japan running news

by Brett Larner

Sunday's Fukuoka International Marathon isn't the only major race happening on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu that day. Across the island in Kumamoto is the 34th Kumamoto Kosa 10 Mile Road Race.

What the Ageo City Half Marathon is to half marathons, Kumamoto Kosa is to 10-milers: the deepest, toughest in the world. Where Ageo sees university men lining up by the hundreds to prove to their coaches that they are worthy of running in the Hakone Ekiden, Japan's corporate jitsugyodan runners do Kumamoto Kosa as a selection and tune-up race for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden national championships. Almost everybody who's not running Fukuoka is on the starting line. It's a Japanese-only time trial, thank you very much, as foreign runners are politely given a one-minute head start and scored in a separate "International Division" even though all are based in Japan and run for the same teams as the Japanese runners.

Looking at the entr…

by Brett Larner

Nov. 21 was a busy morning at Oda Field, central Tokyo's main public track. Alongside the high school and amateur clubs which had gathered for morning practice, 2009 double 1500 m and 5000 m Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) ran a solo workout of 400 m repeats to tune up for Monday's International Chiba Ekiden with one of his coaches in attendance. As he ran, members of Team Nissin Shokuhin began to assemble for a group workout.

Nissin won the East Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships earlier this month. With a young roster including Gideon Ngatuny, Yuki Sato, Satoru Kitamura and Bene Zama they are the heavy favorites to win the 2010 New Year Ekiden national championships. Their full team including coaches was present at Oda Field, but several members were apparently injured. Ngatuny, originally slated for the International Chiba Ekiden but then left off the entry list, spent the entire workout sitting on the retaining wall and pouring drinks for the other team member…

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/05/20090510t14030.htm
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090510-492731.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On a Rikuren-certified 21.0975 km course starting at the Sendai Civic Track and Field Grounds in Sendai's Miyagino Ward and ending in front of City Hall in Aoba Ward, Berlin World Championships marathon team member Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) ran 1:08:50 to win the 19th Sendai International Half Marathon on May 10. The mother of a nearly three year old daughter, Akaba's first win in Sendai fittingly came on Mother's Day.

Running in cloudy but warm and humid conditions which saw few athletes clock their best times, Akaba dropped the three others in the lead pack after only 8 km. 2nd place finisher Julia Mombi (Team Aruze) was over 2 1/2 minutes behind, while Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) came up from 45 seconds behind at 10 km to take 3rd, just missing catching Mombi but earning one of the only PBs in the top 10.…

by Brett Larner

The Tokyo Marathon office reported on Mar. 20 that last year's 3rd place finisher Julius Gitahi (Team Nissin Shokuhin/Kenya) has withdrawn from tomorrow's race with an unspecified injury. Women's invited elite Rong Chen (China) has also withdrawn after sustaining an injury while training on Mar. 18.

The following general elite division runners have also withdrawn:

Men
James Mwangi (Team NTN/Kenya)
Toshiya Katayama (Team NTT Nishi Nihon)
Naoki Mishiro (Team Fujitsu)
Manabu Nishida (Team NTT Nishi Nihon)
Masatoshi Ibata (Team Aisan Kogyo)
Tsuyoshi Igarashi (Team JR Higashi Nihon)
Kazuyoshi Tokumoto (Team Nissin Shokuhin)

Women
Yuka Aikawa (Team Acom)
Rei Miura (Team Otsuka Seiyaku)
Atsuko Higo (eAthletes Tochigi AC)

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

http://iaaf.org/WXC09/news/newsid=49327.html

Click pictures for more 2009 Chiba Int'l XC photos by Mikiko Lawrence.

by Brett Larner

The 22nd running of the Hokkaido Marathon takes place on Aug. 31 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Historically a hot race, this year's event comes just a week after the Beijing Olympics and features a relatively limited field.

In the men's race, last year's champion Julius Gitahi of Team Nissin Shokuhin will return to defend his title. Gitahi, a track Olympian for his native Kenya, won last year's race in his marathon debut, running 2:17:26 in conditions of extreme heat and humidity. He went on to run 2:08:57 and take 3rd in the 2008 Tokyo Marathon. Gitahi's biggest challenger will be his Nissin teammate Yuzo Onishi, who set a personal best of 2:08:54 at the 2008 Biwako Mainichi Marathon. With the nearly identical times run by both athletes this year, the potential is there for a major duel between the two teammates.

Other contenders in the field include 2005 Brecia Marathon winner Richard Maiyo (Kenya), 2006 Warsaw Marathon winner Vitaliy Shafar (Ukraine), and d…

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/080806/spg0808061815001-n1.htm

translated by Brett Larner

On Aug. 6 the organizing committee of the 2008 Hokkaido Marathon released the names of the elite athletes appearing at this year`s competition to be held Aug. 31 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Headling the women`s field are Athens Olympics women`s marathon 7th place finisher Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) and 2007 Tokyo Marathon winner Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshoki). The men`s field includes defending champion Julius Gitahi (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and 2008 Biwako Mainichi Marathon 4th place finisher Yuzo Onishi (Team Nissin Shokuhin).

Top three finishers Julius Gitahi (L, 3rd place), Viktor Rothlin (C, 1st place) and Arata Fujiwara (R, 2nd place).


Winner Rothlin, Tokyo mayor Shintaro Ishihara, and runner-up Fujiwara.
Top seven finishers, L-R: Viktor Rothlin, Arata Fujiwara, Julius Gitahi, Toshinari Suwa, Satoshi Irifune, Kurao Umeki and Seiji Kobayashi.all photos (c) 2008 Mika Tokairinall rights reserved

by Brett Larner

Osaka World Championships bronze medalist Viktor Rothlin of Switzerland won the 2008 Tokyo Marathon in a Swiss national record of 2:07:23, aggressively frontrunning the later stages of the race to break apart the rest of the pack. Unknown individual entrant Arata Fujiwara of Team JR East Japan overcame severe leg cramps which almost forced him to stop in the last 6 km to run a massive PB of 2:08:40, finishing 2nd and putting his name on the shortlist for the Beijing Olympic team. Kenyan Olympian Julius Gitahi (Team Nissin Shokuhin) had a strong second marathon, running 2:08:57 to take 3rd place. His teammate Toshinari Suwa, the pre-race favorite to be top Japanese, conformed to his history and failed to take the top Japanese slot, settling for 4th in 2:09:16. Rounding out the top 5 was Helsinki World Championships marathoner Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo), who ran a PB of 2:09:40. All 5 runners broke last year's winning of time 2:09:45, set by Kenyan Daniel Njenga. N…

by Brett Larner

With exactly one month to go until race date the Tokyo Marathon released details on the field of elites who will be competing in the 2nd of Japan's Olympic selection races.

The domestic field is easily headlined by Team Nissin's Toshinari Suwa, a 2:07 marathoner who competed in the Athens Olympics and Osaka World Championships. Suwa had previously announced he would run March's Biwako Mainichi Marathon but he has evidently changed strategy in his attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympic marathon team. Other domestic contenders include Team Kanebo's Satoshi Irifune who competed in the Helsinki World Championships, veteran Olympian Kenjiro Jitsui also of Team Nissin, and younger runners Kenichi Kita and Kazushi Hara. Several strong runners are not among the elite field but have entered as individuals, including Team Chugoku Denryoku's Teruto Ozaki and Kurao Umeki, Team Nissin's Kazuyoshi Tokumoto, and Team JAL Ground Service's Takayuki Nishida…

by Brett Larner

Christmas came early this year.

For this morning`s Harriers practice we went over to Oda Field to do 4 x 5000 m with 5 min. recovery rather than training in Yoyogi Park as usual. Oda is the main public track in central Tokyo and there are usually some interesting people there working out. Today Keio University and Gakushuin University were both there along with a few high schools, clubs and individuals. One serious-looking woman I didn`t recognize was doing easy laps in a national team warmup uniform. About halfway through our workout one of the best professional teams in Japan, Nissin Shokuhin, showed up for some hard training.

Team Nissin includes some stellar talent on its roster. Toshinari Suwa is a 2:07 marathoner, was 6th in the Athens Olympics marathon and 7th in the Osaka World Championships marathon, and is a favorite to make the Beijing Olympics marathon team . Kazuyoshi Tokumoto was a legendary university runner and is considered one of the future stars of Japa…