japan running news

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...

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...

In the first major race of 2024, Toyota took the lead on the 2nd leg to hold off two-time winner Honda for its first New Year Ekiden national title since 2016. The 12.3 First Stage had a 7-way sprint finish, with Naoki Ota (Yakult) taking the top spot over Hazuma Hattori (NTT Nishi Nihon) in 34:42 and 35-year-old Minato Oishi (Toyota) 4 seconds back in his final New Year Ekiden before retiring. On the new 21.9 km Second Stage, Ota's older brother Tomoki Ota (Toyota) immediately went to the front, initially with company from 2:06 marathoner Yohei Ikeda (Kao) and Ken Nakayama (Honda) but soon on his own. Ota, 2nd at last month's NR-breaking 10000 m National Championships, took advantage of a tailwind to win the stage in 1:01:40, a 59:25 half marathon equivalent, and hand off to new teammate Ren Tazawa . Tazawa, 4th at the 10000 m National Championships, split 27:35 en route on the 15.4 km Third Stage, and after Felix Korir held the lead on the new 7.8 km Fourth Leg it w...