japan running news

75 years, 75 stories from the people who made Fukuoka international.  75 legendary marathoners spanning 1957 to 2020 from over 30 countries, including 26 Olympic and World Championships medalists and 5 marathon world record breakers, remember running the Fukuoka International Marathon ahead of its final running on Dec. 5. Premiering Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 at 19:00 Japan time, 21:00 in Sydney, 13:00 in Nairobi, 11:00 in Berlin, 10:00 in London, 5:00 a.m. in NYC and 2:00 a.m. in L.A.  A JRN production. Support JRN:

by Brett Larner With his 2:09:54 at Sunday's Ehime Marathon Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) became the fifteenth runner in history to run sub-2:10 eleven times or more in his career.  The achievement puts him in distinguished company, including two marathon world record setters, seven Olympic marathon medalists, seven World Championships marathon medalists, three World Marathon Majors champions and eight winners of the six races now making up the World Marathon Majors. Kawauchi is one of only three non-African athletes to make the list, one of four on the list without either an Olympic or World Championships medal or a win at one of the Big Six, one of four to have not broken 2:07, and, with a PB of 2:08:14, the only one who has not run sub-2:08.  A sub-2:08 PB and a World Championships medal remain the major goals of his career. Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) - 16 times sub-2:10 PB: 2:04:38 2013 World Marathon Majors champion 1st, 2013 London Marathon 1st, 2012 C...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2012/03/30/kiji/K20120330002935440.html translated by Brett Larner Appearing at a press conference in his hometown of Isahaya, Nagasaki on Mar. 29, London Olympics marathon team member Arata Fujiwara  (30, Tokyo T&F Assoc.) talked about his goals at the Olympics, saying, "If you can run 2:07 then you can compete with the Africans.  I'm going to train focusing on time without worrying about what place it gets me." Before the press conference Fujiwara made an appearance at his alma mater, Isahaya H.S., receiving words of support and encouragement from his old coach Toshihiro Matsumoto , 55, and students.  "All of your support is a powerful encouragement," Fujiwara told them.  "I want to run the kind of race that will let me pay it back to you." Translator's note: Although it seems likely to change in London, to date only Beijing Olympics gold and silver medalists Samuel Wanjiru  (Kenya) and Jaouad Gh...

http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20101211k0000e050020000c.html an editorial by Makoto Izawa translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin photo by Dr. Helmut Winter click link to original article above for a photo of Fukuoka pacemaker Eliud Kiptanui just after being physically stopped by a race official Update: JRN's translation of this article has been translated into Italian here . You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win. At last weekend's Fukuoka International Marathon , a bizarre happening took place which left race officials saying, "We've never heard of something like this before." A pacemaker hired to lead part of the race at a designated speed took off with reckless abandon, creating chaos in the race behind him. What is the role of pacemakers in a marathon? The Fukuoka International Marathon hired four official pacemakers this year. However, at 15 km one of them, Eliud Kiptanui (Kenya) abruptly accelerated, ignoring his agreeme...

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Jaouad Gharib wins the 2010 Fukuoka International Marathon. Click photo for video highlights of the race or click here to visit race broadcaster KBC's Fukuoka site for more photos. The top-seeded man in the field at the 2010 Fukuoka International Marathon , Beijing Olympics silver medalist and two-time World Champion Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) completed four straight years of Fukuoka domination by the Beijing medalists, running 2:08:24 to join Beijing gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya) and Beijing bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) in the Fukuoka winner's club. On a cloudless day with temperatures approaching 20 degrees most of the field wilted in the heat, but proven heat runner Gharib had little difficulty dispatching the competition even if he was not completely immune to the temperature effects. After a slower than planned first 5 km a ponytailed Kenta Oshima (Team Nissin Shokuhin) injected a bit of speed by running ahe...

by Brett Larner If it's the first Sunday in December then at last it's time for the last first-rate marathon of the year on the worldwide calendar, the Fukuoka International Marathon. Overseas viewers should be able to watch the live Japanese television broadcast on TV Asahi 12:00-2:30 p.m. Japan time on Dec. 5 via Keyhole TV by clicking here . Scroll down to the bottom of this article for a field listing with bib numbers and links to course maps. Long Japan's most respected elite men's marathon, Fukuoka has stayed relevant in recent years by investing significant capital in bringing in one or two marquee athletes to deliver the goods with a supporting cast of top Japanese runners and second-tier internationals. Culminating in Ethiopian great Tsegay Kebede 's 2:05:18 course record last year, the last four years have seen world record holder Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) and all three Beijing Olympics medalists, Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya), Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) and ...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20101118070.html http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20101119k0000m050060000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Nov. 18 Rikuren announced the elite field for this year's Fukuoka International Marathon scheduled for Dec. 5, the first of the domestic selection races for the 2011 World Championships marathon in Daegu, Korea. Beijing Olympics silver medalist and two-time World Championships gold medalist Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) leads the overseas invited field while a large group of Japanese elites will vie for a World Championships berth. The domestic field includes 2005 World Championships marathon bronze medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku), 2009 World Championships marathon team member Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo), 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta), and in his marathon debut 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu). Gharib will be run...

http://www.nyrrmedia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=152:pre-race-transcript-from-runners-yuri-kano-salina-kosgei-and-jaouad-gharib&catid=42:transcripts&Itemid=61

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/01/20090109t64043.htm translated by Brett Larner Former Japanese men's marathon national record holder Atsushi Fujita (32, Team Fujitsu) is on the road to a rebirth after finding a new style in his running. Fujita set the former national record of 2:06:51 at the 2000 Fukuoka International Marathon, but he has never been able to meet his goals since. "I set that record just running on momentum and energy," says Fujita. "Next time I want to do it by precise calculation." His first step on his new road will be at March's Tokyo Marathon. A 2:06 marathon is 3 minutes per km. Last year Fujita focused on his track speed, running a new 5000 m PB of 13:54.65 and his fastest 10000 m since 2000. In the New Year Ekiden he ran the 3rd-fastest time on the 4th stage to lead Team Fujitsu to its first victory in 9 years. Fujita reflects, "The last few years I lost some of my speed. I had to work hard to run 3 minute pace." As the y...

originally published in the 2008 Fukuoka International Marathon program translated by Brett Larner with editorial assistance from Mika Tokairin Click here for a Spanish-language translation of my English translation of the original Japanese article. Translator's note: Fukuoka-based sportswriter Akio Harada of the Asahi Newspaper conducted this excellent interview with 2007 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Samuel Wanjiru prior to the 2008 race. Wanjiru, who lives part of the year in Fukuoka, won Kenya's first Olympic marathon gold medal in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32 in Beijing this past summer. Merry Christmas. Q. You won Beijing by running an incredibly fast pace. This was only my third marathon, so I thought I would just try to run it the way I've done the others so far. My first marathon was Fukuoka in December, 2007. The second time was London in April, 2008. In both of them I'd planned to run about 3 minutes per km, so I thought I should just run Beijin...