japan running news

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...

Ayumi Morita (Tokyo Metro) won the women's race at Sunday's Nagano Marathon in dominant style, finishing almost 5 minutes ahead of runner-up Chifumi Ito (MRA) in 2:32:58. Hiroki Nagayama (Sumitomo Denko) had a narrower win in the men's race, running down breakaway leader Kiyohito Akiyama (Aichi Seiko) after 35 km to win 2:12:56 to 2:13:27, with last year's winner Kento Nishi  (Osaka Gas) 3rd in 2:15:48. Elsewhere, Sachi Ito (Pacer TC) won the Kasumigaura Marathon in 2:46:38, a 45-minute improvement on her last appearance at Kasumigaura 8 years ago. Yuki Kawauchi (ANDS) won the men's race in 2:19:10. Australian Ciaran Rushton won Kasumigaura's 10-mile race in 49:36 by 4 seconds over Nozomi Sugaya (Komazawa Univ.), with Aya Inden (Takushoku Univ.) winning the women's 10-miler in 59:30. At the Shanghai Half Marathon Aoi Ota (GMO) made his corporate league debut with a 1:03:05, far off the podium in a race that saw top 3 Roncer Kipkorir , Edmond Kip...

Japan had not one but two top-level men's marathons happening at the same time today. Conditions were a little too windy at the rescendent Fukuoka International Marathon to produce the kind of times organizers were hoping for, but there was still a great race up front. Almost dead-even on 3:00/km pace the entire way despite a building headwind from around 11 km to 18 km and again from 25 km to 32 km, and a strong tailwind from 32 km to the track finish, by 35 km a lead pack of 30 dwindled down to just 2021 winner Michael Githae (Suzuki), debuting teammate Vincent Raimoi (Suzuki), 40-year-old double world champ Abel Kirui (Kenya) and Ethiopian Israeli Maru Teferi . Teferi didn't really break it apart as much as he held steadier than everyone else. From 30 to 35 km he clocked 15:01 and from 35 to 40 km 14:59, while the other three slowed to the 15:17~15:23 range on the way to 40 km. Teferi kept that pace all the way to the end, winning in a PB 2:06:43 that broke his own Israe...

Just about the only mass-participation race not to have canceled as Japan's COVID numbers hit record-breaking levels every day, the  Osaka Half Marathon happened Sunday alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon . 3,572 people finished the half, making it the biggest in Japan so far this year. 2:06 marathoner Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) ran a PB to win the men's race in a 1:01:14 course record as part of his buildup for a shot at the 2:04:56 marathon national record at March's Tokyo Marathon, if it happens. Chugoku Denryoku corporate teammates Joseph Waweru Nganga , Takumi Kiyotani and Naoki Okamoto did most of the work leading the race, with Inoue not taking over until around 15 km, which he split in 43:22. When he made his break for it Kiyohito Akiyama (Aichi Seiko) was the only one to go with him, but Akiyama soon let go and settled back into a small chase group with Nganga, Okamoto and Akira Tomiyasu (Raffine). Inoue was unchallenged over the final...

青学優勝、そして 3連覇 おめでとうございます 😭 🎉 🥇 🎽 🏃🏻 今年も強すぎた … (;o;) #箱根駅伝 #箱根駅伝2017 #青学駅伝 pic.twitter.com/Bo23nJGGjh — m i s a k i (@m_k10__) January 3, 2017 by Brett Larner click here for Day One report Holding onto a slim 33-second lead from Day One , Aoyama Gakuin University became the fourth school in history to win all three university men's ekidens in a single season and the sixth to win Japan's most prestigious and popular race three years in a row as it held off rival Waseda University to take the 2017 Hakone Ekiden title. 【箱根駅伝 復路 2017.01.03】６区 小野田勇次 選手（青山学院大） pic.twitter.com/p4Bs2WEGMF — ▽ みさと (@run_nur07) January 3, 2017 With 109.6 km before them on the Day Two course, to have a chance of making up the 33-second deficit Waseda needed to stay in range of Aoyama Gakuin on the first leg of the day, the 20.8 km Sixth Stage with over 800 m elevation loss.  This was no easy task given that Aoyama Gakuin was running second-year Yuji Onoda , 2nd on the same sta...

by Brett Larner photos by @rikujolove click here for Hakone Ekiden Day One report and results After leading the first day of Japan's biggest race the entire way, defending champion Aoyama Gakuin University did it again on the return trip to become the first school in 39 years to lead the Hakone Ekiden start to finish.  Starting the day with a margin of 3:04 over 2015 National University Ekiden champion Toyo University Aoyama Gakuin had some room for error over the 5-stage, 109.6 km Day Two race, but even so head coach Susumu Hara took a major gamble in putting unknown Yuji Onoda , a 1st-year with no university ekiden, half marathon or 10000 m credentials and a 5000 m best of only 14:15.70, onto the day's leading stage, the 20.8 Sixth Stage with 800 m of brutal descent.  In doing it he also showed why is the best current coach in Japan, as Onoda responded to the challenge by tying the course record in 58:31.  For Toyo to have a chance it needed to make up serio...