japan running news

Stellar conditions and a solid fields meant times were going to be fast at the Ageo City Half Marathon , and in both the women's and men's races the front end took full advantage of the day. In the midst of the super-deep men's field Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh , the top Mongolian in this summer's Budapest World Championships marathon and in last month's Hangzhou Asian Games marathon, ran steady and strong, splitting 33:29 at 10 km, 1:10:38 pace, before pushing the 2nd half. Khishigsaikhan crossed the finish line 1:10:32, 1:22 under the old course record, 3:35 ahead of 2nd-place Kana Kobayashi , and a massive 4:16 off the Mongolian women's national record. Khishigsaikhan is currently training in Japan and ran Ageo in prep for next month's Taipei City Marathon, where she was 3rd last year. The men's race went out hard, with Kenyan Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), NR holder Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) and the ambitious Rei Matsunaga (Hosei) leading the ...

Takushoku University teammates Joseph Razini Lemeteki and Akira Akasaki dominated the 2019 Ageo City Half Marathon , alternating the lead throughout almost the entire race to go 1-2 in school record times. With invitations to the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half up for grabs to the top two Japanese collegiate finishers in the unofficial intramural tryout for Japan's most prestigious race, the 2020 Hakone Ekiden, things went out very conservatively by Ageo standards at just 3:00/km for the first 2 km. Not content with that, Akasaki, 3rd on his stage at both the Izumo Ekiden in October and the National University Ekiden earlier this month, picked up the race and carried it until 15 km. From 3 km to 8 km Akasaki split 14:33, pace for 1:01:24, condensing the pack behind him down to eight. After the 10 km turnaround Akasaki's teammate Lemeteki made a bold move to gain contact with the lead group, and when he did it shaved things down to seven serious contenders. The front...

http://www.nyrr.org/newsroom/nyrr-news-service/beyond-the-stats-yuki-kawauchi Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't) is running November's ING New York City Marathon  with support from JRN along with Hakone Ekiden mountain stage great Masato Imai  (Team Toyota Kyushu), who he memorably beat in a battle of surges at the 2011 Fukuoka International Marathon, and London Olympian Risa Shigetomo  (Team Tenmaya), who was 13th in 2:51:55 four weeks ago at the Hokkaido Marathon. 

by Brett Larner 2012 National University Ekiden Champion Komazawa University 's ace sophomore Kenta Murayama , the first man since the great Toshihiko Seko to win the National University Championships 5000 m title as a first-year, added another laurel to his collection with a PB 1:02:46 win at the world's deepest half marathon, the 25th anniversary Ageo City Half Marathon . On a severely windy and cloudless day Murayama and runner-up Kento Otsu of 2012 Hakone Ekiden course record-setters Toyo University were the only men to break 63 minutes.  In his final tuneup for the Dec. 2 Fukuoka International Marathon fan favorite Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) tied his best-ever placing in Ageo as he took 3rd in 1:03:02, his best time on the Ageo course and one of the best of his career. In a new relationship inaugurated in honor of Ageo's 25th anniversary and facilitated by JRN, both Murayama and Otsu along with their coaches Hiroaki Oyagi  and Toshiyuki Sakai received in...

The New York Road Runners held a press conference June 2 at Icahn Stadium as part of a National Running Day event to announce that Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie and Japan's #1 marathoner, Arata Fujiwara , will run this year's ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7. JRN was there to cover the event. One of the better birthdays I've had. all photos (c) 2010 Yasunori Sakamaki all rights reserved