japan running news

by Brett Larner photos c/o Arata Fujiwara Arata Fujiwara (Miki House) is just about the most unpredictable elite runner in the world, a 2:07 marathoner who has run slower than 2:20 and even 2:30 as many times as he has hit it out of the park. An independent who, without a sponsor after quitting Japan’s rigid corporate team system in 2010, became just the fifth Japanese man in history and the first in over 20 years to win a marathon outside Japan sub-2:10 when he set a 2:09:34 course record at the 2010 Ottawa Marathon with support from JRN. His 2:07:48 at the 2012 Tokyo Marathon, again sponsorless, made him all-time #7 in the Japanese record books and got him both sponsors and a place in London, but he flamed out when it most counted at the Olympics. Jumping into Fukuoka on a whim a few months later for an impromptu duel with Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t), Fujiwara beat his fellow indy rival by nearly a minute to take 4th in 2:09:31. After that 2013 was mostly a bust,...

http://kyoto-np.jp/sports/article/20130109000017 translated and edited by Brett Larner Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) returned from training in Kunming, China on Jan. 8 ahead of her first appearance at the National Women's Ekiden in 5 years.  Her run on the 13th will hold a special significance for her.  Because her sponsor will move its office away from Kyoto in April, Noguchi will be making her first and final appearance as a member of the Kyoto team.  "After 16 years in Kyoto I'll run in the Kyoto singlet for the first time, and it will be my last chance to repay the kindness and support I've received," she said.  Interviewed on her arrival at Kansai Airport, Noguchi commented, "I feel like it's just around the corner now." Noguchi has been training in Kunming, China since late December in preparation for the Jan. 27 Osaka International Women's Marathon.  In th...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/120209/oth12020921070020-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner Having pulled out of last month's Osaka International Women's Marathon Olympic selection race with inflammation of the back of her left thigh, Mizuki Noguchi  (33, Team Sysmex) left Kansai Airport Feb. 9 for altitude training in Kunming, China ahead of her new target, the Mar. 11 Nagoya Women's Marathon.  Noguchi has resumed interval workouts and is on the way to be ready again for a single, focused attack.  "I want to concentrate completely on pulling everything together," she said. The last chance for Japanese women to qualify for the London Olympics, Nagoya will include last summer's World Championships 5th-place finisher Yukiko Akaba  (Team Hokuren), 2009 World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki  (Team Daiichi Seimei) and other tough competition.  "It's a great field," said Noguchi, "and it'll take everything I have to beat...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2009/06/29/13.html http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090629/spg0906290503000-n1.htm http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2009/06/29/0002070253.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner World Championships women's marathon team leader Yoko Shibui (30, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), returned to Japan on June 28 after a month of high-altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona. In April Shibui injured her left thigh, leading to a month of medical treatment. To fill this gap in her preparations she threw herself into rigorous training in Flagstaff. "It was quite a severe remedy," smiled her coach, Takao Watanabe. Located at 2100 m, Flagstaff is 200 m higher than Shibui's usual training venue in Kunming, China. "It was completely different [from Kunming]," Shibui told reporters. "Honestly, it was really tough. Training turned into 'crying practice' every day. It was the first time I've ever cried like that." With ...

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKG0108%2030052009 http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090530-500774.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Shibui in Narita Airport on May 30. Click photo for full-sized version. Berlin World Championships women's marathon team leader Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on May 30 for the United States. She is first scheduled to attend an event in New York, then on June 2 will travel to a training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona. At the beginning of April Shibui injured her left thigh while doing high-altitude training in Kunming, China, forcing her to miss the spring track season. "This was the worst injury I've had since I first started running, and even I was surprised," Shibui told reporters at Narita. On May 29 she ran 30 km, her longest run since winning January's Osaka International Women's Marathon. "I'm back to normal now. It doesn't hurt any...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090420-485059.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2009/04/20/08.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 2009 World Championships women's marathon team member Yoko Shibui (30, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) has cancelled her planned spring track debut in the Apr. 26 Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000 m. Shibui returned to Japan on Apr. 19 following two weeks at a training camp in Kunming, China. Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo head coach Shigeharu Watanabe commented, "Yoko felt some discomfort on the back of her left thigh while training in Kunming on the 15th. She has cut back to just jogging. This is only a precautionary move and there is no serious injury." Shibui's spring debut will instead shift to the East Japan Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships in Yamagata on May 16 and 17 where she plans to run the 5000 m and 10000 m. Translator's note: Shibui also sat out last month's Matsue Ladies Half Marathon as ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090405-479205.html http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090406-OHT1T00096.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner World Championships women's marathon team member Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on Apr. 5 for a training camp in Kunming, China. She intends the camp to serve as base training for her serious marathon training which will begin in June. "The goal for this training camp is for me to come out looking different," Shibui told reporters. "This is basically a diet camp, so I just want to get my body ready to start marathon training. I have to lose some weight. The tofu doughnuts I had yesterday were the last sweets I'm going to eat." During the two-week training camp Shibui will eat a primarily vegetable-based diet before going on to do track work. Her first serious race of the season will be the Apr. 26 Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000 m.

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090311/oth0903112019012-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner "I'm kind of in a slump right now, you know. I haven't been feeling very good and I've been a bit mean to my husband," joked marathoner Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) in early March. To help put her in the right state of mind as she gets ready to race the Tokyo Marathon Tosa is training in her hometown of Matsuyama, but it's not going the way she expected. She just can't seem to get back into good shape. At the end of February she ran as a guest runner in a 30 km race in Chiba, but her time was more than 8 minutes slower than her best. At the start of her preparations for the Tokyo Marathon, Tosa's husband Keiichi Murai (35) told her, "Remember how you felt in the good times, and let's try to go after that feeling." For Tosa herself, however, in her heart all she can feel is the difference between her current condition and when sh...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090120/oth0901201727016-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner March, 2008 Having finished 4th at the Nagoya International Women's Marathon and missed out on her chance to make the Beijing Olympic team, Yumiko Hara (Team Kyocera) goes home to her parents' home in Tochigi prefecture to recuperate. She thinks about what races she should target next season. She holds coach Kunio Omori's year-long training schedule and with a steady hand begins to write in her goals. January, 2009 "Last year I couldn't take a single step forward and it was a disappointment to a lot of people," says Hara. "I want to restore everyone's faith in me the only way I can, so I decided to run Osaka." A year ago Hara had signed up for Osaka as the defending champion to reserve her spot on the Beijing Olympic team. Feeling weak and drained, she withdrew shortly before the race and slid her target to Nagoya. Even that was too much. The Osaka co...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081207-437857.html translated by Brett Larner Marathoners Yoko Shibui and Reiko Tosa returned from Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo's training camp in Kunming, China, arriving at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Dec. 7. The two athletes had been training together in preparation for the Dec. 14 All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden in Gifu Prefecture. After finishing 4th in November's Tokyo International Women's Marathon following a blazing first half, Shibui plans to try again to make the Japanese national marathon team for next summer's World Track and Field Championships in Berlin. She will skip over January's Osaka International Women's Marathon , aiming instead for the Nagoya International Women's Marathon in March.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081029-424073.html translated by Brett Larner On Oct. 29 Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) returned with a teammates from a three-week training camp in Kunming, China. Shibui is in preparation for the Nov. 16 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. "I did everything [on the practice menu]," she commented. "I'm satisfied." Shibui saw news of Naoko Takahashi's retirement on TV. "It takes a lot of courage to say you're going to retire. It gave me many things to think about." Shibui also talked about her teammate Reiko Tosa, who dropped out of the Beijing Olympics marathon with a foot injury. "She basically back to regular jogging. Her foot doesn't really hurt any more," said Shibui. Both runners plan to compete in December's All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden. Translator's note: Last year Shibui returned from Kunming and ran a stage record on the 10 km anchor l...

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2008/10/30/0001545657.shtml translated by Brett Larner Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), who after failing to finish the Beijing Olympics marathon announced her intent to retire, returned to Japan on Oct. 29 from a high altitude training camp in Kunming, China, telling reporters at the airport that she now wants to run one last marathon. "I want to have one more go [at 42.195 km]," Tosa said. She does not want her last memory of her running to be that of having dropped out of the Olympic marathon after injuring her foot, but hopes to make a more fitting end to her career. Tosa is not planning to run in a major international race but will most likely return to her roots and run her hometown Ehime Marathon in February, a race she won in her marathon debut in 1998. Asked for comments about Sydney Olympics marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi's retirement this week, Tosa replied, "I was really surprised. She is the pioneer of t...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081007-416611.html translated by Brett Larner Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) left Japan on Oct. 7 for a high-altitude training camp in Kunming, China where she will prepare for the Nov. 16 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Other members of her team will also be at the training camp as they get ready for the Nov. 3 East Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden. Since running the 10000 m at the Beijing Olympics Shibui has ramped up her training, doing a 40 km training run on Oct. 6 as she looks toward her first marathon in a year. "I want to focus on distance this time," Shibui told reporters. "[In Kunming] there will be three 40 km runs on the menu."

http://www.business-i.jp/news/sou-page/news/200808020012a.nwc translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Beijing Olympics Women's 10000 m Team Member Yoko Shibui "I Genuinely Want to Win" She's had many great records and many failures, but it's all in the past for Yoko Shibui. It's not that she won a spot on the Beijing Olympics women's 10000 m team but rather that she finally found the true athlete's state of mind. "I am hungry to win these days. This year especially I've found myself always thinking, 'I want to win, I want to win, I want to win!' People probably think I've always been a passionate person, but it's not true. I think that I probably didn't use to really have the drive to win, but now I do. This means that in Beijing I will be shooting to take down some big names." Here in front of me is the newborn Shibui. What gets her going is not the existence of rivals or the reputations of others. It's beati...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/080731/spg0807310435002-n1.htm On July 30th, Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) returned from her training camp in Kunming, China. Tosa revealed to reporters that she is suffering from a bunion on her right foot. She has previously suffered from bunions on her left foot, but this time the problem has surfaced in a new area. "The bunion happened a week ago, but I`m OK now," said Tosa. "I was still able to get in some good conditioning." Her training while waiting for the foot problem to heal during the last week included two quality sessions. Tosa is scheduled to head to Nagano Prefecture on Aug. 3rd for her final training camp, then to travel to Beijing on Aug. 14th. "The 'Medal! Medal!' pressure is kind of building up. I just want to be able to run my own race....." Tosa added weakly.

http://beijing2008.nikkansports.com/athletics/p-sp-tp0-20080722-386701.html translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was unharmed by Sunday`s explosion of a commuter bus in southern China`s Kunming, carrying out her scheduled training on July 21st. Situated at 1900 m elevation, Kunming is a popular location for altitude training for both Japanese and Chinese athletes. A spokesperson for the Chinese sports association responsible for overseeing foreign athletes reported, "We have spoken with all Japanese athletes and coaches and all are safe." At the time of the explosion, Tosa and her coach Hideo Suzuki were training in the countryside approximately 40 minutes by car from the city of Kunming. This was her only scheduled day of training outside the city. Speaking from within Japan, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo manager Takashi Takaseki assured the public, "This situation created no problems for u...

http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/0710/TKY200807100253.html translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon runner Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) returned to Kunming, China on July 10 for her final overseas training before the race itself. Tosa plans to remain in Kunming through the end of the month. The focus of her training this time will be to memorize the ten-page Olympic course map containing seventy runner`s-view photos prepared by Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo manager Takashi Takaseki. "I ran the Olympic course in April, so I don`t remember everything," said Tosa. "I think this map is really going to help refresh my memory."

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/080704/spg0807040440002-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) returned to Japan from high-altitude training in Kunming, China on July 3rd. During her three weeks in Kunming Tosa ran one 40 km and two 35 km time trials. She reports feeling calm and relaxed with 45 days to go until the Olympic race on August 17, but she knows well that on the 40th day before the race the 'gates of hell' will open wide. While training in Kunming 40 days before last summer`s Osaka World Championships Tosa injured her left knee, returning to Japan on crutches. It is a scene she knows all too well. "With 40 days to go I just want to be running normally. That`ll be enough to make me happy," Tosa commented. She leaves Japan again for Kunming on July 10th.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/olympic/news/2008/06/13/05.html translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) is now in Kunming, China for high-altitude training. For her 32nd birthday on June 11, Tosa`s husband Keiichi Murai (34) gave her a wallet in her lucky color green. "Kinda pale green, isn`t it?" laughed Tosa while showing off the present. Last year when she won a bronze medal in the World Championships marathon her lucky color was yellow, and she wore shoes and a rubber wristband in that color. This year looking toward Beijing she selected green. "It`s the color of young, healthy things and will keep me from breaking," explained Tosa. Translator`s note: My younger brother also turned 32 on June 11.

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2008/06/10/0001123830.shtml translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team member Reiko Tosa (31) appeared along with 70 kg. class judo wrestler Masae Ueno (29) and 52 kg. class judo wrestler Misato Nakamura (19) at a general meeting at the Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo Group`s offices on June 9. Model Maki Horikita (19) MC`d the event. Having just returned from training in Boulder, Colorado, Tosa is scheduled to leave for Kunming, China on June 12. Asked for her views on the mysterious virus which track star Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno) is alleged to have contracted while training in Kunming, Tosa said flatly, "I`m not worried at all." Looking ahead to the Olympics, she continued, "The conditions are going to be hot and cruel, but I`ve done a good job of modifying my training. I`ll be running relaxed and unconcerned." Also sure to be in Tosa`s mind as she prepares for the main event is Rikuren`s $100,000 gold medal bonus....