japan running news

Another busy weekend in Japan as its road races and marathons continue to return from pandemic-era hiatuses, with two 30 km races, four big marathons, and a post-season university ekiden. In Kumamoto, Yuki Sato (SGH), 36, put in a hard last 5 km to pull away from the massive leading pack and win the Kumanichi 30 km in 1:30:57, the oldest athlete to win Kumanichi to date. Kira Migita (Toyota Kyushu) was 2nd in 1:31:13, just beating Sato's teammate Kazuto Kawabata (SGH) by 1 second. Rui Nishida (Higo Ginko) won the women's race by over 2 minutes in 1:46:58. Sato, who ran a 1:00:35 PB at last weekend's National Corporate Half Marathon, said post-race that he'd done a 30 km training run on Thursday and that Kumanichi had been only a workout effort. In western Tokyo, 2018 Ome 30 km Road Race men's winner Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Danryoku), 38, led almost start to finish in pursuit of a second win on the hilly Ome course, but in the home straight he fell victim to a...

It was the busiest weekend so far this year in Japanese road racing. At the National Corporate Half Marathon and 10 km Championships , Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) took the men's title in 1:00:25, leading 11 under 61 minutes. 3rd overall, Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) was the top Japanese man in 1:00:32. Depth-wise it was pretty typical for a top-level Japanese half: sub-61: 11 sub-62: 26 sub-63: 46 sub-64: 78 sub-65: 93 sub-66: 106 After a CR and women-only NR last year the women's race was unexpectedly slow this time. 2022 champ Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) made it two in a row with an easy solo win in 1:10:16, with Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) 2nd in 1:10:48. Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic) won the women's 10 km title in 33:09. At the Karatsu 10-Miler , marathoner Hiroto Fujimagari (Toyota Kyushu) held off  Hideaki Sumiyoshi (Kyudenko) for the win 46:56 to 46:58. Naruha Sato (Shiseido) won the women's 10 km, bettering Shinozakura's time at the National ...

The 9th Okukuma Road Race , a JAAF-certified half marathon, took place Jan. 15 across the towns of Mizukami, Yunomae and Taragi in rural Kumamoto. In its first edition in 3 years after pandemic-era cancelations in 2021 and 2022, a total of 364 people finished in the event's 6 categories. In the men's half marathon, Hiroko Hashimoto (SG Holdings) won in 1:02:19, the fastest time ever at the race by a Japanese athlete. Former Hakone Ekiden uphill star Daichi Kamino (Cell Source) also ran, finishing 23rd in 1:06:11. Tokyo Olympics women's marathon 8th-placer and course record holder Mao Ichiyama (Shiseido) won the women's half marathon in 1:12:34. "I want to keep getting back into good shape and to earn my ticket to the Paris Olympics," she said post-race. Rio Olympics 5000 m finalist Miyuki Uehara (Kagoshima Ginko) was 12th in 1:22:27. 9th Okukuma Road Race Half Marathon Kumamoto, 15 Jan. 2023 complete results Men 1. Hiroki Hashimoto (SG Holdings) - 1:02:19 ...