japan running news

http://www.sanyonews.jp/article/265824/1/ translated and edited by Brett Larner The elite field for the 34th Sanyo Women's Road Race on Dec. 23 was announced on Nov. 30.  The first selection race for next March's Cardiff World Half Marathon Championships in the U.K., Sanyo features world-class talent like 2014 Copenhagen World Half Marathon bronze medalist and Sanyo course record holder Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko), 2015 Marugame Half Marathon winner Eloise Wellings (Australia), 2015 Beijing World Championships 10000 m runner Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) and more.  A large number of women aiming to make next year's Rio Olympic team will be lining up in the half marathon.  Alongside Ohara are 2014 Asian Games marathon 4th-placer Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), 2014 World Half Marathon Championships team members Sayo Nomura (Team Daiichi Seimei) and Chieko Kido (Team Canon AC Kyushu), and rising young talent like 2015 Hokkaido Marathon winner Yui Okada (Team Ot...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/running/feature/20140919-OYT8T50064.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The official 2014 Osaka Marathon theme song "42.195 km" by Kobukuro. The organizing committee of the 4th Osaka Marathon on Oct. 26 have announced this year's 23-member elite field.  The men's race features all three champions crowned so far in race history led by last year's winner Jackson Limo (Kenya), who improved his PB to 2:09:06 at this year's Paris Marathon.  Seeking to stop him from become the first man in Osaka history to defend his title are Osaka's first winner Elijah Sang (Kenya) and second winner Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN), who won last year's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in a PB 2:09:00. Japan's hopes lie with Satoshi Osaki (NTT Nishi Nihon), holder of a 2:08:36 best, and 2012 runner-up Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC).  2009 World Championships marathon 7th-place finisher Yuri Kano (Kyoto T&F Assoc.) le...

by Brett Larner The Nagoya Women's Marathon continues on in its new format as the world's largest women-only marathon, having added a mass-participation field to its longstanding small elite race to stay relevant in the booming Japanese amateur marathon market.  This year sports one of the better elite fields in Nagoya history, with five sub-2:24 women, a solid sub-2:30 second pack, and a small group of noteworthy first-timers. The #1 seed is Russian Mariya Konovalova  with a best of 2:22:46 Chicago 2013, and it looks pretty clear that she and Kenyan trio  Helena Kirop , Agnes Kiprop  and Agnes Barsosio  are there to pull Moscow World Championships 4th-placer Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) along to something better than her 2:23:34 winning time from last year. There's a gap back to the next group at the 2:25-2:27 level, where Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia), the eyebrow-raising  Zivile Balciunaite  (Lithuania), Miranda Boonstra (Netherlands) and Ashet...

http://news.biglobe.ne.jp/sports/0224/jj_130224_3766698655.html translated by Brett Larner At the Asian Marathon Championships held Feb. 24 at the Hong Kong Marathon , Kumi Ogura  (Team Shikoku Denryoku) finished 2nd in 2:35:02 in her marathon debut.   Kenzo Kawabata  (Team Daisan Kogyo) took 3rd in the men's race in 2:22:22.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2013/02/20/kiji/K20130220005238180.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 20 Rikuren, the Japanese federation, announced the Japanese entrants for the Feb. 24 Asian Marathon Championships to be held in conjunction with the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon .   Kenzo Kawabata  (Team Aisan Kogyo) will compete in the men's division with Kumi Ogura  (Team Shikoku Denryoku) representing the women.  Kawabata, 28, set his best of 2:13:40 at the 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.  Ogura, 27, ran a half marathon best of 1:10:51 earlier this month at the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon.

by Brett Larner 2010 Nagoya International Women's Marathon winner Yuri Kano  (Team Shiseido) ran her first race since leaving Second Wind AC  and career-long coach Manabu Kawagoe  at the end of the summer to return to her previous sponsor, Shiseido .  Wearing the new Shiseido uniform for the first time, Kano placed 4th in the women's 5000 m A-heat, at 15:57.80 the fastest Shiseido runner of the night ahead of marathoner Yoshiko Fujinaga  who won the B-heat in 15:59.63.  Kano hopes to make Japan's marathon squad for next summer's London Olympics. National champion Bukkyo University 's Mai Ishibashi  won the A-heat in a solid 15:37.56, with Bukkyo first-year Risa Shibuya  likewise strong as she finished 3rd in 15:46.53.  The team's chances for defending its title at the upcoming National University Women's Ekiden Championships continue to look better and better. In the men's and women's 10000 m A-heats both Tomomi Itakura  (Team Otsu...

Apr. 22, Hayward Field, Oregon click here for complete results click event header for complete video Bill McChesney Jr. Men's 5000 m 1. Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Team S&B) - 13:38.57 2. Dylan Wykes (Canada/P.I.H.) - 13:43.43 3. Yusuke Hasegawa (Team S&B) - 13:45.97 4. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:46.76 5. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:47.29 6. Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 13:53.75 7. Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) - 13:54.52 8. Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 13:55.54 9. Seth Summerside (U.S.A./OTC Elite) - 13:57.59 10. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 14:01.21 11. Ryohei Kawakami (Team Kanebo) - 14:06.27 12. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 14:08.37 13. Takaya Iwasaki (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 14:22.49 14. Takayuki Hamaguchi (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 14:30.88 Women's 5000 m 1. Brie Felnagle (U.S.A./Adidas) - 15:43.87 2. Bridget Franek (U.S.A./OTC Elite) - 15:52.81 3. Miho Ihara (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 16:06.86 4. Kumi Ogura (Team...

Nittai University Time Trials Top Results Nittai University, Yokohama, Apr. 17, 2011 click here for complete results Men's 5000 m Heat 24 1. Joseph Onsarigo (Kenya/Sozo Gakuen Univ.) - 13:36.88 2. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 13:37.05 3. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 13:39.31 4. Benjamin Gandu (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 13:41.99 5. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 13:46.73 6. Kota Murayama (Josai Univ.) - 13:57.90 7. Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ.) - 13:58.40 8. Yuki Yagi (Waseda Univ.) - 14:00.17 9. Atsushi Yamazaki (Team Subaru) - 14:00.34 10. Ibrahim Mukunga (Team Fujitsu) - 14:00.63 ----- 11. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama T&F Assoc.) - 14:02.49 14. Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) - 14:04.67 16. Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) - 14:06.49 23. Cosmas Ondiba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 14:19.63 Women's 5000 m Heat 16 1. Miho Ihara (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 15:57.27 2. Chisa Fujimoto (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 16:02.74 3. Mai Shoji (Okazaki Gakuen H.S.) - 16:07.92 4. Ikuyo...