japan running news

October is the official start of ekiden season, and this past weekend had the first 3 big races. Saturday in Chiba was the Kanto Region University Women's Ekiden , the regional qualifier for the Morinomiyako Ekiden in Sendai at the end of the month. Daito Bunka University , Josai University , Takushoku University and Tsukuba University were already qualified thanks to podium finishes at Morinomiyako last year, leaving 16 other schools in competition for 6 qualifying spots. DBU and Josai both broke the overall CR for the 6-stage, 34.4 km course, DBU moving into the top spot on the 2nd leg and staying there the rest of the way to win in 1:50:05. It took until the 4th leg for Josai to move into 2nd, finishing in 1:51:21. Teikyo Kagaku University was the top new qualifier for Morinomiyako, 3rd in 1:53:58 after an early lead thanks to a new CR of 13:25 on the 4.3 km 1st leg by 1st-year Sayo Imanishi . Tsukuba was as low down the field as 10th as late as the 4th leg but managed to cl...

The first major national-level high school ekiden of the season, the 39th Kurayoshi Joshi Ekiden and 44th Nihonkai Ekiden took place Sunday in Kurayoshi, Tottori. Serving as the girls' race with 5 legs totaling 21.0975 km, Kurayoshi saw Osaka's Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. return to the top spot for the first time in 5 years with a 1:08:58 win, its 3rd time ever winning. A total of 51 teams competed in the girls' race, included most of the best programs from across the country. The Kunei Joshi Gakuin girls were 3rd after the first leg, with lead-off runner Yuika Tsuzurahara (2nd-yr) trailing leader Yua Sato (3rd-yr, Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) by only 3 seconds. Second runner Yua Tsukamoto  (3rd-yr) ran the fastest time on her leg, moving up to 2nd behind last year's winner Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. Third runner Rio Kawamura  (2nd-yr) also won her leg and gave Kunei Joshi Gakuin a lead that fourth runner Aika Murai (1st-yr) and anchor Miyu Funaki (2nd-yr) held until the end. To...

The traditional first big race of the high school ekiden season was back Sunday, with the Kurayoshi Joshi Ekiden and Nihonkai Ekiden returning from corona cancelations the last two years. One race with different event names for girls and boys, 70 girls' teams ran the half marathon distance divided into 5 stages, and 96 boys' teams the marathon distance divided into 7 stages. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. won the girls' race for the first time since 2011. 4th after the 6.0 km First Stage, Ritsumeikan Uji's Ai Segawa opened a 30-second lead on the 3.0 km Third Stage that fourth runner Chiseno Ikeda and anchor Yumi Yamamoto extended to 1:21 by the end of the race. Ritsumeikan Uji won in 1:08:57, early leader Hakuoh Joshi H.S. hanging on to 2nd in 1:10:18 and Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. taking 3rd in 1:10:42. Kyushu Gakuin H.S. took the lead from the start in the boys' race, Shu Nagamoto winning the highly competitive 10.0 km First Stage in 29:04 with the top 21 all clearing...

It feels like old times again, with at least five big events on the Japanese calendar. The biggest is Monday's Izumo Ekiden , the season opener for the top university men's teams in the country. We'll have a separate Izumo preview out soon, but you can look forward to the race being broadcast live on Fuji TV starting at 13:00 local time Monday. We'll also cover it live on @JRNLive . The other big ekiden is Sunday's Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden and Nihonkai Ekiden , the first major high school races of the season. They're really one thing billed with separate event names for the girls' and boys' races, five stages totaling 21.0975 km for girls and seven stages totaling 42.195 km for boys. Most of the top high school programs in the country will be there, with 2021 National High School Ekiden 2nd and 4th-placers Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. and Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. leading the 70 teams in the girls' race and 2021 Nationals winner Sera H.S. , 2nd-p...

In order to ensure the safety and well-being of the athletes, officials, and local residents, the 36th Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden and 41st Nihonkai Men's Ekiden , both major high school races scheduled for Oct. 3 in Kurayoshi, Tottori, have been canceled. We the organizing committee sincerely apologize to all the athletes and their supporters who had been looking forward to racing in Kurayoshi, but we ask for your understanding of the situation. source article: https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/gyousei/div/kyouiku/gakushu/sports/r163/ translated and edited by Brett Larner

After extensive discussion with all involved parties, the 35th Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden and 40th Nihonkai Men's Ekiden scheduled for Oct. 11, the first major high school ekidens of the season, have been canceled to protect athletes, officials and local residents from the spread of the coronavirus. We would like to express our most sincere apologies to all the athletes and everyone else involved in putting on these races who had been looking forward to it with anticipation. In preparation for next year's races we will further study what countermeasures against the virus can be implemented to allow the event to be held as per usual. We look forward to seeing you next year and thank you for your support of our events. Kurayoshi Board of Education Division of Lifelong Learning Organizers, Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden and Nihonkai Men's Ekiden source articles: https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/gyousei/div/kyouiku/gakushu/sports/m172/ translated by Brett Larner

On July 2 it was learned that 2020 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University plans to take part in the new Okukuma Ekiden Oct. 4 in the wildlands of Kumamoto. The new event will feature high school, university and corporate league teams competing side by side. Runners in each division will start together, with different stage lengths depending on the division. The 42.195 km course will feature four stages for university and corporate league runners and seven stages for high school teams. All runners will start together, with scoring and awards split into two categories, high school and university/open men. Stage lengths in the university/open men's division will be 10 km, 11.1 km, 11.05 km and 10.045 km. Stages in the high school division will reflect those at December's National High School Ekiden Championships, 10.0 km, 3.0 km, 8.1 km, 8.05 km, 3.0 km, 5.0 km, and 5.045 km, with the second through seventh stages subdividing the longer second through four stages in...

The high school season-opening Nihonkai Ekiden and Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden took place Oct. 6 in Kurayoshi, Tottori. A total of 226 high school teams took part in the two events, both of which delivered heated battles. In the boys' race, the 39th edition of the Nihonkai Ekiden covering 42.195 km in seven stages starting and finishing at Kurayoshi Municipal Field, Nagano's Saku Chosei H.S. emerged victorious for the second time with a time of 2:04:40 after taking control on the opening stage. After getting off to a weak start, Sera H.S. took 2nd, with Toyokawa H.S. 3rd after briefly leading mid-race. The top team from Hyogo prefecture, Suma Gakuen H.S. was 6th in 2:06:43, with rivals Hotoku H.S. 8th in 2:07:02 and Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. 10th in 2:07:41. Held the same day, the girls competed in the 34th running of the 21.0975 km Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden, likewise starting and finishing at Kurayoshi Municipal Field. Defending champion team Osaka Kunei Joshi G...

An Oct. 5 press release on the Sapporo Half Marathon website. Due to the approach of Typhoon #25, we have made the difficult and unfortunate decision to cancel the 43rd running of the Sapporo Half Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 7, 2018, out of concern for the safety of participants, volunteers and spectators in the expected strong winds and rain. We further regret that because of the expenditures already made in preparation for staging the race we are unable to refund participants' entry fees and ask for their understanding. We will be sending out the participation goods entrants would have received and ask for your patience as we make the necessary arrangements. We on the organizing committee sincerely apologize for this crushingly disappointing outcome and ask again for your understanding. Note: Sunday's season-opening national-level high school ekidens Nihonkai Ekiden and Kuroyoshi Joshi Ekiden were likewise canceled due to Typhoon #25. source article: http://s...

The 37th Nihonkai High School Boys Ekiden and 32nd Kurayoshi High School Girls Ekiden , the first major national-level high school races of the season, took place Oct. 8 in Kurayoshi, Tottori on courses starting and finishing at Kurayoshi Municipal Field. In the seven-stage, 42.195 km Nihonkai Ekiden, the 2016 national champion  Kurashiki H.S. boys ran 2:07:09 to return to the winner's circle after a loss last year. Running 3rd after the First Stage, Kurashiki moved up into the lead on the Fifth Stage and held that position the rest of the way. For the third year in a row Tottori Johoku H.S. was the top-fnishing school from within Tottori prefecture. Defending girls' national champions Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. won the five-stage, 21.0975 km Kurayoshi Ekiden for the first time in 1:09:44. The Osaka Kunei girls took over 1st on the Third Stage and ran on to the finish without challenge. For the first time in nineteen years Yazu H.S. was the first Tottori school to...

http://www.nnn.co.jp/dainichi/news/161003/20161003029.html translated by Brett Larner video by Nihonkai Shimbun The 36th Nihonkai Ekiden and 31st Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden took place Oct. 2 in Kurayoshi, Tottori, preludes to December's National High School Ekiden Championships.  In the 7-stage, 42.195 km boys' race, 2008 national champion  Saku Chosei H.S. scored its first overall Nihonkai win, running 2:09:15.  The 2013 national champion  Toyokawa H.S. girls likewise won the 5-stage, 21.0975 km Kurayoshi race for the first time, crossing the finish line in 1:10:11.  Kansai Prep Hokuyo H.S. was the top local team at 12th in the boys' race. At the end of Nihonkai's First Stage the Saku Chosei boys were far back in 29th, but moving up gradually through the field they took the lead on the second to last stage and held on through the anchor stage.  The Toyokawa girls took over on the Kurayoshi First Stage and never gave up the lead.    A t...

by Brett Larner Okayama prefecture's Kurashiki H.S. and Aichi's Okazaki Gakuen H.S. took their first-ever wins at the season's first big nationwide high school ekiden in Kurayoshi, Tottori on October 4.  In the 35th edition of the boys' race , Kurashiki, splitting its team into A and B squads, started slow, its B-squad 21st and A-squad 25th after the 10.0 km First Stage.  The A-squad moved up to 14th on the 3.0 km Second Stage, and with a stage best by its third runner Maeda it moved up to 3rd at halfway.  Kurashiki A's next three runners juggled between 1st and 2nd places, and with a 38-second lead over Kyushu Gakuin H.S. for the 5.0 km anchor stage it looked safe for the win. Safe, that is, until Kurashiki A anchor Koga ran only the 12th-best time on the final stage, while behind him Kyushu Gakuin anchor Ueda bore down with a stage best 15:15.  It looked like it would be close, but in the end Koga had the margin he needed and broke the tape in 2:06:55, Kur...

by Brett Larner Bolstered by an injection of seven transferring boys and three girls from Sendai Ikuei H.S.  to its already champion-level ekiden teams, Toyokawa H.S.  got the high school ekiden season off with a bang with wins in the both boys' and girls' races at the Nihonkai Ekiden in Kurayoshi on Sept. 30.  As Toyokawa's first major race with its full complement of transferred talent following a post-transfer suspension , the results spoke for themselves.  Toyokawa's boys started off in the lead, but after falling seven seconds behind rival Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.  on the 3 km Second Stage, transfer student Tadashi Isshiki , the anchor stage winner for Sendai Ikuei at last year's National High School Ekiden Championships, got Toyokawa back into the lead by three seconds on the 8.1075 km Third Stage.  Kenyan ringer Jeremiah Karemi  widened the lead by over a minute, and despite lukewarm runs on the remaining three stages Toyokawa won easily over Nish...