japan running news

On May 11 Taisho University announced the launch of the school's new track and field team this year, with Masami Soeda named as its first head coach. With Taisho celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, its decision to launch a track team is a core part of its sports enhancement initiative aimed at improving student athletic performance and elevating the school's image. Soeda had previously demonstrated his ability as a coach at Kokushikan University where he led it to 8-straight Hakone Ekidens from the 93rd to 100th editions. Taisho also named Nobuharu Sato , previously involved in scouting and coaching at the Fujitsu corporate team and at Komazawa University , as head of scouting and as strengthening coach in tandem with Soeda. A statement from Taisho University said, "As an institution of higher education we place value on both developing human capability and interaction with the local community, and we want create new value in university sports. We are starting...

Ekiden season rolls on, and for everyone who didn't make the top 10 at the Hakone Ekiden's 100th running this past January that means a trip to western Tokyo's Showa Linen Park this Saturday to line up on the runway of the air defense base next door to try to qualify for the 101st Hakone Ekiden . The 43 Tokyo-area universities at the Hakone Ekiden Qualifier Half Marathon , the Yosenkai, each run 10-12 athletes and are scored on the total times of their first 10 finishers. The 10 fastest teams go to Hakone, and the rest go home except for the 10 fastest individuals from non-qualifying universities, who get the privilege of running as part of a select team. NTV will broadcast the Yosenkai and its dramatic announcement ceremony live starting at 9:25 a.m. local time Saturday. If you've got a VPN you should be all set. If not, try mov3.co/ntv . JRN will be on-site at the Yosenkai to cover it live. Chuo University , Tokai University and Tokyo Kokusai University look sure ...

  Saturday's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai half marathon was the official qualifying race for January's 100th edition of t he world's biggest and best road race , and with it the 23-team field is set. Led by defending champion Komazawa University , the top 10 at the 2023 Hakone Ekiden auto-qualified for the 100th on Jan. 2-3, 2024. The other 13 teams came from the Yosenkai, led by Daito Bunka University , 3 more than usual in honor of the 100th running but absent the usual select team made up of top-placing individuals at the Yosenkai from schools that didn't make the cut as a team. The complete field: Komazawa University 58th appearance, 58th-straight appearance, 8 wins most recent win: 2023 Chuo University 97th appearance, 7th-straight appearance, 14 wins most recent win: 1996 Aoyama Gakuin University 29th appearance, 16th-straight appearance, 6 wins most recent win: 2022 Koku Gakuin University 17th appearance, 8th-straight appearance, best placing: 3rd (2020) Juntendo Univ...

In January the Hakone Ekiden celebrates its 100th running, and it’s going to be the biggest road race in history. The university men’s ekiden season kicked off Monday with the season-opening Izumo Ekiden, where course record holder Komazawa University followed up last year’s triple crown of wins at all three major university ekidens with a CR-breaking title defense . Saturday is the next important race, the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying half marathon at Tokyo’s Showa Kinen Park, and being the top 13 there is everything. The top 10 teams at the 2023 Hakone Ekiden, Komazawa, Chuo University , Aoyama Gakuin University , Koku Gakuin University , Juntendo University , Waseda University , Hosei University , Soka University , Josai University and Toyo University , secured their places at the 100th. On Saturday 57 other universities will compete for the remaining 13 places at Hakone. It’s an extremely big deal to be in the field at the 100th, with schools like Rikkyo University , Keio...

Earlier this week the KGRR released the entry lists for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden 's 99th running. We'll do a more detailed preview closer to the race, but a few quick takeaways: Not including the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team, each of the 20 universities in the race entered 16 names, of which 10 will actually start the race. 13 teams have 10-man 5000 m PB averages under 14 minutes, 15 teams have 10-man 10000 m PB averages under 29 minutes, and 4 teams have 10-man half marathon averages under 1:03. With the average stage length at Hakone being just over a half marathon it's hard to see any team outside the 4 with 62-minute half averages being in it for the win, but the massive number of 28-minute 10000 m teams shows where the focus has been during the pandemic, and low-ranked teams like Daito Bunka University , Nittai University and Tokyo Kokusai University that have good track credentials without half marathon marks to match should do better than what it ...

Not having made it to the Hakone Ekiden since 2010, on Aug. 1 former champion Asia University announced the hiring of Kenyan Patrick Mwaka , 27, as assistant coach to oversee its comeback. A longtime member of the Aisan Kogyo corporate team until this past April, Mwaka has track bests of 13:21.45 for 5000 m and 27:33.14 for 10000 m, and ran his half marathon best of 1:00:53 at February's National Corporate Half Marathon. Among the main Hakone schools Kokushikan University also has Kenyan James Mwangi , 35, as assistant coach, but at just 27 Mwaka can still run with the students and give them the support they need to raise their game from close up. With his wife and two children still back in Kenya, he also now lives together with the student athletes in the team dormitory. First thing in the morning on his first day on the job Mwaka was at Asia's home track in Hinodemachi, Tokyo to guide the student athletes. In Japanese he said, "Let's all make it to the Hakone...

Taku Fujimoto age: 30 sponsor: Toyota graduated from: Takamizu H.S., Kokushikan University best time inside MGC window: 2:07:57, 8th, 2018 Chicago Marathon PB: 2:07:57, 8th, 2018 Chicago Marathon other PBs: 5000 m: 13:38.68 (2010) 10000 m: 28:08.30 (2018) half marathon: 1:01:31 (2015) marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019) DNS 2019 Hamburg Marathon 8th, 2018 Chicago Marathon, 2:07:57 15th, 2018 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:15:30 other major results: 6th, 2019 Gold Coast Half Marathon, 1:03:44 15th, 2019 New Year Ekiden Fourth Stage (22.4 km), 1:06:15 2nd, 2018 Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler, 45:57 1st, 2018 Chubu-Hokuriku Corporate Ekiden First Stage (12.0 km), 34:58 4th, 2017 National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, 1:01:53 8th, 2016 Marugame Half Marathon, 1:01:51 8th, 2015 National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, 1:01:31 – PB 3rd, 2012 Hakone Ekiden Third Stage (21.5 km), 1:03:08 1st, 2011 Kanto Region University T&F Championshi...

Jo Fukuda age: 28 sponsor: Nishitetsu graduated from: Omuta H.S., Kokushikan University best time inside MGC window: 2:09:52, 3rd, 2018 Gold Coast Marathon PB: 2:09:52, 3rd, 2018 Gold Coast Marathon other PBs: 5000 m: 14:09.18 (2017) 10000 m: 28:44.67 (2017) half marathon: 1:02:25 (2019) marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019) DNF, 2019 Tokyo Marathon 7th, 2018 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:10:54 3rd, 2018 Gold Coast Marathon, 2:09:52 – PB 23rd, 2018 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:18:16 3rd, 2017 Hokkaido Marathon, 2:15:11 other major results: 7th, 2019 Gold Coast Half Marathon, 1:03:49 26th, 2019 Marugame Half Marathon, 1:02:25 – PB 24th, 2019 National Men’s Ekiden Seventh Stage (13.0 km), 38:38 23rd, 2019 New Year Ekiden Fourth Stage (22.4 km), 1:06:42 3rd, 2018 Kyushu Corporate Ekiden Fifth Stage (13.0 km), 38:27 20th, 2017 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 2:16:16 9th, 2016 Hokkaido Marathon, 2:16:29 35th, 2016 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:19:06 ...

Kokushikan University held its season-opening time trial meet Mar. 31 at its Tama Field track facility. Members of four-time Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University competed in the 1500 m, with first-year Keita Yoshida leading the team in 3:50.77. Breaking through at this year's Hakone with a Seventh Stage record, third-year Keisuke Hayashi ran 3:53.17. Both third-years, Sixth Stage winner Yuji Onoda ran 3:58.09 and Second Stage winner Homare Morita ran 3:58.30. Head coach Susumu Hara , 51, was pleased with the shakeout ahead of outdoor season, commenting, "Times ended up being better overall than last year." Surpassing all the Aoyama Gakuin runners to take the spot in 3:48.47 was incoming Kokushikan Kenyan Vincent Laimoi . Laimoi arrived in Japan in mid-March, running a PB 13:43.20 in his first race in Japan, the 5000 m at a meet at Kokushikan on the 25th. Running the 1500 m for the first time ever, Laimoi showed considerable potential. Together with curre...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/feature/hakone/20170327-OHT1T50120.html translated by Brett Larner Having finished last at the 2017 Hakone Ekiden in 20th place, Kokushikan University announced on Mar. 26 that it is bringing in its first-ever foreign student runner.  Kenyan Paul Gitonga , 20, is expected to join the team around April 10. In the thin oxygen at 2000 m altitude in Kenya Gitonga has run 14:10 for 5000 m and sub-29 for road 10 km, and with an 800 m best of 1:49 he has speed as well.  While in Japan in February to take Kokushikan's entrance examination he ran a 5000 m time trial in 14:20 despite inadequate preparation.  Head coach Masami Soeda , 39, commented, "He's suited to the roads and could run the marathon."  Gitonga is expected to factor heavily into Kokushikan qualifying for Hakone for the second-straight year and could even be what the team needs to make the seeded top-ten bracket for the first time in 28 years. Translator's note: Kenyan...

by Brett Larner videos by naoki620 Another week, another world record-setting Japanese collegiate race. Virtually every major Japanese university men's distance race since Tokyo won the 2020 Olympic bid has seen incredible new course records and world records set for depth at quality.  Today's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai , the 20 km road race qualifier for the season-capping January 2-3 Hakone Ekiden, was no exception. 49 schools from around the Kanto Region lined up in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park to try to be one of the lucky 10 programs to join those who had already reserved their place at the 2016 Hakone Ekiden by finishing in the top 10 in Hakone this year.  Each of the schools at the Yosenkai qualifier fielded 10 to 12 runners with the team scored on the aggregate time of its first 10 finishers.  The 10 fastest schools go on to Hakone, clean and simple. After heavy rain with 5 minutes to go 2015 Kanto Region DI Half Marathon champion Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Nihon...

by Brett Larner The record-breaking 2009 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, the deepest 20 km road race in history . The Kanto Regional University Athletics Federation has released the entry lists for the Oct. 15 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai , a 20 km university men's road race qualifier for the Jan. 1-2 Hakone Ekiden.  Outside the Olympics the two-day, twenty-team, ten-stage Hakone relay is road racing's biggest spectacle, an event with viewership in the tens of millions and the kind of popular enthusiasm the World Marathon Majors dream of.  Of all the things obscured behind the cultural insularity of the Japanese running system Hakone is the biggest loss to the sport as a whole, a gripping, high-level race that never lets up over the course of twelve hours and which, with superb production values, could give clues on how to popularize road racing among non-runners worldwide if it were accessible overseas. The top ten universities at each year's Hakone are seeded for the following y...

by Brett Larner Ill or injured for almost the entire three years since her graduation from Sendai Ikuei High School, 10000 m junior national record holder Megumi Kinukawa (21, Team Mizuno), got her latest attempt at a comeback to the level that as a high school student made her the next big hope of Japanese women's distance running off the ground on Mar. 30 at the Kokushikan University Time Trials . In a tuneup for next week's Kanaguri Memorial Track and Field Meet Kinukawa ran in a men's 5000 m heat, clocking a solid 15:46.58 . Her best performance since running 31:23.21 to break her own 10000 m junior national record in 2008, the result suggests that Kinukawa may reemerge this season in time to make the World Championships team on the track if she can stay in one piece. (c) 2011 Brett Larner all rights reserved

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20100524-633277.html translated by Brett Larner Taku Fujimoto (3rd yr., Kokushikan Univ.) took down Toyo University's "God of the Mountains" Ryuji Kashiwabara and other top Hakone runners to win his first Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships 5000 m. Battling rain, Fujimoto ran with self-possession among the leaders for the entire race until with one lap to go he shot away to return holding a nearly 20-second PB of 13:38.68.* With no really noteworthy results in high school and constant injury problems since entering university Fujimoto's talent has finally blossomed. He now stands to become the newest star of next year's Hakone Ekiden. Only four days before the Kanto 5000 m he was suffering from back trouble serious enough that he thought about pulling out, but with treatment from his team's trainer Coach Ogawa, the 1999 Kanto Regionals 5000 m winner, he recovered sufficiently to decide to ...