japan running news

In a lot of ways this was one of the more interesting races in National Men's Ekiden history. 2 of the country's current top high schoolers, Fukushima 's Yota Mashiko and Hyogo 's Haruki Niizuma , made sure the race got off right with a CR-pace attack from the beginning. Everyone went with them, but it quickly shook down to the 2 of them and Miyagi 's Hiroto Suzuki , a relatively unknown factor. Niizuma was fresh back from running last weekend's World XC Championships in Florida and showed the fatigue from that race and the travel, dropping off just before 5 km on the 7.0 km opening stage. Mashiko and Suzuki hit it in 13:37, a head-to-head battle between runners from the top 2 teams at December's National High School Ekiden . Mashiko, who ran the fastest-ever Japanese time on the opening leg for winner Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. there, had better credentials than Suzuki, 3rd on the third leg for runner-up Sendai Ikuei H.S. and opened up with 1 km to go. But ...

The Osaka team took its 5th national title Sunday at the 9-stage, 42.195 km National Women's Ekiden in Kyoto over Hyogo and Nagano . Nagano's Haruna Tabata opened a 5-second lead on the 6.0 km First Stage, the first time a high schooler had won the opening leg since Ririka Hironaka in 2019. With that momentum Nagano held the lead through the first 6 stages. But a change came on the 4.0 km Seventh Stage. Starting 19 seconds back in 3rd, Osaka's Rio Kawamura put in a brilliant run to overtake both Hyogo and Nagano, handing off with a 16-second lead by the end of the stage. Hyogo went past Osaka on the 3.0 km Eighth Stage to take the top position for the first time, but with only a 5-second gap at the start of the 10.0 km Ninth Stage it came down to a battle between Hyogo anchor Rio Einaga and Osaka's Ayu Henmi . After catching up Henmi stayed locked to Einaga throughout the stage before kicking just past 1 km to go and running away to break the finish line tape in ...

Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. won its second-straight Hyogo Prefecture High School Ekiden Sunday in Tamba Sasayama, Hyogo to qualify for December's National High School Ekiden Championships . 3rd-year Sonata Nagashima , 3:44.87 for 1500 m in July, 2021 and 13:37.46 for 5000 m in May this year, led things off with a new 28:31 course record for the 10.0 km First Leg. The rest of the Nishiwaki Kogyo team road Nagashima's momentum to a 2:03:31 overall CR for the full 7-stage, 42.195 km course, its 28th time scoring Hyogo representation for Nationals. Runner-up Suma Gakuen H.S. was a kilometer back in 2:06:33, with 3rd-placer Hotoku Gakuen H.S. the only other team under 2:10 in 2:08:40. Nishiwaki Kogyo placed 7th at last year's National High School Ekiden Championships. Its last national title came in 2002, but its overall win record of eight titles still ranks it 2nd-best behind Hiroshima's Sera H.S. 's eleven wins. © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

On Sept. 13 Hyogo Prefecture announced its approval for Akashi Park's Kishiro Stadium track and Tocal Baseball Stadium's aging facilities to be renovated and updated beginning next fiscal year. The plans were also submitted the same day at a subcommittee meeting of the Prefectural City Park Study Group in Akashi. A Class 3 certified track and field facility, Kishiro Stadium is used to host a range of competitions. According to a prefectural government spokesperson, over a six-month period beginning in October, 2023 the track will be renovated to change its lane width from 1.25 m to the modern regulation 1.22 m width, and will have its photofinish equipment updated so that the facility can continue to meet current certification requirements . Officials are also examining replacing spectator stands too old to be repaired, updating toilets, showers, and other facilities, as well as making the entire venue barrier-free. In Tocal Baseball Stadium about 40% of the seating is currentl...

The Kishiro Stadium athletics track in Akashi Park in the city of Akashi, Hyogo, is on the brink of losing its official certification by the JAAF. Official certification must be renewed every 5 years, but due to a change in regulations over lane width the longstanding facility no longer meets the criteria for official certification.  Official track facilities are divided into four categories based upon factors such as spectator capacity and warmup track availability. If a track is not certified, no performances at any competitions held there will be recognized as official marks. The Akashi Park track, a Class 3 facility, has a total of 8 lanes of 1.25 m width each. The JAAF rulebook originally specified lane widths of 1.22 m or 1.25 m, but in 2019 this was modified to meet international standards by recognizing only the 1.22 m lane width. As a result, Akashi will be forced to meet the new criteria by the time of its next certification in the spring of 2023. Opened in 1949, the Aka...

Key players in Hyogo Prefecture's first National Women's Ekiden in 14 years in January, following their graduation from Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. at the end of this month Nozomi Tanaka and Yume Goto  will join a club team at the start of the spring season. Both have enrolled at Doshisha University where they will study in the Sports Health Science Department but will run for the ND 28 Athlete Club based in Amagasaki. Tanaka is the all-time #2 Japanese high school girl over 3000 m with a best of 8:54.27 and beat a field of Kenyan student runners to win last fall's National Sports Festival 3000 m. Goto won the Sixth Stage at the National Women's Ekiden and took 4th in 1500 m at the National Sports Festival. Regarding their decision to join a club team, Tanaka and Goto commented, "Ccorporate leaguers and university runners seem like they're focused on ekidens, so we've chosen a way that'll give us more freedom to run track." Neither will join t...

Hyogo   Prefecture dominated the second half of Sunday’s National Women’s Ekiden , moving up through the field with three straight stage wins to take its first national title in 14 years. In a repeat of her performance at last month’s National High School Ekiden, Hyogo’s Nozomi Tanaka went out front early before getting run down late in the opening stage, leading Hyogo off in 5th. Over the first half of the race the perpetually strong Osaka and Nagano emerged as the frontrunners before a brilliant Fourth Stage course record by Ririka Hironaka brought Nagasaki into the picture. Nagasaki’s fifth runner Chikako Mori extended the lead Hironaka built to 37 seconds with a stage win, but behind her Hyogo’s Mai Ota brought a big run to pass Osaka and Nagano and move into 2nd. A stage win from sixth runner Yume Goto put Hyogo just 2 seconds behind Nagasaki, and with another pair of stage wins from its next two runners Chinatsu Tarumoto and Asuka Ishimatsu Nagasaki was over ...

by Brett Larner Click photo for video highlights via race broadcaster NHK. Hyogo Prefecture took its second-straight National Men's Ekiden title Jan. 20 in Hiroshima with a perfect team performance that held off rivals Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture . With anchor Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) ailing after potentially career-ending injuries last year and a disastrous performance three weeks ago at the New Year Ekiden the rest of the Hyogo team knew that they needed a margin of at least a minute by the start of the anchor stage to have a chance at holding off  Tokyo and Aichi anchors Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) and Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), and, aided by ideal conditions, they timed it perfectly. Last year's First Stage winner Keisuke Nakatani  (Hyogo/Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) took it out fast and accelerated each km on the 7.0 km leg, just missing the course record but giving Hyogo a 2-second lead.  3.0 km Second Stage runner Chikashi Ikeda  (Hy...

by Brett Larner Kensuke Takezawa runs down the win for Hyogo Prefecture at the 2012 National Men's Ekiden Championships. Click photo for video highlights via race broadcaster NHK . Pre-race favorite and 2010 champion Hyogo Prefecture  lived up to expectations, taking the 2012 National Interprefectural Men's Ekiden Championships title on the strength of stage wins by opening man Keisuke Nakatani  and anchor Kensuke Takezawa .  High schooler Nakatani made a bold surge with 2 km to go on the 7 km opening stage to put Hyogo ahead by 10 seconds.  Hyogo's Chikashi Ikeda  maintained the lead through the 3 km Second Stage, but Third Stage runner Fuminori Shikata  fell victim to a 2:37 opening km by Tokyo's runner Yuta Takahashi  and dropped to 7th.  Hyogo spent the rest of the race playing catchup, not regaining the lead until 8 km into the 13 km Seventh Stage, where anchor Takezawa caught up to and then dropped Aichi Prefecture's Yuta Ito  to ...