japan running news

It has been learned that the Saitama metropolitan government and the JAAF, organizers of the Saitama International Marathon used as a selection race for World Championships and Olympic teams, plan not to hold the race this year due to problems with attracting elite athletes and other issues. Launched in 2015 as the successor to the discontinued Yokohama International Women's Marathon, the annual Saitama International Marathon was the first World Athletics-certified marathon in the prefecture of Saitama. But due to its hilly course Saitama earned a reputation for slow times, and cases of elite Japanese women canceling plans to run became more and more frequent. At last month's fifth edition, despite the opportunity to earn a place on the 2020 Olympic team only one elite Japanese woman competed. According to a person involved in the situation, it was no longer possible to justify spending over 700 million yen (~$6.4 million USD) to hold a national team selection race with d...

Two of Japan's main year-ending marathons celebrated anniversary runnings this year, with the Saitama International Marathon holding its 5th edition and the Nara Marathon marking ten years. Former half marathon world record holder Peres Jepchirchir (Kenya) dropped the competition at 30 km to win in Saitama. Within the first kilometer an all-African lead group had left top Japanese entrants Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL) and Kasumi Yoshida (Nitori), and Nina Savina (Belarus) behind. The lead group quickly rounded down to four, Jepchirchir and Ethiopian trio Fatuma Sado , Belaynesh Oljira and Rahma Tusa . #1-ranked Oljira slipped off early in the second half, and when the pacers stopped at 30 km Jepchirchir had no trouble getting rid of Tusa and Sado. Jepchirchir took 1st in a PB of 2:23:50, with Sado a distant 2nd in 2:26:45. After 35 km Tusa ran into trouble, stopping and stretching out her legs and losing ground first to Oljira, 3rd in 2:27:11, and then Savina, who ran a PB...

The first women's race in the 2020 Sapporo Olympic marathon team Final Challenge, the chance for a Japanese woman to pick up the third spot on the Olympic team by running 2:22:22 or better, in its 5th edition the Saitama International Marathon continues its slide toward oblivion as an elite race. The international field is good, and well-positioned to set it up for a Japanese woman to attack that kind of time with 2:21:53 Ethiopian Belaynesh Oljira and debuting 1:05:06 Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir in the foreground, but Japanese women have almost entirely given it a miss. Only one independent runner, Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL) and one semi-corporate leaguer, Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) are on the  entry list, raising the obvious question of why bother? Saitama is popular as a mass-participation race, and it is raised a little higher by the quality of internationals it attracts. But as a national team selection race, it seems like only a matter of time before it loses that status...

We hereby announce the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Marathon Team qualifying standards for the MGC Final Challenge. men: 2:05:49 women: 2:22:22 These times are one second faster than the fastest times run by Japanese men and women within the MGC Race qualifying period. The fastest athlete under these standards at one of the MGC Final Challenge series races will earn the third and final spot on the Tokyo 2020 team following the two to be decided at September's MGC Race. MGC Final Challenge series races: Men: 73rd Fukuoka International Marathon Tokyo Marathon 2020 75th Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon Women: 5th Saitama International Marathon 39th Osaka International Women's Marathon Nagoya Women's Marathon 2020 For more information on the overall Tokyo 2020 Olympic team qualification process please click here . The official MGC site:  http://www.mgc42195.jp/ source press release: https://www.jaaf.or.jp/news/article/12712/ translated and edited by Brett Larne...

For the second year in a row Bahraini Shitaye Habtegebrel found herself knocked down to 2nd in the Saitama International Marathon 's home straight, this time to fellow Ethiopian-born emigrant Dalila Gosa . Part of a group of nine that immediately separated from the main body of the elite women-only race behind three pacers, both Gosa and Habtegebrel stayed at the front of the pack on mid-2:25 to low-2:26 pace as its five Japanese constituents and lone Ethiopian national Fatuma Sado dropped off one by one. When the last pacer stepped off at 30 km Habtegebrel and Gosa took turns leading in a successful effort to drop Kenyan Sylvia Kibet . Last year Habtegebrel lost out to Flomena Cheych Daniel of Kenya by 3 seconds in the home straight, both of them ultimately having their times disallowed due to poor direction on the final corner . This time both Gosa and Habtegebrel successfully turned at the right spot thanks to improved course marking and marshaling, but Habtegebrel agai...

The Saitama International Marathon regrets to announce that invited athletes Workneh Debele (Ethiopia), Celia Sullohern (Australia) and Ayaka Inoue (Japan/Otsuka Seiyaku) have withdrawn from next weekend's race with injuries. Debele has been suffering from inflammation issues in her left leg, Sullohern sustained a stress fracture, and Inoue is experiencing heel pain. In their place, organizers have invited Maryna Damantsevich (Belarus), 2:27:44 at this summer's Berlin European Championships, and Fatuma Sado (Ethiopia), 2:26:41 for the win last January at China's Xiamen Marathon. source article: https://saitama-international-marathon.jp/news/3308/ translated and edited by Brett Larner

In its fourth edition the Saitama International Marathon has taken a step up in quality thanks mostly to a move from mid-November to mid-December. Its previous timing meant that no top-level corporate league women could take part due to scheduling conflicts with the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships, but with Saitama now coming afterward there's a noticeable increase in the quantity of domestic talent. The international field is fronted by current Ethiopian Workneh Debele , 2:19:53 in Dubai earlier this year, and former Ethiopian S hitaye Habtegebrel of Bahrain, winner of this year's Hamburg Marathon in 2:24:51 and last year's Saitama runner-up. 20-year-old Dalila Gosa of Bahrain and Celia Sullohern of Australia add numbers to the sub-2:30 contingent, with Sylvia Jebiwot Kibet the lone Kenyan in the field. The home crew will be looking to key off the internationals to pull them through Saitama's challenging course full of rolling hills and t...

The Tokyo Marathon Foundation , independent organizer of the Tokyo Marathon , is considering a plan to increase the entry fees for the race by 50% for its 14th running in March, 2020. Its primary reason is a decrease in the event's profitability due to increased safety and security costs. The plan could be approved by the Board of Directors as early as December. In the five years since the April, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the Tokyo Marathon's safety and security costs have increased by a factor of 2.7. This year's costs reached a record high of 482,000,000 yen [~$4,275,000 USD] . With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games looming in the near future the Foundation expects the threat of terrorism to grow. In preparation it plans to be beef up security measures at the Tokyo Marathon, with more security guards, metal detectors and surveillance cameras. Last year the Tokyo Metropolitan Government increased its subsidization of the Tokyo Marathon from 100,000,00...

At its executive board meeting on Dec. 19, the JAAF approved date changes for three of its major marathons. Traditionally held in November, the Saitama International Women's Marathon will move to Dec. 9 for its 2018 running in response to the National Corporate Women's Ekiden's shift from mid-December to November. In 2019 the Tokyo Marathon will change from the last Sunday in February to Mar. 3 to avoid potential conflicts with the new Emperor's Birthday holiday , which will take place each year on Feb. 23 following the imperial succession in 2019. Tokyo will remain on the first Sunday of March thereafter, the longtime date of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon . As a result, in 2019 Lake Biwa will be held a week later on Mar. 10, the same day as the Nagoya Women's Marathon . source article: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201712190000631.html translated and edited by Brett Larner

At the Nov. 12 Saitama International Marathon , Kenyan Flomena Cheyech Daniel won a sprint finish over Bahraini Shitaye Habtegebrel by 3 seconds to take her second-straight Saitama title in 2:28:39. On Dec. 11 race organizers announced that both runners' times had been annulled. In the midst of the pair's battle for the win, race officials misdirected the pair into the righthand lane on the final corner instead of the lefthand lane in which the finish line was located. Both ran over the curb dividing the two lanes and returned to the original course before finishing. At the time JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata said , "This was a mistake by the organizers and the athletes did nothing wrong. There was no effect on the finishing order and no advantage gained in terms of the distance run." After later consultation with JAAF officials, race organizers decided that Cheyech and Habtegebrel had not covered the complete distance and that their times should be an...

After missing a medal by 3 seconds at August's London World Championships , defending champ Flomena Cheyech Daniel (Kenya) made it two in a row as she won a tight battle against Shitaye Habtegebrel (Bahrain) to win the Saitama International Marathon in 2:28:39. With the onus on Japanese women Reia Iwada (Dome) and Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL) to break 2:29:00 in order to qualify for Japan's new-format 2020 Olympic trials race , the pair of them did most of the heavy lifting for the first two-thirds of the race. Yoshida led the early kilometers before Iwade took over, and through strong head and tailwinds, over rolling hills and around sharp turns Iwade kept things moving just under target pace, shaking the pack down to just her, Daniel, Habtegebrel and relative unknown Bekelech Daba (Ethiopia) by 15 km. Little changed up front until after the lead group hit the start of the hilliest 10 km on the course after 25 km. For the first time Iwade slipped to the rear of the pa...

Sunday's Saitama International Marathon leads a busy weekend of women's racing across the country. 4th in August's London World Championships marathon, last year's winner Flomena Cheyech Daniel (Kenya) returns to lead the tiny elite field of six internationals and two domestic women. Cheyech's strongest competition is Japan's Reia Iwade (Dome), the former under-20 marathon record holder who abruptly quit the Noritz corporate team earlier this year to go the solo route. Whether her new situation finds her ready to go remains to be seen. Close behind and maybe a more likely bet to stay with Daniel is Shitaye Habtegebrel (Ethiopia). Iwade, Kaori Yoshida (Team RxL) and any other Japanese women in the general elite field will have the chance to qualify for Japan's 2020 Olympic Trials race if they go under 2:29:00. Starting 30 minutes after the elite women, Saitama also features a coed mass participation field. Local poster boy Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pr...

With just over three weeks to go the Saitama International Marathon has released the elite field for its third running scheduled for Nov. 12, and it's a small one. A problematic event that carries the diminished legacy of the Tokyo International Women's Marathon and Yokohama International Women's Marathon, Saitama occupies a place in the national team selection process that should go to the far superior Tokyo Marathon women's race but remains out in the northwestern suburbs thanks to the sponsor and TV broadcast income it generates for the JAAF. But with a field like this, how much longer will it be able to generate any sponsor interest or income? The move of the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships from mid-December to late November, just two weeks after Saitama, means that not a single corporate league woman is entered in Saitama's elite field. Not one. The home crowd is represented by 22-year-old Reia Iwade (Dome), who quit the Noritz corpora...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2016/11/14/kiji/K20161114013722210.html translated by Brett Larner With the major corporate league women giving it a miss due to the conflict with ekiden season, Sunday's Saitama International Marathon had predictably disappointing results .  Newly appointed leader of the JAAF's long distance and marathon development project Toshihiko Seko commented, "You might call it old-fashioned, but they're simply not training enough.  We need people who can run tough in both the marathon and the ekiden."  Articulating the sense of crisis, development project director Tadasu Kawano warned, "We won't necessarily be filling all three spots [on the national team for next summer's London World Championships marathon] ." Translator's note: In an interview moderated by JRN , Takayuki Nishida , a former Seko-coached athlete who ran 2:08:45, told Finnish writer Tuomas Zacheus , "Seko is a great man. What should ...

by Brett Larner 2010 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Flomena Cheyech Daniel (Kenya) negative split her way to the win in the second edition of the Saitama International Marathon .  The four invited Africans and two pacemakers in the race went out on track to go under 2:22:30, but without even a single top-level Japanese woman in the race the leading Japanese contenders were out of it within the first km.  A familiar face in Japan, Amane Gobena (Ethiopia) ground down compatriot Atsede Habtamu and Monica Jepkoech (Kenya) over the first 20 km before Daniel in turn said goodbye after the 24.6 km turnaround.  From there on in it was a race against the clock, Daniel on track to go close to her 2:22:46 PB at 35 km but unable to keep it up alone.  Her time of 2:23:18 was a sizable new course record and one of the better times in her career.  Gobena, Jepkoech and Habtamu trundled in over the next 6 1/2 minutes, the top four the only ones to clear 2:30. ...

by Brett Larner In its first running last year the Saitama International Marathon tagged a small elite women's race, the descendant of the defunct Yokohama International Women's Marathon and Tokyo International Women's Marathon, onto a new 3500-runner amateur race.  Tokyo International was a high-profile, high-prestige elite event that served an important role in both the development of women's marathoning worldwide and Japanese national team selection.  The profile and prestige dipped with the move to Yokohama, its 2014 winner Tomomi Tanaka controversially left off the 2015 Beijing World Championships team, and both dropped again last year with the move out to Tokyo's northwestern suburbs in Saitama. Its legacy as the inheritor of Japan's premier women's race and nominal current role as a women's event are obscured by the co-ed mass marathon, local boy  Yuki Kawauchi proudly splashed across the Saitama website's top page for this year's...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20160212-OHT1T50034.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 11 it was learned that Kaori Yoshida (34, Runners Pulse), the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall in the first Rio Olympics domestic selection race at last November's Saitama International Women's Marathon , has entered the final Rio selection race, the Mar. 13 Nagoya Women's Marathon.  Also entered is Kayoko Fukushi (33, Wacoal), who ran 2:22:17 to break the JAAF-mandated sub-2:22:30 Olympic standard and win the second Rio selection race, January's Osaka International Women's Marathon .  With both already in contention for the Rio team the pair's entries creates a highly unusual situation at the final selection race. The final selection race for the Olympic women's marathon team looks set to become a one-shot battle.  Appearing as part of a radio event in Tokyo on the 11th, Yoshida said, "I've been planning all along to run either Tokyo or...

by Brett Larner In wet conditions on an untested course full of twists, turns and ups and downs, Ethiopian Atsede Baysa scored an easy win at the first running of the Saitama International Marathon , pulling away from the rest of the small front group after 30 km to open a lead of nearly a kilometer on the way to a 2:25:44 finish.  Kaori Yoshida (Runners Pulse) ran down Kenyan Rebecca Kangogo Chesir to take 2nd in a PB 2:28:43, putting her name into contention, distantly, for the Rio Olympic team.  Former national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) came up short of her Olympic hopes, 4th in 2:31:06 after running up front until late in the race. The race itself will be covered in more detail elsewhere , but as an inaugural event, as an Olympic selection race, and in other aspects, Saitama brought up a lot of cause for reflection. A step down from its Tokyo International Women's Marathon and Yokohama International Marathon predecessor, Saitama joine...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2015/11/14/kiji/K20151114011507760.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The civil servant runner has spoken out.  In an interview on Nov. 14 following his appearance at a talk show event ahead of the Nov. 15 Saitama International Women's Marathon, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) addressed the problem of systematic doping in the Russian athletics world.  "All of the strict drug testing we have to go through, and now this?  It's really unpleasant news," he said. For elite athletes drug testing is rigorous and strict.  Since his breakthrough to the top level of the sport in Japan at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon Kawauchi has been tested over 30 times.  He and other athletes must report their daily whereabouts to the JADA in conjunction with WADA and are subjected to surprise, unannounced testing.  Kawauchi has been woken up for testing at 6:00 a.m. in the days before major races and while relaxing at home at 9:0...

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20151114/k10010305811000.html translated by Brett Larner In the wake of the IAAF's provisional suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) for systematic doping , a Russian athlete scheduled to compete in tomorrow's Saitama International Marathon has withdrawn from the race. On Nov. 13 the IAAF voted to provisionally suspend the ARAF, barring Russian athletes from competing in international events.  London Olympics women's marathon bronze medalist Tatyana Arkhipova of Russia was already in Japan at the time to run in the Saitama International Marathon, taking part in the pre-race press conference on the 13th . According to the JAAF, after receiving the judgment against the ARAF, on Nov. 14 they notified Arkhipova of the suspension of her eligibility to compete.  She subsequently withdrew.  Arkhipova is the first athlete to be barred from an international competition in Japan as a consequence of the ruling against the ARA...