japan running news

The Kansai Region qualifying race for November's 58th National University Men's Ekiden was held June 7 at Yanmar Field Nagai in Osaka. Kyoto Sangyo University won overall, with Osaka Keizai University , Kwansei Gakuin University and Ritsumeikan University taking the other 3 qualifying spots. 1st the last 2 years, Kansai University placed 5th and missed out on making the main event. 12 teams ran in the qualifying race, each fielding teams of 8 split evenly across 4 heats of 10000 m. Their cumulative times determined the team score, with the 4 fastest teams earning spots. The National University Men's Ekiden happens Nov. 1 on an 8-stage, 106.8 km course from Atsuta Jingu in Aichi to Ise Jingu in Mie. Winner Kyoto Sangyo missed out on qualifying last year, but its win this year had special significance as it earned the team its 50th appearance at Nationals. 2nd-year Tsukito Minami brought momentum to the team's performance in the 2nd 10000 m heat. Osaka Keizai 3rd-ye...

The Tango University Ekiden , the 86th Kansai Region university men's championship race, happened Saturday on an 8-leg, 74.4 km course through Kyoto from Miyazu to Tango. Kyoto Sangyo University successfully defended its win last year in 3:47:52 to take its 34th Kansai title. KSU got off to a slow start, 35 seconds behind the leader in 6th after the opening leg. But on the 11.8 km 2nd leg Kaito Kojima , the top Japanese finisher in September's National University Championships 10000 m, was outstanding. Passing one team after another, he overtook leader Ritsumeikan University near halfway on his stage and pushed on to break the CR he set last year by 11 seconds. By the time he handed off he had a lead of 50 seconds over Ritsumeikan. Ritsumeikan closed that back down to 11 seconds over the 3rd leg, but KSU's 4th runner Taiyo Yamaguchi reopened it with a stage best run. The rest of the team ran a stable safety race, and anchor Daiki Kuwata was all smiles as he broke the ta...

The Tango University Ekiden , the 85th edition of the Kansai Region University Ekiden Championships, took place Nov. 18 on an 8-stage, 74.4 km course from Miyazu Civic Gymnasium in Kyoto to Hagoromo Field in Tango. Kyoto Sangyo University ran 3:48:08 to win for the first time in 8 years, its 33rd title in event history. 3rd-year Shunpei Awai led off for Kyoto Sangyo with a stage-winning 29:49 on the 9.9 km 1st leg. 2nd runner Kaito Kojima , the top KSU finisher at last month's Hakone Ekiden qualifier, won the 11.8 km 2nd leg to extend the team's lead to 1:16. By the end of the 5th leg the team's lead had continued to grow to 1:51, but 2 stages later it had shrunk to just 38 seconds. Anchor Koki Nakamura came through, though, running a stage best 31:18 for the 10.4 km 8th leg to deliver KSU the win. Kyoto Sangyo didn't run either the Izumo Ekiden or National University Ekiden this season, but at the Hakone Ekiden qualifier it was the top team from outside the Kanto Re...

The sheer gravitational pull of the Hakone Ekiden drags most of the top high school boys' distance talent to the Tokyo-centric Kanto Region for university. But for those on the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe Kansai Region axis, Saturday's Tango University Ekiden was the peak of the season. In the race's 83rd edition, Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University  men overcame a mid-race challenge from Kwansei Gakuin University  to score a fourth-straight Tango win. Ritsumeikan first-year Hayato Omori  got the team out of the gate well with a 27:33 to lead the 9.0 km First Stage. Ritsumeikan's next three runners held the lead, but a course record 35:31 on the 12.3 km Fifth Stage from Kwansei Gakuin's Sota Ueda  dropped Ritsumeikan to 2nd. Kazuki Moriya  extended Kwansei Gakuin's lead from 6 seconds to 1:04, but when KGU's seventh runner Yoshinobu Imai  struggled Ritsumeikan's Maki Yamada  was three to pick up the lead with a new stage record of 38:32 for 13.3 km. Anchor Ryota T...

The 1st National Mixed-Gender University Invitational Ekiden took place Sunday in Nagai Park, Osaka. The first combined women's and men's team competition on the university ekiden circuit and featuring a six-stage, 20.0 km course, the new event aims to improve development for collegiate middle and long-distance running. Juntendo University  was the new event's first champion, taking the win in 1:01:53. Kyoto Sangyo University  was 36 seconds back in 2nd, with Nittai University  3rd another 15 seconds behind. Osaka University  was the top finisher among public schools, 9th overall in 1:04:42. The race's format saw men passing the tasuki to women and the women on to men. In their first experience of a mixed ekiden Juntendo's Hakone Ekiden team members Sodai Shimizu  and Tatsuya Iyoda  showed their strength despite the rain, the 4th-year Shimizu handling the 3.0 km opening leg and 2nd-year Iyoda the 5.0 km Third Stage. The team's captain, Shimizu smiled as h...