japan running news

  The 2023 National Corporate Track and Field Championships wrapped up Sunday at Gifu's Nagaragawa Stadium. Two of the three recent sub-13:10 men in the 5000 m took the top positions, Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) getting the win in 13:27.31 and Cosmas Mwangi (Chugoku Denryoku) 2nd in 13:27.94. Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) was a close 3rd in 13:28.54, with Yuto Imae (GMO) the fastest Japanese placer in 13:39.47 for 9th. Favorite Judy Jepngetich (Shiseido) dropped another sub-15 to win the women's 5000 m in 14:57.63, with Esther Muthoni (Nitori) right behind her in 14:58.03. Susan Kamotho (Yamada Holdings) was 3rd in 15:04.73, with Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) the top Japanese finisher at 7th in 15:33.69. In other track results: In the men's 800 m, Daichi Setoguchi (Team SSP) won the national title in 1:48.81, Nozomi Tanaka (Team NB) taking the women's race in 2:03.98. 400 m national record holder Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) won the men's 200 m fin...

Running through the lush green of the city, 8000 people ran the June 4 Sendai International Half Marathon , double the number in last year's corona-limited comeback edition. In the men's race, a trio of international athletes, Joseph Karanja , Charles Kamau and Benard Kimeli , led early and battled over the last 5 km. Nearing the track for the finish, Karanja broke free to win in 1:01:49. It was his first victory in Sendai. Running the women's race for the first time, Tokyo Olympics marathon 8th-placer Mao Ichiyama won in 1:11:38. Masayuki Higuchi and Tsubasa Kina won the men's and women's wheelchair divisions. Sendai International Half Marathon Sendai, Miyagi, 4 June 2023 complete results Women 1. Mao Ichiyama - 1:11:38 2. Sakiho Tsutsui - 1:12:04 3. Joan Kipkemoi - 1:12:33 4. Chiharu Ikeda - 1:12:53 5. Hikari Onishi - 1:13:10 6. Nanami Aoki - 1:13:52 7. Rinka Hida - 1:14:21 8. Yumeno Yamazaki - 1:14:28 9. Eriko Otsuka - 1:15:01 10. Shihoka Kato - 1:15:07 Men 1...

It was the busiest weekend so far this year in Japanese road racing. At the National Corporate Half Marathon and 10 km Championships , Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) took the men's title in 1:00:25, leading 11 under 61 minutes. 3rd overall, Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) was the top Japanese man in 1:00:32. Depth-wise it was pretty typical for a top-level Japanese half: sub-61: 11 sub-62: 26 sub-63: 46 sub-64: 78 sub-65: 93 sub-66: 106 After a CR and women-only NR last year the women's race was unexpectedly slow this time. 2022 champ Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) made it two in a row with an easy solo win in 1:10:16, with Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) 2nd in 1:10:48. Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic) won the women's 10 km title in 33:09. At the Karatsu 10-Miler , marathoner Hiroto Fujimagari (Toyota Kyushu) held off  Hideaki Sumiyoshi (Kyudenko) for the win 46:56 to 46:58. Naruha Sato (Shiseido) won the women's 10 km, bettering Shinozakura's time at the National ...

Japan's newest top-level half marathon happens Oct. 16 in Tokyo with the Tokyo Legacy Half bringing together 70 elite men, 23 elite women and 15,000 mass-participation runners to cover a course unused for the Tokyo Olympics but which did see action, including three home team medals, at the Tokyo Paralympics. The women's race has American Fiona O'Keeffe in a duel with this year's National Corporate Half winner Dolphine Omare , both of them having cleared 68 minutes this year. American Betsy Saina went sub-68 at Marugame in 2019 but hasn't finished a race since the 2019 Honolulu Marathon, her only starts since then being a DNF in Nagoya 2020 and a DNF at last year's Olympic test half in Sendai. Fresh off a win at the Hokkaido Marathon at the end of August, Haruka Yamaguchi is next in line with a 1:09:50 PB in Gifu this spring. Ikumi Fukura is the only other Japanese woman to have gone sub-70 in the field with a 1:09:58 PB from the 2020 National Corporate Half....

The Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon returns Apr. 24 with a mostly Japan-based field that at least on the men's side is still just about the best in its 11-year history.  On the women's side, 2022 National Corporate Half Marathon winner Dolphine Nyaboke Omare is the heavy favorite after running 1:07:56 to win the corporate title. Australian Sinead Diver , a DNF at last month's Nagoya Women's Marathon, is the only other woman in the field to have broken 70 minutes in the last 3 years with a 1:08:50 in Marugame 2 years ago. Along with Eloise Wellings and Natalie Rule Diver is part of an Australian trio that is the only segment of the race coming from outside Japan. Yuma Adachi (Kyocera) and Anna Matsuda (Denso) are the top Japanese women, Adachi with a 1:10:21 in Osaka in January and Matsuda a 1:10:29 behind Omare in February. Nobody is coming from overseas to run in the men's race, but the Japan-based Kenyan field is just about as good as Gifu could hope for any year....