japan running news

by Brett Larner Top young talents Tsuyoshi Ugachi  and Hitomi Niiya  led the Konica Minolta  men and Universal Entertainment  women to the win at the East Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships , the regional qualifier for the New Year Ekiden men's national championships and the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships, Nov. 3 in Saitama. After a slow start by leadoff man Masaki Ito , Ugachi, one of Japan's best current track and road racers, ran just off his own Second Stage record to put Konica Minolta into the lead, a position it never left despite only one more stage win courtesy of Sendai Ikuei H.S. grad  Paul Kuira .  5000 m national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya  brought the team home to its first East Japan win in 7 years, 45 seconds ahead of defending national champion Team Nissin Shokuhin . Nissin was far off its game, running its youngest Kenyan Leonard Barston  and taking not a single stage win.  10000 m national cha...

Stanford University, California, 4/29/12 click here for complete results Men's 10000 m Kim McDonald 1. Cam Levins (Southern Utah) - 27:27.96 2. Sam Chelanga (OTC) - 27:29.82 3. Chris Derrick (Stanford) - 27:31.38 ----- 10. Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) - 27:50.59 13. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta) - 27:52.79 16. Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) - 27:57.07 24. Kensuke Takezawa (S&B) - 28:15.79 28. Yuki Matsuoka (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 28:55.90 29. Yusuke Takabayashi (Toyota) - 29:12.69 30. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 29:21.29 31. Tomoyuki Morita (Kanebo) - 29:25.55 Men's 10000 m Heat 2 1. Josphat Boit (Mammoth TC) - 28:11.75 2. Liam Adams (Unatt.) - 28:11.76 3. James Strang (Unatt.) - 28:12.03 ----- 31. Atsushi Ikawa (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 29:05.32 Women's 5000 m Heat 1 1. Sally Kipyego (OTC) - 14:43.11 2. Julia Lucas (OTC) - 15:08.52 3. Julie Culley (Asics) - 15:13.87 ----- 12. Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) - 15:33.11 17. Risa Takenaka (Shiseido) - 15:44....

by Brett Larner On day one of the first Nittai Univ. Time Trials meet of the season, marathoner Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) continued the comeback from the injury that knocked him out of the Beijing Olympics, finishing 3rd in 29:19.31. The biggest results of the day, however came in the women's 800 m and 3000 m. Running against a field of pro, university and high school competitors, unior high school student Ayaka Nakagawa (Asaka Daisan J.H.S.) started the day off with a win in the 800 m A-heat in 2:10.61, nearly 1 1/2 seconds ahead of her closest rival. 2 1/2 hours later Nakagawa returned to take 6th in the 3000 m A-heat, clocking 9:31.18. Nittai Univ. Time Trials Top Results Nittai Univ., Yokohama, 4/16/11 click here for complete results Men's 10000 m Heat 5 1. Yuki Takamiya (Team Yakult) - 29:17.67 2. Yuta Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 29:19.00 3. Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 29:19.31 4. Sho Matsueda (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 29:23.77 5. Tomohiro Hayakawa (...

by Brett Larner 2010 Hakone Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University's Shota Inoue took the top spot at the 2010 Tachikawa Akishima Half Marathon in Tokyo on Mar. 14, winning in 1:03:11 by two seconds over Ryohei Kawakami of 2010 Hakone winner Toyo University. Doubling as the National University Men's Half Marathon Championships, in 2009 Tachikawa Akishima was the deepest half marathon in the world. This year the top seven men broke 1:03:30, with Kawakami's teammate Hiroyuki Uno 8th in 1:03:31. Altogether 106 men broke 1:06. 2010 Tachikawa Akishima Half Marathon - Top Finishers 1. Shota Inoue (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:11 - PB 2. Ryohei Kawakami (Toyo Univ.) - 1:03:13 3. Yuta Igarashi (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:15 4. Ryota Nakamura (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:03:16 5. Akinori Iida (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:17 - PB 6. Koji Kobayashi (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:17 7. Hideki Inomata (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:24 8. Hiroyuki Uno (Toyo Univ.) - 1:03:31 (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner Daniel Gitau in another stage-record win. Click photo for full-sized version. Running in his final Izumo Ekiden on Oct. 12, Kenyan senior Daniel Gitau delivered Nihon University the win for the second year in a row. Last year Gitau started the 10.2 km anchor stage 1:29 behind the lead and won by a margin of 14 seconds. The only sub-28 minute 10000 m runner in the field, this year he confidently predicted before the race that if he was within two minutes of the leader at the start of the anchor stage he would again take first. He was clearly thinking of his Japanese rivals and not of another Kenyan. Nihon University first-year Kenyan Benjamin Gando made his ekiden debut on the first stage, putting Nihon into 3rd. The rest of the Nihon team kept the school toward the front of the field, with only fifth stage runner Kentaro Ikeya slipping back to 5th. Things looked set for an easy ride for Gitau except that Yamanashi Gakuin University's Kota Otani delivered a stage-be...