japan running news

Five elite Japanese athletes were at Sunday's London Marathon. In the women's race, Ai Hosoda (Edion) followed up on her 2:24:26 from Nagoya this spring with a 2:21:42 for 9th, over a minute faster than the previous best-ever by a Japanese woman in Great Britian run 20 years ago in London by the great Reiko Tosa . In Nagoya Hosoda went with the leaders at sub-2:21 pace and faded after 20 km. Here she ran steadily at 2:21 pace and survived to come home with the fastest Japanese time overseas so far this year. Reia Iwade (Adidas) dropped out after 25 km, tweeting later that she had had leg pain that forced her to stop. In the men's race, 2019 Doha World Championships team member Kohei Futaoka (Chudenko) was the top finisher at 11th in 2:14:18, just ahead of veteran Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku). Futaoka's teammate Naoki Aiba (Chudenko) went out fastest and died hardest, finishing 27th in 2:22:45, one second slower than Tosa's previous Japanese women's GBR...

Japanese marathoners these days have the reputation of rarely racing abroad, and of rarely racing well when they do. Back in the day that wasn't true; Japanese marathoners have won all the World Marathon Majors-to-be except New York, and two of the three Japanese men to have run 2:06 and all three women to have run 2:19 did it outside Japan. Whatever the extent to which things did turn inward along the way, the last few years have seen an uptick in Japanese runners going farther afield and running better there than any others before them. The lists above and below show the fastest times run by Japanese athletes in different countries to 2:20:00 for men and 2:45:00 for women. Japanese men have run sub-2:20 marathons in 37 countries around the world including Japan, with Japanese women having cleared 2:45 in 33 countries including at home. Breaking it down by IAAF label times, more Japanese men have run label standard times abroad, but women have typically performed at a higher lab...

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/s/article/2012022101002045.html translated by Brett Larner Two-time World Championships women's marathon medalist and two-time Olympic marathoner Reiko Tosa  (35, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) announced on Feb. 21 that the Mar. 11 Nagoya Women's Marathon Olympic selection race will be her final competition before retirement.  Following her retirement she plans to remain at Mitsui as an advisor, helping guide the team's future progress.  Tosa dropped out of the Beijing Olympic marathon with an injury to her right foot.  Following a comeback at the 2009 Tokyo Marathon she announced her retirement to start a family, but after the birth of her daughter in 2010 she attempted to return to competition.  Her return did not go smoothly as she was unhappily forced to cancel planned runs at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon and 2011 Hokkaido Marathon after injury setbacks.

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/111201/spg1112011953000-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner On Dec. 18 the six-stage, 42.195 km  National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships will be held for the first time in Sendai, Miyagi.  On Dec. 1 organizers released the entry list lineups for the 33 teams in the field.  Included in the list are Japan's top two prospects for the 2012 London Olympics marathon, 2004 Athens Olympics gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) and half-marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi  (Team Wacoal).  Defending champion Team Tenmaya  will field past Olympic marathoners Naoko Sakamoto  and Yurika Nakamura , with last year's runner up Team Daiichi Seimei  including 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki  on its roster.   Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo  has veterans Yoko Shibui  and, still shooting for a comeback following a ma...

by Brett Larner This year's Hokkaido Marathon is set for Sunday, Aug. 28, directly opposite the Daegu World Championships.  With a 12:10 start time Hokkaido is always hot and has some of the most strategic racing on the Japanese calendar.  The men's race features both defending champion Cyrus Njui  (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) and 2009 winner Daniel Njenga  (Kenya/Team Yakult) along with sub-2:12 domestic men Seiji Kobayashi  (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki), Masaya Shimizu  (Team Asahi Kasei) and Masashi Hayashi  (Team Yakult).  Njui is in good shape to defend his title after his second-straight win at last month's Sapporo International Half Marathon.  A number of competitive men are also entered in the general division, the best among these being 2:11:44 marathoner Kenichiro Setoguchi  (Team Asahi Kasei) and  Yu Mitsuya  (Team Toyota Kyushu),  Samuel Wanjiru 's main training partner during Wanjiru's pro years in Japan. ...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201107/2011072801003 translated and edited by Brett Larner Two-time World Championships marathon medalist  Reiko Tosa , 35, who retired from competition with Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo in the spring of 2009, has announced that she will run the late-August Hokkaido Marathon.  The race will serve as a stepping stone toward a full comeback.  Tosa is currently training domestically with other members of Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo.  Head coach Shigeharu Watanabe  commented, "I've already put together her training for what comes after the Hokkaido Marathon," indicating that they have one of the upcoming fall and winter season's London Olympics selection races in mind. Tosa won the silver medal at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships marathon and returned in 2007 for bronze at the Osaka World Championships.  She placed 5th at the Athens Olympics marathon but dropped out partway through the Beijing Olympics.  In April last ye...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2011042100608 translated by Brett Larner Team Uniqlo announced this week that longtime Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo head coach Hideo Suzuki , 59, would be taking over as head coach at Uniqlo effective May 1. Suzuki led Chiba's Funabashi H.S. girls' ekiden team to two national championships before becoming head coach at Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo, which he led until 2009. Under his leadership Mitsui became the best team in the country, winning countless National Corporate Women's Ekiden titles. Individual team members also became among Japan's best, including two-time Olympian and double World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa and 10000 m national record holder and former marathon national record holder Yoko Shibui . Speaking of his goals for the Uniqlo team, Suzuki commented, "I want to help the team members move even one step closer toward becoming athletes competitve at the global level. I want to help them build on ...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20110216-OYT1T00858.htm translated by Brett Larner On Feb. 16, double World Championships marathon medalist and two-time Olympian Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) announced that she has withdrawn from her planned comeback run at the Feb. 27 Tokyo Marathon due to an injury to her right leg. According to Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo head coach Shigeharu Watanabe , Tosa has been experiencing discomfort since her return to racing at the Jan. 30 Osaka Half Marathon. Tosa gave birth to her first child, a daughter, last April. The Tokyo Marathon was to be her return to the full marathon distance after an absence of two years.

http://www.nikkei.com/sports/news/article/g=96958A9C81818A9993E2E0E0EB8DE0E1E2E3E0E2E3E3E2E2E2E2E2E2;da=96958A88889DE2E0E3EAEAE5E6E2E0E3E3E0E0E2E2EBE2E2E2E2E2E2 http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20110124k0000m050083000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Following her stage win at the Jan. 23 Kita-Kyushu Invitational Women's Ekiden , 10000 m national record holder and former marathon national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) announced that she will run the Feb. 27 Tokyo Marathon. It will be Shibui's first full marathon since pulling out of the 2009 World Championships marathon team with a stress fracture. "My teammate Reiko Tosa is running, so I thought it would be fun to enter too," Shibui said. "I'm just going to run comfortably without setting any target time." Shibui's coach Shigeharu Watanabe said that the decision to run Tokyo came shortly after Shibui's successful return to competition at December's...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20101228k0000m050086000c.html translated by Brett Larner After retiring following the 2009 Tokyo Marathon to become a mother, two-time World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa , 34, announced on Dec. 27 that she will make a comeback to competitive running. Tosa will spend the new year training with Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo on Miyako island and will run in February's Tokyo Marathon. Tosa gave birth to her first baby, a daughter, in April and has remained a part of Mitsui Sumitomo in an advisorial role since her retirement. On her blog Tosa had previously written, "I'm planning to run the January 30 Osaka Half Marathon followed by a marathon in late February. I don't know how far I'll be able to go but I'm excited to see what I can do." Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo head coach Shigeharu Watanabe commented, "She isn't back to full, serious marathon training yet but we're confident that by the time she r...

http://osaka.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/other-games/20100426-OYO8T00354.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Two-time Olympian and double World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa (33, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) gave birth to her first child, a girl, Apr. 25 in her hometown of Matsuyama. Tosa issued a statement which said, "The delivery was way worse than a marathon, but in the end my daughter was born healthy so I'm very happy." Tosa retired from professional following last year's Tokyo Marathon. Her husband, Matsuyama Univ. track and field team coach Keiichi Marui (36) commented, "Even as a 'mama-san runner' it was our dream as a couple for Reiko to run the marathon. Now that it has come to that, we'll look at the possibilities for her to keep running."

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090908-540984.html translated by Brett Larner On Sept. 7 Beijing Olympics women's marathoner Reiko Tosa (33, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) announced on her personal blog that she is pregnant and expecting her first child to be born in mid-April next year. "I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out," she wrote. Tosa was a guest commentator on TBS' coverage of the Aug. 23 World Championships marathon. Shortly before leaving for Berlin she took a self-test which indicated she was pregnant. After returning to Japan she went to a clinic for confirmation and was told, "Congratulations." In December, 2004 Tosa married Keiichi Murai (35), a former teammate at Matsuyama University. Following March's Tokyo Marathon she retired from competitive running. However, she maintains a position as "Techinical Advisor" with her sponsor Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo and is already considering making a comeback fo...

by Brett Larner Sammy Korir leads the pack at 30 km. Photo by Christian Sommer. Nearly gale-force winds throughout the race, including a headwind from 28 km to the finish, kept times slow, but Kenya's Salim Kipsang persevered to take the 2009 Tokyo Marathon in 2:10:27. Despite a PB of only 2:11:52, little-known Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) made the first big move of the race with an attack after 30 km. Kipsang and Sammy Korir (Kenya) came after Takahashi, and the three ran as a group over the next 5 km. Lost alone in no-man's land between the breakaway trio and the remnants of the lead pack was first-time marathoner Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), a 2007 World Championships 10000 m runner. Losing ground after a water station mishap at 35 km, Kipsang came back to pass Korir and Takahashi at 37 km, pushing on to the finish. Maeda came on strong in the last stage of the race, likewise passing Korir and Takahashi and closing with a 7:14 split for the final 2.195 km, the fastes...

by Brett Larner Updated 3/21/09 to reflect athlete withdrawals. In an effort to bring the Tokyo Marathon into line with IAAF Gold Label status criteria, this year's third running is the first to feature a full international invited elite women's field. Although the women's race is not included among the selection races for the Berlin World Championships, the substantial prize money this year has attracted a competitive field both domestic and foreign rivaling that of many of the world's best events. The overseas field is truly international, with four women from four nations, and well-matched with all but one of the women having run their best times within the last two years and less than 1 minute 20 seconds separating their times. Alevtina Biktimirova (Russia) was 2nd in both Boston and Chicago last year, the former with a memorable sprint finish in a time only 15 seconds off her best despite the challenging course. She weakened in Honolulu in December but should be ...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090311/oth0903112019012-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner "I'm kind of in a slump right now, you know. I haven't been feeling very good and I've been a bit mean to my husband," joked marathoner Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) in early March. To help put her in the right state of mind as she gets ready to race the Tokyo Marathon Tosa is training in her hometown of Matsuyama, but it's not going the way she expected. She just can't seem to get back into good shape. At the end of February she ran as a guest runner in a 30 km race in Chiba, but her time was more than 8 minutes slower than her best. At the start of her preparations for the Tokyo Marathon, Tosa's husband Keiichi Murai (35) told her, "Remember how you felt in the good times, and let's try to go after that feeling." For Tosa herself, however, in her heart all she can feel is the difference between her current condition and when sh...

by Brett Larner On Feb. 23 the organizing committee of the Tokyo Marathon announced the elite athletes invited to the 2009 race to be held on Mar. 22. With the addition of substantial prize money and a women's field the Tokyo Marathon has taken on a new character this year, and its inclusion as a domestic men's World Championships selection race means that a large number of top Japanese men will also be lining up. The women's race features 2008 Boston and Chicago Marathon runner-up Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia as the fastest foreign entrant. Alongside Biktimirova are two-time World Half Marathon bronze medalist Pamela Chepchumba of Kenya, two-time World Championships marathoner Shitaye Gemechu of Ethiopia, 2008 Vienna Marathon winner Luminita Talpos of Romania, and 2007 Beijing Marathon winner Rong Chen of China. The Japanese women's field includes two greats running their final races, Harumi Hiroyama and Reiko Tosa. Hiroyama won the 2006 Nagoya International Women...

by Brett Larner Mara Yamauchi in Marugame. Click photo to visit Yamauchi's blog. Japan-resident British runner Mara Yamauchi's strong 2008 continued on into 2009 as scored a resounding victory at the 2009 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Feb. 1, running a sixteen-second PB of 1:08:29 on the event's new course to win by almost a minute over her strongest competitor Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), winner of the 2008 Sapporo and Rock 'n' Roll San Jose half marathons. General division runner Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) rounded out the top three, while Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), running Marugame as a preparation run for her final race at next month's Tokyo Marathon, was a surprise 4th in 1:10:58. Times were fast overall with two women in the top eight besides Yamauchi clocking PBs and another three recording fast debuts. In the men's race, Marugame record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) led rival Kenyan student runner ...

http://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/sports/local/article.aspx?id=20090116000122 http://mainichi.jp/area/kagawa/news/20090116ddlk37050500000c.html http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009011500664 translated and edited by Brett Larner On Jan. 15 the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon announced the field for its 63rd running on Feb. 1. 49 elite athletes including 31 men, 18 women and 7 invited foreign runners from 6 countries will compete in the first edition of the race's new international format. Beijing Olympics men's marathon national team members Tsuyoshi Ogata and Asian half marathon record holder Atsushi Sato of Team Chugoku Denryoku are scheduled to appear, while Beijing Olympics women's marathon entrant Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) will run Marugame as a preparation race for her final marathon before retirement, March's Tokyo Marathon. Men's course record holder and Hakone Ekiden star Mekubo Mogusu (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) will return to Maru...

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY200812150157.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo's Reiko Tosa, who dropped out of the Beijing Olympics women's marathon with a foot injury and afterwards announced that she would retire from professional running, told reporters on Dec. 14 that she will run one last race before retiring, the Mar. 22 Tokyo Marathon. "I want to finish a marathon once more before I go," she commented. Translator's note: Tosa had previously suggested that her final race would be February's Matsuyama Marathon, a local race which Tosa won in her marathon debut.

by Brett Larner After failing to even qualify for the 2007 All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden , Team Toyota Jidoshoki scored a surprise win over defending champion Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo at this year's national championship ekiden in Gifu Prefecture. Toyota Jidoshoki, one of two teams in the ekiden coached by Yoshio Koide, had only previously qualified once and was missing its star runner Yuriko Kobayashi, whom Rikuren banned from competing in jitsogyodan events after her enrollment in university last year. Neverthless, strong performances from the entire team, particularly anchor Aya Nagata's stage best run, were enough to unseat Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo. Team Panasonic's 17 year old Christie Muyanga, the 2008 World Junior 3000 m steeplechase champion, ran away from the field on the ekiden's 6.6 km 1st stage. She faded in the final 600 m and was almost overtaken by the chase pack which included 2008 International Chiba Ekiden Japanese national team anchor M...