japan running news

After 54 years at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, first as athlete and then as coach, Takeshi Soh will retire at the end of this month. Together with his twin brother Shigeru Soh they formed a duo who were icons of the Japanese marathoning world and went all the way to the Olympics. After retiring from competition Takeshi devoted himself to coaching young athletes and came to play a primary role in the leadership of Japanese long distance. His list of achievements is long, and so is the list of those he influenced and inspired. His twin Shigeru was chosen for three Olympic teams in the marathon, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi was named to the Moscow and Los Angeles teams, placing 4th in L.A. to confirm his position as one of the greatest names in the sport in that era. After becoming a coach the twins helped lead Hiromi Taniguchi to gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, Koichi Morishita to silver a year later at the Barcelona Olympics, and o...

Aiming to make it back to the Hakone Ekiden for the first time in 12 years, on Apr. 6 Asia University held a press conference in Tokyo to announce the addition of Rio Olympics marathoner Satoru Sasaki , 35, to its coaching staff. "I can feel that expectations of me are very high," Sasaki said. "But it's my hope that I can use that as fuel in helping get Asia back to Hakone." Having retired after last December's Fukuoka International Marathon, Sasaki joined the staff at Asia, the 2006 Hakone champion, on Apr. 1 at the start of the academic year. After leaving the Asahi Kasei  corporate team and relocating from its base in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Sasaki moved into the team dormitory on Apr. 2 to start living with the athletes. "There are a lot of student athletes here who are running very well, and the times they are chasing in training are high quality," he commented on his impressions of the current Asia team. "What's left is to think with the...

Sunday features three big races on the early post-ekiden calendar. In Yokohama, the Kanagawa Half Marathon always hosts dozens and dozens of university runners from top Hakone Ekiden schools like Aoyama Gakuin University and Komazawa University on its fast if spectacularly unscenic industrial zone course. Kanagawa also features a high-level 10 km that usually attracts some of the better university women. The top college guys will opt for the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon , where they'll face off against national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda), 2017 winner Callum Hawkins (Great Britain), sub-60 men Zane Robertson (New Zealand/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot (Kenya) and more. Spots on the World Half Marathon Championships are on the line for the top finishers. The women's race has three sub-1:09 women up front including Sanyo Half winner Charlotte Purdue (Great Britain), last month's Okukuma Half winner Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) an...

The Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon and Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon both happen Feb. 1, and in the last couple of days each has announced its elite field for this year's race. Primarily a men's race, Beppu-Oita has a small international field of five at the 2:08 to 2:10 level, fronted by last year's runner-up Abdela Godana (Ethiopia), with Mongolian duo Byambajav Tseverrnravdan and Munkhbayar Narandulam and a trio of Japan-based Kenyans and Ethiopians, Alex Mwangi (YKK), Abayneh Degu (Yasukawa Denki) and Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) bumping up the international numbers. Three sub-2:10 Japanese men, all at the 2:10 to 2:11 level in 2019, lead the home crowd. Rio Olympian Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) leads the way off an excellent 3rd-place finish at September's Sydney Marathon, with teammate Takuya Fukatsu (Asahi Kasei) and Jo Fukuda (Nishitetsu) also on board. Former Hakone Ekiden Seventh Stage course record holder Keisuke Hayashi (GMO) wi...

Two of the most competitive corporate men's regions held their qualifying races for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden national championships this weekend. In Saitama, Konica Minolta  recovered from a slow start to take the lead on the 4th of 7 stages at the East Japan Corporate Ekiden with a pair of back-to-back stage record-breaking runs from Gen Hachisuka and Hiroyuki Yamamoto , winning in a course record 3:41:52. 5 of the 7 stages saw new records, with the top 6 teams all breaking the existing overall course record. The last of them, Hitachi Butsuryu , brought fans to their feet on the Third Stage as Keita Shitara , twin brother of half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda), led the field in his best performance in years, finishing the stage just 1 second slower than Yuta did. #東日本実業団駅伝 #コニカミノルタ pic.twitter.com/TwinhkJPeZ — Mika Tokairin Tri (@tri_chaser) November 3, 2019 Making the New Year Ekiden can mean the difference between continuing as a team or l...

Despite warm and windy conditions the Blackmores Sydney Marathon saw new course records in both its men's and women's races. Felix Kiprotich (Kenya) led the way in the men's race with the first-ever sub-2:10 clocking on Sydney's challengingly hilly and twisting course, breaking away from a group including Michael Kunyuga (Kenya) and Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) for the win in 2:09:49. The top three all broke the course record. Sasaki, a Rio Olympian in the marathon who failed to qualify for today's MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials, could take extra satisfaction from having been 26 seconds faster than MGC winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) on a far tougher course. "I was aiming to win," Sasaki told JRN post-race, "but the course was really twisty and it was hard to run. It would have been nice to be a bit faster, but given my current situation and the problems I've had since Lake Biwa last year I think this put me back on my feet and will help me ...

Continuing the best year in Japanese men's marathoning history, one that has seen the last generation of Hakone Ekiden talent finally deliver on the brilliance they showed at Hakone in college, former Toyo University leader Yuma Hattori (Toyota) ran 2:07:27 to become the first Japanese man to win the Fukuoka International Marathon since 2004. In warmer than usual conditions the lead pack ran steadily through 25 km on pace for between 2:07:15 and 2:07:20, perfect for getting as many men as could take it through the rapidly closing qualification window for the MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials. Early casualties included World Championships medalists Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea) and Japan's best championships marathoner, Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki). Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), who rebounded from the low point of his career this fall with excellent times in races the last two weekends, was off the back of...

In a race that came down to an uphill battle near 20 km, Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) emerged on top of a lead pack of five to win the men's race at the 28th Sendai International Half Marathon . Matsumoto outkicked Rio Olympics marathon team member Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) on the track to take the win in 1:03:05, the fastest winning time by a Japanese man in Sendai history. Sasaki returned from the injury that kept him out of March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marahton to finish 2nd in 1:03:10, holding off collegiate runners Kengo Nakamura (Toyo Univ.) and Akihiro Gunji (Tokai Univ.). Defending champion Charles Ndirangu (JFE Steel) suffered some sort of injury in the late going, shuffling down the home straight and almost walking across the finish line to take 5th in 1:03:39. Just behind him, 2017 Gold Coast Marathon winner Takuya Noguchi (Konica Minolta) nicked 2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) at the line after sitting on Kawauchi the entir...

On Feb. 27 the organizers of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon announced that last year's 4th-placer, Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) has withdrawn from Sunday's race after developing pain in his right knee and foot. A 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian in the marathon, Sasaki's PB of 2:08:56 made him the fastest Japanese man in the field. source article: https://www.jiji.com/sp/article?k=2018022701045&g=spo translated and edited by Brett Larner

Defending champ Ezekiel Chebii (Kenya) returns to lead the field for the Mar. 4 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon . Chebii is one of three men in the field with recent 2:06 times, his 2:06:07 in Amsterdam two years ago leading Tadesse Abraham (Switzerland) and Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) to form a clear trio of favorites. Making up the second pack are four current sub-2:10 Japanese men, 2017 Gold Coast winner  Takuya Noguchi  (Konica Minolta), Rio Olympian Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei), and Sasaki's teammates Takuya Fukatsu and Fumihiro Maruyama . The addition of sub-61 half marathoner Kenta Murayama in his second shot at the marathon after a failed debut in Tokyo two years ago makes for a formidable quartet of men from 2017 and 2018 New Year Ekiden national champion Asahi Kasei all aligned in training and talent. With Japan's depth it's never surprising to see a relatively anonymous runner make a breakthrough and factor into the action. Yoshiki Takenouchi (NTT Nishi Nihon)...

Sunday's Fukuoka International Marathon has enough going on to make it one of the most exciting races in decades of its 71-year history. Olympic and world champ Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda). Heir apparent to the Wanjiru memory Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA). Norwegian wonder Sondre Moen . Legend Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) against three scions of the next generation, Asian junior half marathon record holder Suguru Osako (NOP), former Hakone Ekiden uphill specialist Daichi Kamino (Konica Minolta), and Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu), twin brother of new half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara . The withdrawal of three top-tier runners, 1:00:01 half marathoner Jake Robertson (New Zealand), two-time world XC medalist Teklemariam Medhin (Eritrea) and sub-2:10 man Fumihiro Maruyama (Asahi Kasei), hurts the depth a bit, but there are still enough story lines going on keep you guessing as to the ultimate plot. TV Asahi will broadcast the complete race live s...

The Fukuoka International Marathon has released the elite field for its 71st running on Dec. 3. For the home ground men it's the first main chance to hit the tough qualifying standards for Japan's new 2020 Olympic Trials race , the MGC Race scheduled for late 2019. Rio Olympian Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) tops the domestic list at 2:08:56, with  Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and Sasaki's teammates Takuya Fukatsu and Fumihiro Maruyama (both Asahi Kasei) close behind with recent 2:09 times. Expectations are high for Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project), 3rd in Boston this year in 2:10:28 in his marathon debut, and at least as high for two prominent Japanese first-timers, former Hakone Ekiden uphill Fifth Stage superstar Daichi Kamino (Konica Minolta) and Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu), twin brother of half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda). Last year's winner Yemane Tsegay (Ethiopia) returns off a DNF at August's London World...

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170515-00000124-sph-spo translated by Brett Larner 今日から新しいチームメイトが旭化成に加わりました！！ 共に世界を目指して頑張ります。 応援よろしくお願いします。 #ケニア #🇰🇪 #左 #アブラハム #右 #ケネス https://t.co/OSMR3UynMN pic.twitter.com/UiuIcQTFUK — 市田 孝 (@TAKA_supra) May 15, 2017 On May 15 ekiden and marathon powerhouse Asahi Kasei welcomed its first-ever foreign-born team members, Kenyans Kenneth Kiprop Kipkemoi , 32, and Abraham Kapsis Kipyatich , 24, to the team's base in Nobeoka, Miyazaki. The highly accomplished Kipkemoi holds a 10000 m best of 26:52.65 far superior to the 27:29.69 Japanese national record held by Asahi Kasei's Kota Murayama , 24, and his 5000 m and half marathon bests of 13:03.07 and 59:01 are likewise better than the Japanese national records. By comparison, Kipyatich is still young with room to grow further in the future. Regarding the reinforcement of the team's strength, an Asahi Kasei spokesperson commented, "The mission of our athletics program ...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20170408-OHT1T50191.html translated and edited by Brett Larner A long distance and marathon powerhouse, the 2017 New Year Ekiden national champion Asahi Kasei team has recruited Kenyan athletes for the first time. Surpassing even the 10000 m national record of 27:29.69 set by Asahi Kasei's Kota Murayama , 24, the pair of Kenyans includes a 32-year-old veteran who has run sub-27 and a young 23-year-old.  With experience coaching Kenyans at the Aisan Kogyo corporate team through the end of March, Isamu Sennai has also joined the Asahi Kasei staff in preparation for the Kenyans' arrival. At this year's New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, 30 of the 37 teams in the field featured foreign athletes.  In the midst of such a field, Asahi Kasei scored the first win by a Japanese-only team in 18 years.  Founded in 1946, Asahi Kasei produced greats including twins Shigeru and Takeshi Soh , 1991 World Championships mar...

http://www.sanspo.com/smp/sports/news/20170306/ath17030605000001-s.html an editorial by Hiromi Taniguchi ,  1991 Tokyo World Championships marathon gold medalist and two-time Olympic marathoner translated by Brett Larner Yesterday's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon was a pretty unremarkable race. Akinobu Murasawa and the other young athletes ran at 3:00/km pace in the lead group to 20 km, but at that point there were only 21 people left in the group and it looked like the more inexperienced athletes started to feel afraid somewhere along the way.   Tadashi Isshiki was the same way.  I think the pressure probably did him in before he even started running.  You have to value the experience level of Satoru Sasaki , who fell off pace midway but came back to take the top Japanese position, but in terms of his time it's tough to consider him. For the World Championships team, why not select the top three Japanese men from the Tokyo Marathon, Hiroto Inoue , Hiroyuki Y...

by Brett Larner Two-time Madrid Marathon champ  Ezekiel Kiptoo Chebii  (Kenya) scored his first Japanese win, outkicking 2013 winner and Daegu World Championships silver medalist  Vincent Kipruto  (Kenya) on the last lap of the track to win the  Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon  in 2:09:06. チェビー選手🏃🏻 優勝おめでとうございます🎉 #びわ湖毎日マラソン pic.twitter.com/vJGJSkuEw9 — りさ (@piiice7) March 5, 2017 In most ways it was a pretty garden-variety race, pacers taking it through 30 km right around 3:00 / km with most of the bigger overseas and a massive but steadily dwindling pack of Japanese men in tow.  After the next-generation breakthrough in Tokyo last week hopes were high with a large number of current and past Hakone Ekiden stars in the field for their first or second marathons the same would happen here.  It was almost a foregone conclusion that somebody would be running under 2:09 in pursuit of a place on the London World Championships team, the consensus...

by Brett Larner The four-ring circus surrounding selection for the Japanese men's London World Championships marathon team pitches its final tent this Sunday at the 72nd edition of the  Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon .  Coming fresh in the wake of last weekend's record-breaking Tokyo Marathon Lake Biwa may seem like a lesser afterthought, but for certain Japanese men and for the fans it's everything. Up front there's a quality international field led by 2015 Beijing World Championships bronze medalist Munyo Solomon Mutai (Uganda), 2015 Tokyo Marathon winner  Endeshaw Negesse  (Ethiopia), 2015 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner  Tewelde Estifanos  (Eritrea), 2014~15 Madrid Marathon winner  Ezekiel Kiptoo Chebii  (Kenya), 2013 Lake Biwa winner and Daegu World Champs silver medalist  Vincent Kipruto  (Kenya), and, in his debut, Japan-based Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel), the former successor to Bedan Karoki as the king of Hir...

by Brett Larner The Mar. 5 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon , Biwako for short, is the last of the four races used to choose the three members of the Japanese men's marathon team for August's London World Championships.  Two of the three members of last summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympic team top the list of Japanese men in the race, Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) with a 2:08:56 in Fukuoka 2015 and Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) with 2:09:25 last year at Lake Biwa. The pair are the only Japanese athletes in the field with recent sub-2:10 times, a few steps ahead of six 2:10-11 men including the high-potential Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) and Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota).  Four others led by 2014 Asian Games silver medalist Kohei Matsumura (Team MHPS) have broken 2:10 in the past but would need a solid comeback to factor.  With the possible exception of Matsumura one of the five debuting sub-63 half marathoners may be more likely to end up in the front-end acti...