japan running news

The favorites took the top spots in most of the races at Sunday's National Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka. The front end of the U20 women's 6 km was like a replay of the 6.0 km First Stage at December's National High School Ekiden, and it couldn't have been closer. Both Kanoko Nawa , leadoff runner for ekiden winner Nagano Higashi H.S. , and Akari Matsumoto , the first runner from 7th-place Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S. , clocked 20:20 with Nawa getting the win in the photo finish. Narumi Okumoto , first runner from ekiden 8th-placer Kojokan H.S. , was 3rd in 20:23, and Aya Kotajima , first runner from 5th-place Hakuho Joshi H.S. , was 4th in 20:28. Soma Nagahara , the first runner from Saku Chosei H.S. ' runner-up team at the National High School Ekiden, won the U20 men's 8 km in another photo finish, both he and Sota Yamasaki , first runner from 12th-place Yamaguchi Kenritsu Saikyo H.S. , clocking 24:01. Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.) was a close 3rd ...

Two weeks after her public coming out as Japan's next big hope, 18-year-old Seira Fuwa  anchored the Gunma  team to a come-from-behind win at the East Japan Women's Ekiden . A smaller version of January's National Women's Ekiden with teams representing the 18 prefectures in northeastern Japan, each team made up of the best junior high school, high school, collegiate, club team and corporate league runners from that prefecture, East Japan returned this year after the first cancelation in its 36-year history last year. Two weeks ago Fuwa, a first-year at Tokyo's Takushoku University , set an incredible 28:00 course record for her 9.2 km stage at the National University Women's Ekiden . With her name on the list for the 10.0 km anchor stage at East Japan the entire race was about other teams trying to get as far ahead of Gunma as possible before the last of the marathon-length race's nine stages. Gunma didn't make it easy for them. Its leading runner Harum...