japan running news

by Brett Larner

The 4th-place finish by Volha Mazuronak of Belarus at last weekend's London Marathon turned heads around the world.  Her time of 2:23:54 may become a national record pending the annulment of times run by Belarussian Alexsandra Duliba following January's announcement of Duliba's suspension on biological passport violations.  New York Road Runners professional athlete consultant David Monti was quick to point out Mazuronak's splits, a 1:13:19 first half, 1:10:35 second half and 7:08 for the final 2.195 km split from 40 km to the finish, the fastest closing split in the London women's field and on a par with or better than the 6th through 10th-place men there.  Mara Yamauchi, the second-fastest British woman ever in the marathon, wrote an analysis noting the similarity between Mazuronak's splits and those in a 2012 JRN analysis of performances by Eastern European women represented by Russian Andrey Baranov and his Spartanik agency.

Baranov also rep…

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/disillusioned-mara-yamauchi-would-no-longer-advise-young-runners-to-aim-for-hollow-olympics-a6803441.html

UKA's announcement of the retirement of 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi.

Yamauchi's own announcement on her blog.

by Brett Larner

photos by Horst Milde

Japan's results in the London Olympics women's marathon gave a fair account of the state of the sport in the country, an improvement over Beijing with all three women finishing and two under 2:28 versus one finisher in 2:30:19 four years ago, but where Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) was 13th in Beijing the highest finisher this time, autumn 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu), was only 16th.  Despite a fall at a drink station just past halfway, former Team Denso runner Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia) won gold to continue the legacy of Japan-trained African Olympic marathon medalists, outkicking 2011 Daegu World Championships silver medalist Priscah Jeptoo and Russia's Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, a top-five finisher at both the 2011 and 2012 Tokyo Marathons.

2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) was among the early pacesetters, running in the front line …

http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/WHM12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=65092

Almost simultaneously with the BUPA London 10,000, defending Ottawa Marathon champion Laban Moiben (Kenya) ran 2:09:13 to break Fujiwara's 2010 CR by 21 seconds.  Moiben was the runner-up behind Fujiwara by 10 seconds in 2010.  Ottawa was the only world-class marathon to have a CR held by a Japanese man.  Note that the IAAF story on Moiben's CR incorrectly reports Fujiwara's old CR as 2:09:44, which was Moiben's time in that race, rather than as 2:09:34.

Haile Gebrselassie leads Tsegaye Kebede and Ayele Abshero in front of Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford.

http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/LRR12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=65030

Translator's note: Ishikawa's Honda teammate Takahiro Yamanaka finished 16th at the Great Manchester Run in 29:54.  2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi (GBR) was 6th in the women's race in 32:28.  Elsewhere overseas, national champion Team Nissin Shokuhin's Manabu Itayama was 7th at the Jakarta International 10 km road race in 31:33 while sub-2:10 man Tomoya Shimizu (Team Sagawa Express) ran 2:16:57 to take 2nd at the Riga Marathon, his teammate Masanori Ishida 6th in 2:23:00.

Men's marathon world record holder Patrick Makau watches the start of the City Games Manchester men's 150 m.

photos (c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/LRR12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=65011

JRN is in Manchester with Honda runners Suehiro Ishikawa and Takahiro Yamanaka.

by Brett Larner

Near typhoon conditions throughout Japan on Friday and Saturday brought a nationwide heat wave and strong winds on Sunday, less than ideal for a handful of major races across the country.

The biggest of them, the Olympic selection-edition Yokohama International Women's Marathon, turned into a race of attrition decided by a final kick to the new waterfront finish, Yokohama's third course in three runnings.  With all three female pacemakers running into trouble and dropping out suddenly at 8, 12 and 19 km rather than the planned 25 km, the race proceeded slower than the planned 2:22 pace, but favorites nevertheless dropped behind one by one.  After a conservative first half far behind the lead pack, 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi (Great Britain) took the lead just before 25 km.  After a big move from Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.) at 31 km the race came down to three, defending champion Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) and th…

http://www.iaaf.org/LRR11/news/newsid=62785.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/8009502/Mara-Yamauchi-refreshed-and-ready-to-chase-Great-North-Run-glory.html

Note: This is a press release from the NYRR. Mara Yamauchi has long been based in Tokyo, where she trains along the Tama River.

New York, August 10, 2010 — Seven months after her come-from-behind triumph at the 2010 NYC Half-Marathon, Mara Yamauchi will seek a New York winning double by adding the ING New York City Marathon 2010 crown on Sunday November 7, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. No athlete has won both the NYC Half-Marathon and ING New York City Marathon in the same year.

“I am looking forward very much to my debut run in the ING New York City Marathon. After winning the NYC Half-Marathon in March, I can’t wait to return to New York and race against the best marathon runners in the world,” said Yamauchi, who caught Deena Kastor of the United States in the closing miles to win the NYC Half on March 21 in a time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, 25 seconds. “New York is an iconic race and one of the best in the world. I will give it everythi…

by Brett Larner

The 53rd Sapporo International Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, July 4. Defending champions Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) return to take on 2008 winners Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) and Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), and foreign competition including 2009 World Championships marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya), 2:05 marathoner Vincent Kipruto (Kenya), #1-ranked British woman Mara Yamauchi, and young American Antonio Vega. For domestic runners a spot on the national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships is on the line, meaning many of the current top Japanese runners including Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) will be in the field.

The Sapporo International Half Marathon will be broadcast live nationwide on Nihon TV at 1:30 p.m. on July 4. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online for free through Keyhole TV, available h…

by Brett Larner
If the preliminary announcement is to be believed, the organizers of the Sapporo International Half Marathon have done an outstanding job in setting up a strong field for this year's 53rd edition to be held July 4. Last year's race was expected to include Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya), but his listing turned out to be only the empty promise of a promoter. This year's men's field is slated to include a handful of big names, and if all show Sapporo could be one of the best races of the summer.
Topping the overseas men's field are Berlin World Championships marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui and 2:05 marathoner Vincent Kipruto, both of Kenya, along with their Japan-resident sub-hour countrymen Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin), the 2009 Sapporo winner, and Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem), the course record holder and 2007-08 winner. Somewhat of a non-sequitur, American Antonio Vega rounds out the overseas men's field…

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20100407007.html

translated by Brett Larner

On the verge of taking up the title of Japanese women's marathoning ace, Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) is running the Apr. 25 London Marathon for the first time. At the National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships in Yamaguchi on Mar. 21 she was 2nd overall and the top Japanese finisher, indicating that everything has gone smoothly with her preparations. Hoping to run a 2:21 PB in her first time at the world's fastest race, she says confidently, "My target time is in reach."

In just her third marathon Ozaki won the silver medal at last August's World Championships in Berlin, giving a tremendous boost to her self-confidence. The 28 year old Ozaki has been "doing 50 m repeats at top speed and working as hard as I can on being able to surge during the race." With the results of a high-quality training camp in hand she is eagerly looking forward to reaping th…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/london-marathon/7615851/London-Marathon-2010-Mara-Yamauchi-wins-travel-marathon.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/london-marathon/7608517/Volcanic-eruption-threatens-disruption-for-elite-London-Marathon-field.html

by Brett Larner

Looking through results this week from various half marathons around the world I noticed that a number of the top women from next month's London Marathon ran tuneups last Sunday. Here's what I have come across so far. Please send any additions. Both the Jitsugyodan and Matsue half marathons had extremely windy conditions; Japan had such a windy weekend that the 10,000+ runner Arakawa Marathon was cancelled due to the conditions.

2010 London Marathon Elite Women - 3/21/10 Half Marathon Results
Mara Yamauchi (GBR) - 1:09:25 (1st, NYC Half)
Deena Kastor (U.S.A.) - 1:09:43 (2nd, NYC Half)
Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 1:10:06 (2nd, Jitsugyodan Half)
Askale Tafa (Ethiopia) - 1:10:46 (2nd, Lisbon Half)
Kim Smith (New Zealand) - 1:10:53 (1st, New Bedford Half)
Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 1:11:09 (2nd, Matsue Ladies' Half)
Constantina Dita (Romania) - 1:14:39 (9th, Lisbon Half)

by Brett Larner

In its first running as a spring race, the New York City Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, Mar. 21. In the women's field are the 1st and 3rd place finishers from last month's Ome 30 km road race, Japan-based Mara Yamauchi (GBR) and 2009 Hokkaido Marathon winner Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC).

After a fantastic run at the London Marathon last year Yamauchi missed most of 2009, including the World Championships, with an injury. She began her recovery with a decent run at the Marugame Half Marathon in early February before winning her Ome debut. New York will be Yamauchi's major tuneup for next month's London Marathon.

Earlier this week Shimahara was named to the Japanese national team for November's Asian Games marathon, where she will be the defending silver medalist. Shimahara had a very strong fall season last year including a course record win at the Hokkaido Marathon in late August and 2nd place finishes at November's Yokohama Internatio…

by Brett Larner

Mara Yamauchi (GBR) continued her return from the injuries that kept her out of last summer's World Championships and the fall marathon season win a 1:43:24 win at the classic 2010 Ome 30 km Road Race in the mountains west of Tokyo on Feb. 21. Yamauchi pulled away from veteran Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) just before 15 km and steadily lengthened her lead over the hills in the middle section of the course. Up by 48 seconds at 25 km, Yamauchi ran 17:30 for the final 5 km to Ominami's 17:07, finally winning by a margin of just 25 seconds. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind A.C.) ran most of the race in 4th place behind little-known Saori Makishima (Canon A.C. Kyushu) but had a strong last 5 km to take 3rd. Makishima went on to DNF. Yamauchi's win adds to her three titles in Ome's 10 km over the last four years.

The men's 30 km was a blowout as 2006 Ome winner Takashi Ota (Team Konica Minolta) frontran his way to a repeat victory in 1:31:54. With at le…

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201002/CN2010020701000181.html
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010020700109

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Hakone Ekiden Second Stage winner Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) took his first win at the 2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Feb. 7, running a PB of 1:01:08. Defending champion and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) was 2nd in 1:01:43. Yuichiro Ogawa (Team Kanebo) was the top Japanese man, 4th overall in 1:01:53.

In the women's race, Australian Nicole Chapple ran a sizeable PB of 1:08:37 to beat defending champion Mara Yamauchi (U.K.). Identical twins Yoko and Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) were 2-3 in 1:09:51 and 1:10:01. Yamauchi finished 6th.

Translator's note: A big day for Australia! The Marugame Half will be broadcast from 2:38 to 3:33 a.m. on Wed., Feb. 11 on Fuji TV. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online for free using Keyhole TV.

2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon - T…