japan running news

After breaking the CR with a 2:18:51 win at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon , Ethiopian Workenesh Edesa was back as one of exactly 2 non-Japanese women in the elite field at this year's race. Set up to try to get at least Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki under the 2:20 barrier, Osaka went out slower than planned but still ground the field down, only Edesa, Suzuki, the debuting Nanaka Izawa and last month's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon winner Kana Kobayashi left when they hit halfway in 1:10:12. The pacers immediately picked it up after halfway to try to get it back on target, killing off Izawa and Kobayashi. Suzuki lasted through 25 km in 1:22:53, 2:19:53 pace, but that was as far as she could go. The gap never really grew that much, but for the rest of the way in Edesa pulled away from Suzuki, taking the win in 2:21:00 without ever being under threat again. But there was some excitement behind her. After losing 35 seconds on Suzuki between halfway an...

Two days out from the Jan. 26 Osaka International Women's Marathon a few scratches have been announced near the bottom of the very short entry list. Out with injury is 2:26:50 runner Madoka Nakano , along with two collegiate runners who were set to make their debuts, Rio Einaga and Nanako Miwa . That's not going to impact the race up front, but it does make what is already a very small race for something with World Athletics platinum label status even smaller. There's last year's winner Workenesh Edesa , 3rd-placer Mizuki Matsuda , 7th-placer Natsumi Matsushita and 12th-placer Kana Kobayashi , top Japanese Paris Olympic marathon placer Yuka Suzuki , veteran Kenyan-born Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter , the debuting Nanaka Izawa , and that's about it. It's a great chance to score some rankings points, and for the home team to try to get an edge up on Tokyo World Championships selection. Workenesh outran Honami Maeda last year, both going under 2:19 and Workene...

The elite field for the Jan. 26 Osaka International Women's Marathon is out, and it's a really short list, especially given Osaka International's World Athletics platinum label status. There's last year's winner Workenesh Edesa , 3rd-placer Mizuki Matsuda , 7th-placer Natsumi Matsushita , 9th-placer Madoka Nakano and 12th-placer Kana Kobayashi , top Japanese Paris Olympic marathon placer Yuka Suzuki , veteran Kenyan-born Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter , the debuting Nanaka Izawa , and that's about it. Workenesh outran Honami Maeda last year, both going under 2:19 and Workenesh getting the win in 2:18:51. She has to be viewed as the favorite. Salpeter has run as fast as 2:17:45 before, but she hasn't run under 2:25 in the marathon or under 1:10 in the half marathon since 2022, so there's not much reason to think she's going to be competitive in a faster race here. Matsuda and Suzuki both ran PBs in their last marathons, Matsuda a 2:20:42 in Berlin ...

2019 world champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya ran solo almost the entire way to win the biggest women-only marathon in the world and biggest 1st-place prize money in the sport at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , her 2:17:18 winning time a new course record, the 2nd-fastest ever in a women-only marathon, 2nd-fastest ever in Japan, and 2nd-fastest of her career. The lead group's pace was set at 3:20/km, 2:20:39, ideal for Japanese debut marathon NR holder Yuka Ando (Suzuki) but not to Chepngetich's taste. After a 16:34 opening 5 km she went ahead of the pacer into the lead alone, staying there until 30 km. In a chase trio with the pacer were Ando, 2:17 runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel, and ambitious 2:26 runner Ai Hosoda (Edion). The pacer was first to drop from the chase group, with Hosoda losing touch before 20 km. At that point Chepngetich's lead was up to 49 seconds, but in the second half Salpeter began to run her down. Ando couldn't stay with S...

It's the last big weekend of road racing on the Japanese calendar this season. But even before it kicks off, there's a bit of track action Saturday. Tokyo Olympics steepler Kosei Yamaguchi  and a few other Japanese athletes are taking advantage of Australia's borders opening up two weeks ago to run the Sydney Track Classic . Yamaguchi is running in the men's 3000 m national championships, a tuneup for the 3000 mSC at next week's Melbourne Track Classic, both with support from JRN. Streaming and live results here . Back at home on Sunday, the Nagoya Women's Marathon wraps up three straight weekends of big city marathon action in Japan. Kenyan-born Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter  wisely avoided defending her 2:17:45 CR at the Tokyo Marathon last weekend , where world record holder Brigid Kosgei  won in 2:16:02, opting instead to go after the biggest winning payout in the sport, Nagoya's $250,000 USD. It's great to see the biggest women-only marathon in t...

Last year the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the first major Japanese race to take a step toward trying to restart the domestic industry, going ahead with its elite race , a limited mass-participation field of 5000, and an accompanying mass-participation half marathon with thousands more. In the fall it announced a massive $250,000 USD payday for 1st place in its 2022 race. Even as other races announce cancelations amid Japan's ongoing omicron wave and the final fate of the Osaka and Tokyo Marathons remains to be seen , Nagoya today announced the elite field for its Mar. 13 race. The international component is very small, but at least there is one, not an easy thing to put together given Japan's still in-place border restrictions even if the government is making noises that it'll relax them a bit come Mar. 1. At the top of the list are Kenyan-born 2020 Tokyo Marathon course record breaker Lonah Chemtai Salpeter running under the Israeli flag, and 2019 world champion Ru...

Race director Tad Hayano wanted records at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon , and records he got. Despite the withdrawal of almost the entire international women's and men's wheelchair fields, both races saw Japanese athletes solo new course records.  Tsubasa Kina and Tomoki Suzuki  tuned up for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with new records of records of 1:40:00 and 1:21:52, reaping the rewards of a doubled prize money purse. In the women's marathon, Kenyan-born 2019 Prague Marathon winner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (Israel) kicked away from a tight pack race at 30 km to win in 2:17:45, a course record and new Israeli national record. With three Japanese men controlling the pace through 30 km the race stayed right on the hot end of the planned 3:17~18/km pace up to that point, burning off competitors including defending champion Ruti Aga (Ethiopia) and Frankfurt Marathon winner Valary Jemeli Aiyabei (Kenya) one by one until it was only Salpeter, two-time Tokyo winner Birhane Diba...