japan running news

Elite-level track racing returns to Japan Saturday, July 4 with a scaled-back version of the scaled-down Hokuren Distance Challenge 's opening meet in Shibetsu, Hokkaido. Twelve women's and men's races over 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m with from 10 to 23 runners per race will happen starting at 15:30 local time and going until 19:15, and it's all being live streamed at the link above. Key names on the start list include Japan's best bet in the Olympic women's 5000 m, Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post), women's Olympic marathon trials winner Honami Maeda (Tenmaya), 2018's Shibetsu 5000 m winner Yuka Hori (Panasonic), 2017 Pre Classic men's mile winner Ronald Kwemoi (Komor Corp.), men's 3000 m H.S. and U20 national record holder Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko), defending men's 1500 m champ Masaki Toda (Sunbelx), men's 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m J.H.S. NR holder Kosuke Ishida (Tokyo Nogyo Daini H.S.), 2:07 marathoners Toshiki Sadakat a (MHPS)...

The IAAF may have unilaterally declared the long distance track season over last week, but in Japan autumn track is in full swing as athletes at all levels prepare for championship ekiden season. The biggest race of the weekend was the men's 10000 m A-heat at Yokohama's Nittai University Time Trials . Richard Kimunyan (Hitachi Butsuryu) led a small group including 2014 Commonwealth Games 5000 m gold medalist Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) out at a steady pace around 27:10. By halfway Kimunyan was alone but still rock steady with a 13:35 split. From 7000 m on he slowed gradually toward the 27:19.62 world-leading time run by Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) at this year's Commonwealth Games, but with a hard kick over the last lap Kimunyan crossed the line 5 seconds up on Cheptegei's mark in 27:14.70, a PB by 38 seconds. Ndiku also got under 28 minutes in 27:50.38. Half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) was the top Japanese man in 28:11.25, conti...

Nestled deep in the misty foothills of the western Tokyo mountains, Hosei University 's late November Hachioji Long Distance meet has quietly turned into one of the world's premier track 10000 m, its A-heat never quite dipping under 27 minutes yet but still producing record-setting depth and the two fastest Japanese men's 10000 m in history. This year's entry list is another monster, with 27:02.59 man Nicholas Kosimbei (Toyota) leading 17 men with recent times under 28 minutes, twelve of them Kenyan, three Japanese and two Ethiopian. Fresh off a 27:22.73 win at last weekend's Nittai University Time Trials, two-time steeplechase junior world champion Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) is slated to pace what is scheduled to be a sub-28 race, but with Kosimbei, sub-27:30 men John Maina (Fujitsu) and Rodgers Chumo Kwemoi (Aisan Kogyo) and five others under 27:45 including last year's winner Ronald Kwemoi (Komori Corp.) on the list the front end should g...

There's no real end to track season in Japan, and at Osaka's Yanmar Stadium Nagai this weekend the corporate leagues plowed ahead with their 65th National Corporate Track and Field Championships . Having broken the men's discus throw national record this summer, Yuji Tsutsumi (Alsok) did it again with a new record of 60.74 m on his second attempt. Kaede Miyasaka (Nippatsu) jumped 13.40 m (+0.9 m/s) to break the women's triple jump meet record. London World Championships men's 10000 m bronze medalist Paul Tanui (Kyudenko) prevailed in a tough 10000 m, running 27:35.38 to lead ten men under 28 minutes, his eighth-straight national corporate 10000 m title and extending his career sub-28 world record to 35 times. Tanui was effusive in his thanks post-race . 昨日のポールタヌイ選手のラストスパート🏃 全日本実業団選手権10000m優勝 27分35秒38 9850m付近(ラスト150m) #10000m #全日本実業団陸上 pic.twitter.com/FGriXaxzui — Kota Shinjo (@7vodka26) September 24, 2017 But the biggest newsmaker was the men'...

Finishing 4th in her opening round heat, national champion Ayako Kimura became the first Japanese woman to make a World Championships 100 m hurdles semifinal, running 13.15 to auto-qualify. In Semifinal 2 she was unable to match that performance, finishing last in 13.29. National Championships runner-up Hitomi Shimura ran 13.29 in her heat and did not move on to the semifinals. In the men's 1500 m semifinals, Japan-based junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi struggled with a recent injury and failed to advance to the final. Running in the same heat, American Johnny Gregorek , who ran last year's Izumo Ekiden as part of the Ivy League Select Team, moved up from last place over the last 300 m to snag the last spot in the final, the only U.S. man to make the 1500 m final. In the men's high jump, national champion Takashi Eto cleared 2.22 m for 9th in his qualification group and did not advance. In the decathlon, at the end of the first day of competition Japan...

by Brett Larner With the start of the fiscal and academic year on April 1 Japan's outdoor track season wasted no time getting started at Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto.  With five heats of senior men's 5000 m on the menu 1500 m junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi (Team Komori Corp.) led the way, winning the A-heat in 13:24.42.  Newcomer Abayneh Degu (Team Yasukawa Denki) wasn't far off that in the B-heat, running a 30-second PB of 13:25.55 for the win. Hiroki Matsueda (Team Fujitsu) led the Japanese results, clearing 13:30 for the first time with a 13:28.61 for 3rd in the Kwemoi-led A-heat.  Just 34 days after his 1:01:55-first-half 2:09:27 marathon debut, Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) was only 0.12 seconds off his PB in 13:34.80 for 8th in the same heat. In the B-heat, Matsueda's teammate Ken Yokote (Team Fujitsu) ran a 10-second PB of 13:31.35 for top Japanese honors at 5th overall.  Behind him, Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.), a Rio O...

by Brett Larner The New Year Ekiden is the peak of the year for corporate league men, their national championship race with 37 teams of seven squaring off over a total of 100 km in front of a live TV audience.  At 61 runnings it is still a newcomer compared to the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden and has long struggled to approach Hakone's popularity.  The upswing in talent at the university level over the last few years has brought more fans to the New Year Ekiden as one after another of the biggest Hakone stars have graduated and entered the corporate machine. Last year Toyota scored a second-straight New Year Ekiden title with a very young team that averaged 23 years old.  This year its roster is bolstered by the addition of one of the most popular and talented 2016 graduates, 30 km collegiate national record holder Yuma Hattori , formerly of Toyo University. Hattori will tackle the New Year Ekiden's longest stage, the 22.0 km Fourth Stage, and with much of last year's...

by Brett Larner photo by Tsukasa Kawarai video by Ekiden News 1500 m junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi (Team Komori Corp.) made his claim to longer distances Saturday at western Tokyo's Hosei University , dominating his competition over the last lap to win his 10000 m debut in 27:33.94 at the Hachioji Long Distance meet. Lacking some of the electricity of last year's Japanese national record shot , 24 athletes from four countries lined up in Hachioji's A-heat, some tuning up for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, others chasing the 27:45.00 standard for the 2017 London World Championships. Normally reliable as a pacer, despite a perfect 2:46.00 opening kilometer Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC) struggled to keep it steady after just 3000 m. Some of the field went ahead of him for several laps before he rallied to take the field through 5000 m in 13:56.50, four seconds off target. The pack stuck with him for another 2000 m b...

by Brett Larner A big weekend of racing on the track and roads lies ahead. Saturday the Tokyo area hosts not one but two massive 10000 m time trial meets.  The Hachioji Long Distance meet at Hosei University has grown to become one of the world's leading races at that distance over the last few years, the site of a 27:29.69 Japanese national record by Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) last year.  The A-heat at this year's race will be targeting 27:45 ahead of next summer's London World Championships with pacing by Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC) and features the tantalizing debut of Ronald Kwemoi (Team Komori Corp.). At the same time as Hachioji, many of Japan's best collegiate men who didn't race at last weekend's record-setting Ageo City Half Marathon will be taking on 10000 m at Keio University's Kanto Region University Time Trials . Last year Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University put eight of its men under 29 minutes in one heat at Keio .  ...

by Brett Larner videos by naoki620 Hosei University's Hachioji Long Distance meet has quickly risen to become one of the world's most competitive 10000 m events, its late November date out of season by most of the world's standards but a perfect tuneup for national championship ekiden season in Japan and a chance to knock out qualifying standards for whatever international championships come the next year.  Last year's meet was highlit by a double national records, teammates Kota Murayama and Tetsuya Yoroizaka of the Asahi Kasei powerhouse team both clearing 27:30 in a thrilling photo finish.  Murayama returns this year as the top placer from last year, winner William Malel (Team Honda) serving as pacer in the B-heat and runner-up Johana Maina (Team Fujitsu) having passed away unexpectedly earlier this year back home in Kenya. With seven heats gradated from sub-29 to sub-27:45 on the program Kenyans James Mwangi (Team NTN) and Rodgers Chumo Kwemoi (Team A...

by Brett Larner Karoki photo by Tsukasa Kawarai 世田谷246ハーフ 1. クイラ (コニカミノルタ) 1:02:27 大会新 pic.twitter.com/JUGqtXhD6z — EKIDEN_MANIA (@ekiden_mania) November 13, 2016 Marathons and ekidens aside, this weekend also saw high-level half marathon and track action.  At Tokyo's Setagaya 246 Half Marathon Japan based-Kenyan Paul Kuira (Team Konica Minolta) scored the third win in four half marathons in his career to date, setting a course record 1:02:27.  Kuira and university runners Takato Suzuki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) and Yusuke Nishiyama (Komazawa Univ.) went out fast, ahead of the pack within the first few km and staying together through 15 km before Kuira put them away.  For Kuira it was a solid tuneup for his marathon debut in three weeks at the Fukuoka International Marathon.  For Suzuki, 2nd in 1:02:55, it was his first time breaking 1:03 in the half marathon, a result sure to elevate his position on the deep roster of Hakone Ekiden favorite Aoyama Gakuin U...

by Brett Larner With ekiden season just starting to break track action was heavy across the country as teams started to sharpen their lineups after summer mileage.  At the National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Ryota Yamagata (Seiko) ran a 10.03 (+0.5 m/s) PB and meet record to beat his Rio relay teammate Asuka Cambridge (Dome), drawing ever closer to Japan's first sub-10 clocking.  Another member of the Rio team, Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) duly won the 200 m in 20.57 (+0.0 m/s), doubling in the 4x100 m and running a rare 4x400 m to help bring Mizuno national corporate titles in both, Mizuno breaking the 4x400 m meet record with a 3:04.51 win. A meet record also fell in the men's 3000 mSC, where two-time national champion Hironori Tsuetaki (Team Fujitsu) ran an all-time Japanese #7 8:29.78 for the win.  Times were also fast by Japanese standards in the women's 1500 m, where Kenyan Ann Karindi (Toyota Jidoshokki...

by Brett Larner James Mwangi 's 27:23.24 10000 m world leading time on day one of the Hyogo Relay Carnival lasted less than 24 hours as two-time World Championships bronze medalist Paul Tanui (Team Kyudenko) held off an Ethiopian challenge from Mamiyo Nuguse (Team Yasukawa Denki) to win Hyogo's day two Grand Prix 10000 m in a new world leader of 27:22.28.  Tanui led the entire way from a 2:42 opening 1000 m to the finish, Nuguse waiting to kick in true Ethiopian style but coming up short in 27:24.85 for 2nd.  2016 National cross-country champion Takashi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) outran a heavyweight domestic field to take the top Japanese spot, running 28:22.57 for 5th. Felista Wanjugu (Team Univ. Ent.) took the women's Grand Prix 10000 m in 32:11.68, running behind Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu) through 9000 m before kicking away for the win.  Ando was 2nd in 32:16.34, well ahead of a Japanese trio including marathoner Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya). Japan-based Afr...

by Brett Larner video by toyosina2008 Outdoor track season got moving early with two big meets on April 2nd. At the Setagaya Time Trials meet in Tokyo's Kinuta Park, 17-year-old Hyuga Endo (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) kicked hard over the last lap to outrun three members of 2016 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University , all of whom ran PBs, and all other competition and go under 13:50 for 5000 m for the first time.  A day after the start of his senior year of high school Endo won the fastest 5000 m heat in 13:48.13, moving up from #9 to #7 on the all-time Japanese high school lists .  AGU's Kazuki Tamura and Yuki Nakamura took 2nd and 3rd in PBs of 13:50.43 and 13:52.29, with Hakone Sixth Stage winner Yuji Onoda joining them under 14 for the first time in 13:56.87.  One other high schooler, Ryunosuke Omori (Sano Nittai Prep H.S.) scored his first sub-14, running 13:54.25 for 5th just behind Kenyan Silas Kingori (Team SGH Group).  Kenyan Rosemary Monica W...

by Brett Larner click here for Day One results and report  c lick here for Day Two results and report Seito Yamamoto (Team Toyota) broke one of the oldest standing meet records at the National Corporate Track and Field Championships on this year's final day of competition, clearing 5.70 m to break the 5.62 record set back in 1999 by Fumiaki Kobayashi (Miki House).  Kobayashi passed all the way to 5.30 m, clearing it and 5.50 m on his first try to seal the win.  Going straight to 5.70 m, it took him three attempts to clear it but the record was his.  The women's 4x400 m almost saw another meet record as the Junanaju Ginko team was just 0.03 off the 3:47.38 record it set in 2010 with a lineup including current third runner Mai Yamada . In distance action, Hiram Ngatia (Team Toyota) ran the fastest time in the three evenly-stacked men's 5000 m, 13:23.65, for the Heat Three and overall win.  1500 m champ Ronald Kwemoi (Team Komori Corp.) had the slowest ...