japan running news

by Brett Larner

It's another big weekend of elite racing in Japan as everyone from junior high school students through the pros gets ready for the mid-December through mid-January national championship ekiden season.  The only serious women's racing to be found comes at the last full Nittai University Time Trials track meet of the year, where small contingents from top high school, university and corporate teams tune up for the roads over 3000 m and 5000 m.  Two weeks after winning silver at the 100 km World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Chiyuki Mochizuki (Canon AC Kyushu) features in the 3000 m along with Kenyan Ann Ngatuny (Sendai Ikuei H.S.).  Bigger names in the 5000 m include Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi), Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) and Yuka Hakoyama (Team Wacoal).

Coming just a week after 11 men broke 28 minutes at the Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m time trial meet, the all-Kenyan men's 5000 m Heat 26 is the main event at Nittai, with World XC junior silver …

by Brett Larner

For its first running following the launch of the new mass-participation Fukuoka Marathon on Nov. 9, the hallowed Fukuoka International Marathon has pulled in former world record holder Patrick Makau (Kenya) to make a go at a comeback against 2013 winner Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and surprise 2012 winner Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) in its 68th edition on Dec. 7.  Until this summer Makau hadn't run at quality over any distance since 2012, but a sub-28 road 10k in the U.S.A. in August suggests he has been getting back toward full fitness, something he'll need to bring to compete against Mathathi and Gitau.  2:06:24 Ethiopian Raji Assefa is a potential darkhorse, #2 on paper but without a good marathon to his name since running his PB in 2012.

Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki), 6th in the London Olympics and 5th in the Moscow World Championships, leads the domestic hopes alongside 2:08 Moscow teammate Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda), t…

by Brett Larner

The Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon leads this weekend’s Japanese road action, in just its fourth year already surpassing the long-running Sendai International Half Marathon as Japan’s leading late-spring half. With the withdrawal of 2011-2012 Gifu winner Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), who sat out the London Marathon with an injury following his 1:00:11 win at February’s Marugame Half, last year’s winner and world record holder Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea), 4th at this year’s World Half Marathon Championships in 59:38, returns to face #1-ranked Japan-based Kenyan Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC), winner of March’s Lisbon Half in 59:58 in his half marathon debut.  With the aggressive Karoki in the race and good weather the lead pack should have a good shot at bettering Tadese’s course record of 1:00:31.

Making up that lead pack are last year’s 3rd, 5th and 6th-placers Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko), Abayneh Ayele (Ethiopia/Team Mazda) and Patrick Muwaka (Kenya/Team A…

by Brett Larner

The organizers of the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon have put together one of the best men's fields in a Japanese half in recent memory for the race's fourth running on May 18.  World record holder Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) returns after running a course record 1:00:31 last year to beat 2011-2012 winner Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC).  Mathathi is also back to go for a third title after sitting out the London Marathon with a minor injury.  The big addition to the mix is Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC), who made a successful transition to longer distances with a 59:58 debut to win the 2014 Lisbon Half despite problems in the early going. Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) joins them under the hour mark as a top contender on paper, but with a recent best of only 1:01:54 it would take a pretty major return to form for him to compete with the three big names.

Also notable is the debut of 27:13 man Edward Waweru (Kenya/Team NTN).  Top Japanese men inc…

http://lrn.london-marathon.com/mathathi-and-steel-drop-out-injuries/

by Brett Larner


Complete video of Marugame in eight parts.  Follow links in video above for rest of race.

Japan's highest-level winter half marathon, the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon took a little bit of a hit this year at the hands of the World Half Marathon Championships.  With the World Half moved to March, the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, held the third weekend of March, were bumped back a month to Feb. 16, just two weeks after Marugame.  With both the men's and women's races at the Corporate Championships counting toward World Half selection but only the men's race in Marugame counting many corporate league runners gave Marugame a miss this year, especially on the women's side.  It's no surprise, then, that only one corporate runner finished in the top four in either the men's or women's races.

Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, a former corporate team that quit the league a few years ago to let its runners focus on things other t…

by Brett Larner

Another busy weekend is on the way, with the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon and Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon leading at least five elite road races nationwide. Despite a padding of aging veterans and the withdrawal yesterday of two A-list athletes, Beppu-Oita still sports what may be the best field in its 63-year history, from a domestic standpoint at least as good as what Tokyo has put together this year.  The fastest Japanese marathoner of 2013 with a 2:08:00 in Tokyo and a vocal critic of Beppu-Oita course record holder Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) is back in Beppu for the first time since 2011 looking to eclipse the 2:08:15 record Kawauchi set last year.  His best competition comes form Mongolian national record holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir, a high-volume marathoner who beat Kawauchi to win the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in 2:09:00 seven weeks ago.  If things go well and Bat-Ochir is fully recovered from Hofu the race …

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20140114-OHT1T00116.htm
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/140115/kgw14011502170000-n1.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Jan. 14 the organizers of the Feb. 2 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon announced the 35 men and 12 women making up the domestic and overseas elite fields for the event's 68th running.  London Olympics marathoner Arata Fujiwara (Miki House), 2012 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), Hakone Ekiden Seventh Stage winner Hazuma Hattori of Hakone champion Toyo University, 2013 Izumo Ekiden and National University Ekiden stage record setter Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.) and last month's Fukuoka International Marathon winner Martin Mathathi (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) top the domestic list for the men's race.  This year's race is a selection event for the men's team for March's World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, meaning many top corporate te…