. In the men's 1500 m, Korean NR holder Jae Ung Lee ran the 2nd-fastest time of his career, 3:37.75, for the win. All 3 of his sub-3:39 performances to date have now happened at the HDC series, with a 3:38.55 in Shibetsu in June last year followed by his 3:36.01 NR in Kitami a month later. Atsuki Urushibata was 2nd in 3:38.98, his first time under 3:40. American Nicole Montgomery took almost a second off her PB to win the women's 800 m in 2:02.29, with the top 5 all running PBs under 2:07. Japan's #2 800 m runner Ayano Shiomi opted to step up in distance, running a 6-second PB of 4:11.12 for 2nd in the women's 1500 m. Margaret Ekalale won in 4:10.49. Women's 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo was in Canada for The Jerome Classic meet, where she was 3rd in a 3-way sprint finish in 2:02.57. K...

After tuning up with a 3:40.19 win in the men's 1500 m A-heat in Fukagawa on Wednesday , South Korean Jae Ung Lee turned in the performance of the day at the second Hokuren Distance Challenge meet in Shibetsu Saturday. Going to the front after 900 m, Lee ran a 3:38.55 for the win, just enough to achieve his goal of breaking the 1993-era Korean national record of 3:38.60 and almost 6 seconds up on nearest Japanese competitor Rikuto Iijima (Ami AC), 2nd in 3:44.27. Na Yeon Park also repeated her Fukagawa win, slightly slower this time in 4:15.58 over Rose Wangui (Daiso), 2nd in 4:16.09. Other standout performances included an 8:55.45 win in the women's 3000 m by Yvonne Jepchirchir Chepkosgei (Higo Ginko), a 7:52.11 win by Isaac Ndiema (Mazda) in the men's 3000 m, and a 14:55.45 win by Caroline Kariba (Japan Post) in the women's 5000 m. No Japanese athletes hit the qualifying standards for next month's National Championships at any distance. The next meet in t...

Streaming of the Hokuren Distance Challenge Shibetsu Meet, part 2 of this year's 5-meet time trial series, starts today at 14:00 local time, with the main program kicking off at 16:00. Start lists are here , with live results here . Shibetsu will be the last main chance for people to hit qualifying standards for next month's National Championships. © 2025 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

This year's Hokuren Distance Challenge time trial meet series is divided into parts, with the first two meets in mid-June targeting people trying to hit the qualifying standards for next month's National Championships, and the last three meets in mid-July more geared toward last-chance World Championships qualification. The first meet in Fukagawa yesterday in humid conditions was relatively low-key. Emmanuel Maru had a good solo 27:26.89 win in the men's 10000 m A-heat win, emerging from a pack of 10 out of which only 3 others got under 28 minutes, all in the mid-27:50 range. The talented Caroline Kariba had the best women's performance of the meet, winning the 3000 m by over 20 seconds in 8:51.60. There were also near-misses on the South Korea women's and men's 1500 m NR, with Na Yeon Park winning the women's race in 4:15.07 and Jae Ung Lee the men's in 3:40.19. Japanese athletes who cleared the National Championships qualifying standards : Women...

The 5-meet Hokuren Distance Challenge series kicks off today in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. Timetable and entry lists are here . Streaming starts at 13:30 local time, with the main program starting at 15:30. Live results are here . The best race of the day looks to be the men's 10000 m A-heat at 20:00, where 26:54.76 man Richard Kimunyan  (Logisteed) and sub-27:15 runners Emmanuel Maru  (Toyota Boshoku) and Evans Keitany  (Toyota Boshoku) lead a field with 15 people with bests under 28:00. Tatsuhiko Ito  (Honda) leads the Japanese entries at 27:25.73. © 2025 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

Catching up on track results from the last few days: After skipping the National Championships, men's 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Subaru) and 110 mH hurdler Shunsuke Izumiya (Sumitomo Denko) demonstrated fitness at the Paris Diamond League meet. Miura ran a season best 8:10.52 for 7th, with Izumiya 3rd in the final in a 13.16 (-0.6) SB after winning Heat 2 in 13.16 (+0.4). National champion Rachid Muratake (JAL) was a DNS in the final after winning Heat 1 in 13.15 (+0.1). At the last Nittai University Time Trials meet of the season, collegiate 5000 m and 10000 m record holder Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) won the men's 5000 m fast heat in 13:27.48, outrunning Brian Kiptoo (Reitaku Univ.) and Patrick Kamau (Kokushikan Univ.). Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) was the fastest Japanese man in the meet at 13:45.54 for 6th. Kiptoo also soloed a 10000 m, literally, as in the only person in the race, in 29:05.52. Sharon Mwanthi (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) won the wome...

Racing her second 5000 m in five days, national record holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) continued to build back from injury with a 3rd-place finish in 15:18.77 at Wednesday's Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami meet , 11 seconds up on what she ran Saturday in Abashiri . Pacer Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) gradually built up in speed, wearing down the lead pack but Hironaka staying with her as fast as it got. Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) and Eva Cherono (Toto) had a stronger kick over the last 200 m, going 1-2 in 15:15.55 and 15:16.35, but Hironaka's performance increased the chance she'll be ready for the 10000 m at next month's Budapest World Championships. Marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) also had a quick turnaround from his 13:27.79 PB in Abashiri, tailing 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) most of the way through the 5000 m before going for a long surge. Miura started to close over the last 200 m, but going into the home straight Akasaki threw...

The third meet in this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series happened Saturday in Abashiri, Hokkaido. 5000 m NR holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) had her best run of the year with a 15:29.12 to win the 5000 m A-heat, a step back in the right direction after a series of flat performances since last ekiden season. And it couldn't have come at a better time, with Hironaka being the only Japanese woman qualified for the 10000 m at next month's Budapest World Championships. The rest of the field was over 20 seconds back, led by Yuna Wada (Japan Post) in 15:52.33. Eva Cherono (Toto) took the women's 10000 m in a season best 31:25.57. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) continued to grow through her first collegiate season was a 30 sec+ PB of 31:46.17, just beating marathoner Yuka Ando (Wacoal) who clocked 31:46.85 for 3rd. Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) led the women's 3000 m in 8:49.32, Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) 2nd in 8:55.52 and Esther Wangui (Starts...

  Streaming of today's Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri Meet starts at 14:15 local time. Live results .

Three big meets have happened in Japan in the last few days. Nittai University held a one-day edition of its time trials series on July 1, most of its usual base of athletes being up north in Hokkaido. Unattached Kenyan Stephen Lemayan took the men's 5000 m A-heat in 13:47.49 over Tomoki Ichimura (Sunbelx), 2nd in 13:47.92. Hayato Oguma (Tokyo Jitsugyo H.S.) won the 1500 m A-heat in 3:46.83, a quality mark for a Japanese high schooler. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) continued her solid debut season with a 15:53.46 win by almost 15 seconds in the women's 5000 m A-heat. The home team's Haruko Hosaka (Nittai Univ.) won the women's 3000 m A-heat in 9:20.54. The Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido also kicked off July 1 with its first meet happening in Shibetsu . Mostly a tune-up for later meets in the series, the highlight in women's races was an 8:55.80 win by Eva Cherono (Toto) in the 3000 m A-heat by 4 seconds over Esther Muthoni (Nitori). Rion F...

Streaming of the second meet in this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series starts at 15:15 local time today. Start lists . Live results will be here .

The Hokuren Distance Challenge series continued Saturday in Kitami , where the biggest news came in the women's 3000 m. National ekiden champion Meijo University 's Yuma Yamamoto took over 6 seconds off Masako Saito 's collegiate record dating back to 1994, running 8:52.19 for 6th. 19-year-old Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) took the top spot in a PB 8:45.86, with high schoolers Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) and Susan Kamotho (Oita Tomei H.S.) running impressive U20 times of 8:47.89 and 8:50.24. The top 9 were all under 9 minutes, very deep for a domestic Japanese race. 2019 World University Games half marathon gold medalist Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) ran her 2nd PB for 5000 m this week, taking the top spot in the A-heat in 15:30.14 with a 2:59 final 1000 m. The men's 3000 m saw former 1500 m NR holder Nanami Arai (Honda) run a PB 7:48.50 for the win, moving him up to all-time Japanese #5. Hazuma Hattori (Toenec), younger brother of marathoner Yuma Hattori , was 2n...

Japan's main early summer track series, the Hokuren Distance Challenge , is underway across Hokkaido. Following last month's special last chance edition for people to go for Oregon 2022 World Championships qualifying times, two regular meets have already happened this month. At the July 2 Shibetsu Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) won the day's biggest race, the men's 5000 m A-heat, in 13:26.03 by a fraction of a second over Muthoni Muiru (JR Higashi Nihon). The biggest surprise was World Championships 3000 mSC squad member Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) outkicking lone Worlds 5000 m entrant Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Kaijo) for top Japanese honors at 3rd overall in 13:33.45. Endo was 5th in 13:35.59, doing the race as a workout after winning the 3000 m in 7:52.50 where he beat another Worlds steepler, Ryoma Aoki (Honda) by 5 seconds. After missing the Tokyo Olympics 10000 m by a fraction of a second, Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) came close to a full comeback from a lon...

The Hokuren Distance Challenge 20th Anniversary Meet , a last chance set up by the JAAF for Japanese athletes to hit 2022 World Championships standards ahead of Sunday's deadline, produced two new qualifier. Pacing the men's 5000 m, Justus Soget (Honda) kept going when the rest of the field dropped off and crossed the line in a new PB of 13:12.90, the 18th Kenyan to qualify for Worlds in the 5000 m. Men's 10000 m pacer Benard Koech (Kyudenko) did the same, getting under the standard in 27:20.66 and also becoming the 18th Kenyan to qualify. Half marathon great Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) almost joined Koech but came up just short in 27:29.85 for 2nd. Among Japanese men the performance of the day was former 1500 m NR holder Nanami Arai (Honda), who ran an all-time JPN #3 PB of 3:36.63 for the win, short of the Worlds standard but adding further to the incremental step up this season for Japanese middle distance as a whole. Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) gave the 8:22.00...

The JAAF has set up one last chance for its middle and long distance athletes to hit the qualifying standards for next month's World Championships, adding an early meet to the Hokuren Distance Challenge series today ahead of Sunday's deadline to qualify. Streaming starts at 16:00 local time. A breakdown of the races: Men's 800 m - 16:15 - No Japanese man has ever broken the 1:45.20 Worlds standard, but national champion Mikuto Kaneko (Chuo Univ.) is close at 1:45.85. Given that he's currently 57th against the 800 m's 48-deep quota it'll take a NR for him to make it to Eugene. Women's 1000 m - 16:25 - Nationals 800 m top 2 Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) and Nozomi Tanaka (Jidoshokki) are both relatively close to making the quota, but instead of going for the standard or maxing points they're opting for a go at Tanaka's 2:37.72 NR for 1000 m. Only 3 athletes are entered. Women's 5000 m - 16:40 - Nobody in this race is in contention for the Or...

The Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives has announced that it's women's running team will be disbanded in March, 2023 at the end of the 2022-23 season. Founded in 1987, the Hokuren team qualified for the National Corporate Women's Ekiden 26 times and produced notable athletes including Yukiko Akaba , a 2008 Olympian in the 5000 m and 10000 m. It failed to make last year's National Corporate Women's Ekiden, finishing 29th at the qualifying race. In addition to competing in races, the team regularly held educational session and running events for school children and the general public to help contribute to society by spreading the love of the sport. Its activities will remain unchanged during the 2022-23 season and will still compete as usual. It will also continue to support the Hokuren Distance Challenge series of track meets held across Hokkaido every summer. source article: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/32a9115eac6fa7fc2d7ac2b2a8442e4a76c21e8d tra...

The five-meet Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido kicks off Saturday at 16:30 local Japan time in Shibetsu with ten women's and men's races from 1500 m to 5000 m. Start lists and the meet schedule c an be found here . Look for the remaining four meets every 3~4 days through the 17th. © 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

On May 14 the JAAF announced the schedule and program for the five-meet Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido. Scheduled after the end of the Olympic qualifying period, the series will still play a key role for middle and long distance athletes tuning up for the Tokyo Olympics and fall ekiden season. Sat. July 3 - Shibetsu Meet men:  1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m women:  1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m Wed. July 7 - Fukagawa Meet men:  5000 m, 10000 m women:  3000 m, 5000 m, 10000 m Sat. July 10 - Abashiri Meet men:  1500 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m, 3000 mSC women:  1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m, 3000 mSC Wed. July 14 - Kitami Meet men:  800 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m, 10000 m women:  1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, T11-13 5000 m Sat. July 17 - Chitose Meet men:  800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, 2000 mSC women:  800 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10000 m, 2000 mSC Entires for all five meets are open June 7-18 for all athletes who have met the ...