japan running news

After giving it a miss last year to prepare for the London World Championships, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) returned to Hokkaido's Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km to rack up his seventh win. This year Kawauchi faced some competition from members of the Raffine corporate men's team, but within the first few kilometers he was already on his own. At 10 km he was 23 seconds up on Raffine's Hiroki Kai with Kai's teammate Yoshiki Koizumi another 13 second behind. Koizumi, who broke 2:14 for the first time at this year's Tokyo Marathon, sped up after 10 km to overtake Kai and cut 14 seconds off Kawauchi's lead, but over the hilly last 10 km he couldn't manage to close the gap. Kawauchi was first across the line in 1:34:34, splitting it right down the middle with the 4th-fastest of his 7 Kushiro wins to date and seemingly back on track after a string of lackluster runs since May's Nobeyama 71 km. Koizumi was next in 1:35:05, just missing his 30 km spl...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2016/07/27/kiji/K20160727013046870.html http://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2016072700768&g=spo translated and edited by Brett Larner Training in Kushiro, Hokkaido in preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Japan's three marathon men Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei), Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) appeared at a press conference July 27 at a Kushiro hotel.  Ishikawa was enthusiastic as he said, "We're not going there just to take part.  We're ready to take on the world." All three men wore the flashy bright "Sunrise Red" national colors that represent the power of the rising sun.  The oldest-ever Japanese man to run the Olympic marathon, Ishikawa said that his goal is to do better than the 6th-place finish by Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) at the London Olympics.  With two wins in his three marathons to date, Nakamoto's training partner Kitajima c...

http://www.news-kushiro.jp/news/20150727/201507271.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The 43rd running of the Kushiro Shitsugen Road Race took place July 26 in Kushiro, Hokkaido in rainy conditions.  3870 people started the race, aiming for the finish line as they ran through the region's beautiful natural areas.  Likewise aiming for the Olympics as an amateur athlete, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) was on-hand as an invited runner, receiving a bouquet of flowers. 4220 people entered the race this year, a new record.  The 30 km walk division began at 6:00 a.m., with the 30 km race starting at 9:30 accompanied by people in the 15 km walk, 10 km and 3 km run divisions.  Locals crowded the course to cheer passing runners on.  Kawauchi won for the fifth-straight year, crossing the finish line in 1:35:08.  Post-race he said, "I feel great when the conditions are perfectly cool like this.  If it's late July that means I'm running in Kush...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/07/28/kiji/K20140728008642240.html translated and edited by Brett Larner For the fourth-straight year, 2014 Asian Games men's marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (27, Saitama Pref. Gov't) won the Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km road race Sunday in Kushiro, Hokkaido, beating the next athlete by over four minutes in 1:33:49.  Having struggled in the heat in the past. Kawauchi was pleased with race day temperatures under 20 degrees.  "I love it when it's cool," he said.  "It's hard to run 30 km and focus on quality or quantity back home in Saitama when it's 37 degrees there."  He also spoke against corporate teams' overseas high altitude training camps, saying, "I want to show that you can be successful in the marathon using a training regimen of short domestic training camps and racing here and abroad as an invited athlete."

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/07/08/kiji/K20140708008521980.html http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20140707-OHT1T50300.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The civil servant runner has roared.  After finishing 3rd at the July 6 Gold Coast Airport Marathon in Australia, 2014 Incheon Asian Games marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (27, Saitama Pref. Gov't) returned to Narita Airport early on the morning of July 7.  Kawauchi fell badly early in the race but still finished 3rd as the top Japanese man in 2:11:27.  Speaking animatedly and at length as he was interviewed in the arrival lobby at 6:30 a.m., more than his own result Kawauchi struggled to understand how Hirokatsu Kurosaki , 28, a member of the two-time defending New Year Ekiden national champion Konica Minolta corporate team and named to the Japanese marathon National Team in April alongside Kawauchi after running 2:09:07 at February's Tokyo Marathon, could have sunk as low as his 10th-pla...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20130729-1164794.html translated and edited by Brett Larner After withering in the heat of last weekend's Suffolkland Shibetsu Half Marathon, Moscow World Championships men's marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't) was back in form July 28 with a win at the 41st Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km road race in Hokkaido.  Running an entirely solo race in 27-degree temperatures, Kawauchi broke his own 1:33:55 course record from two years ago with a new mark of 1:33:27 to take his third-straight Kushiro title just three weeks after his win at Australia's Gold Coast Marathon.   While he struggled in similar conditions in Shibetsu, this time Kawauchi ran full-strength, staying on his feet after finishing and able to walk back to the change room under his own power. Kushiro was Kawauchi's last race before the Aug. 17 World Championships marathon and followed his 22nd-place finish in 1:06:45 in Shibets...

http://www.niigata-nippo.co.jp/world/sports/20130721055950.html http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20130721/ath13072115580000-n1.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Former Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage star Masato Imai  (Team Toyota Kyushu) won the July 21 Suffolkland Shibetsu Half Marathon , tying the course record of 1:03:24.  Defending champion  Mai Ito  (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) won the women's race in 1:12:27, with rookie Sayuri Oka (Team Daihatsu) taking the women's 10 km in 33:24. Last year's men's winner, Moscow World Championships marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't), ended his day in 22nd after running only 1:06:45. With temperatures climbing to 29 degrees, Kawauchi lost touch with the lead pack after 7 km.  By halfway he was 15 seconds behind, and in the second half he rapidly lost speed.  "My legs felt a little heavy," said Kawauchi. Having done the race as part of his training it was something of a miss for th...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20130714/ath13071416510002-n1.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Moscow World Championships men's marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't.) talked to the media July 14 at his training camp at Mt. Zhao, Yamagata, his face showing satisfaction as he told reporters, "I've gotten good training done here where it's cool.   [The heat in]  Saitama is unbelievable right now." At 900 m altitude the mid-afternoon temperatures scarcely reach 25 degrees, making for good conditions for running.  On the 14th, just a week after running 2:10:01 to win Australia's Gold Coast Airport Marathon, Kawauchi completed 30 km on an undulating 2.5 km cross-country course.  "You could say my body was a bit heavy, so I wanted to see how much it could take," he said. Kawauchi has been doing summer training at Mt. Zhao since his days at Kasukabe Higashi H.S. and Gakushuin University, always heading straight to ...

by Brett Larner As part of his tuneup for next month's Hokkaido Marathon, 2011 World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.) returned to Hokkaido's Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km road race for its 40th anniversary edition to defend his course record win last year.  Running unchallenged in 27-degree temperatures, he succeeded in adding a second win to his list of accomplishments as he crossed the line in 1:35:02 despite being a self-professed weak hot weather runner.  The little-known race is sure to become a staple of Kawauchi's summer training. (c) 2012 Brett Larner all rights reserved

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110731-OHT1T00328.htm translated by Brett Larner Kawauchi wins in Kushiro. Click photo to enlarge. On July 31 Daegu World Championships marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi  (24, Saitama Pref.) told members of the media that federation direction of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi  (49, Team Chugoku Denryoku) is now acting as his advisory coach in the lead-up to the World Championships.  The "lone wolf" of Japanese marathoning, Kawauchi does not belong to a corporate team and does not have a coach.  These circumstances led to federation officials stepping in temporarily to protect Kawauchi and his interests, which in turn has led to director Sakaguchi frequently giving Kawauchi coaching advice. On July 31, Kawauchi won the Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km road race, in Kushiro, Hokkaido, his final preparatory race for Worlds, in 1:33:55, well ahead of his goal of 1:40:00.  His other races this summer have largely bee...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20110731-00000028-jij-spo translated by Brett Larner Kawauchi after winning in Kushiro. Click photo to enlarge. At the 39th Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km Road Race on July 31 in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Daegu World Championships marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.), won in a course record 1:33:55.  Kawauchi ran the race as a tuneup for next month's World Championships marathon. Translator's note:  At last week's Shibetsu Half Marathon Kawauchi averaged 3:09/km.  In Kushiro he averaged  3:08/km for 30 km , suggesting he is on track for a recovery in time for Daegu from the heat stroke that hit him late in June's Okinoshima 50 km.

by Brett Larner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) became an international name when he finished 3rd at February's Tokyo Marathon , qualifying for the Daegu World Championships marathon with a time of 2:08:37 which made him the top man on the Japanese team despite an existence completely outside the corporate running leagues. At the recent Nittai Time Trials meet Kawauchi ran his last track race of the season before getting into the brunt of his marathon training, running 14:10.32 for 7th in the 5000 m in the midst of a typhoon . Before the race Kawauchi sat down with JRN to talk about his planned World Championships preparations. First up on his schedule is the Okinoshima 50 km ultramarathon this Sunday, June 19. After Tokyo you said that you need to improve your race between 30 and 35 km. At the press conference announcing the World Championships team you indicated that you are planning to run a 50 km ultra in June. Are you doing the 50 km in order to work on your stamina afte...

by Brett Larner Top results from part four of this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series, held July 10 in Kushiro, Hokkaido. 2010 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet Results click here for complete results Men's 10000 m 1. Shunsuke Nomura (Team Osaka Gas) - 29:27.53 2. Jee Young-Joon (S. Korea) - 29:33.97 3. Kim Min (S. Korea) - 29:36.21 Women's 5000 m 1. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 16:20.25 2. Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) - 16:36.82 3. Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) - 16:55.89 Men's 5000 m 1. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:28.69 2. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 13:52.65 3. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:55.82 4. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:57.78 5. Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 14:00.99 6. Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 14:03.66 7. Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) - 14:04.13 8. Samuel Kariuki (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 14:04.74 9. Yuki Iwai (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:06.51 10. Noriaki Takahashi (Team S&B) - 14:09...

by Brett Larner Ryuji Ono`s dream of running in his second Olympic 10000 m came to an end on July 16 with his 2nd place 27:54.28 finish in the Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Ono, who runs for Team Asahi Kasei, made the 2004 Athens Olympics 10000 m as an 18 year old high school student. Since mid-May he had come frustratingly close to clearing the Beijing Olympics A-standard three times, running 27:56.86 on May 17, 27:53.19 on June 1st, and 27:55.16 at the National Track and Field Championships on June 26. Team Konica-Minolta`s Takayuki Matsumiya won Nationals and held an A-standard time, meaning that Kushiro represented Ono`s last chance of qualifying in advance of the July 23rd deadline to make the Japanese team. Once again he came up short, finishing just behind winner Nicholas Kamau of Team JAL Ground Service. Other notable results included women`s 1500 m national record holder and Beijing Olympics women`s 5000 m team member Yuriko Kobayashi`s victory ...