japan running news

The Kanto Student Athletics Federation (KGRR), organizers of the Hakone Ekiden, announced this week that as of April 1 they have changed their legal status from a volunteer organization to an incorporated foundation. Having served as the KGRR's chairperson for eight years since his appointment in 2016, Masahiro Ariyoshi , 76, has stepped down to be replaced by Yasushi Ueda , 68, a 1984 Olympian in the men's triple jump. Former Yamanashi Gakuin University  head coach  Masahito Ueda , 65, stepped down as chair of the KGRR ekiden committee after serving for ten years. Susumu Hara , 57, head coach of course record-breaking 2024 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University , was named KGRR executive director and will succeed Ueda as ekiden committee chair. Tokai University  head coach Hayashi Morozumi , 57, will serve as ekiden committee vice-chair. Other committee members include Seiji Kushibe  (Josai University, 52), Toshiyuki Sakai  (Toyo University, 47), Tomoo ...

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR named Yuito Yamamoto (4th yr., Josai University) MVP of this year's 100th running on Jan. 2 and 3. On the uphill Fifth Stage peaking at 874 m, Yamamoto broke the course record for the second year in a row, playing a key role in Josai University achieving its best-ever placing of 3rd. In explaining the reasons for Yamamoto's selection for the award, a KGRR spokesperson said, "He was the only person to set a new CR at this year's race. Setting a new record in cold and rainy weather is something we rated highly." Yamamoto told reporters, "I'm very grateful to have been given this award. It was a great experience that will have an impact on my future career in running." After graduating, Yamamoto will join the Subaru corporate team in April. "I want to do the marathon," he said. "I want to build myself up to be ready for the next MGC Olympic marathon trials and to make the podium in Los Angeles." This...

Saturday is the official qualifying event for the 99th running of the world's greatest road race. Back on its regular course after two years as loop around a runway, the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai half marathon has the 11th through 53rd-ranked men's university teams in the greater Tokyo area racing it out to be in the top 10 and score a place in Hakone in January. All 43 teams field from 10 to 12 runners with their first 10 finishers scoring and teams ranked on their scoring runners' total combined times. It's tense, dramatic, and every second from every runner really does count. Sometimes the difference between 10th and 11th in the team scoring comes down to a fraction of that per runner. NTV will be broadcasting it live starting at 9:25 a.m. local time Saturday. It doesn't need to be said that proven half marathon ability is the best predictor of half marathon success, but given that teams can qualify runners via 10000 m best that's what organizers KGRR list in ...

Part four in a series of republished interviews. If you've never been in Japan on Jan. 2nd and 3rd it's hard to appreciate just how big the Hakone Ekiden is. The 200 men who make up the 20 university teams in each year's 10-stage long distance relay are the best of the best, the ones who stood out in high school enough to be recruited by one of the Kanto-region Hakone powerhouse universities, survived the year-long training and remained among the top 10 of their 30-50 strong team. It is no exaggeration to call the Hakone Ekiden the world's most competitive university men's race. For better or worse every teenaged boy who runs in Japan is thinking about Hakone, but only a handful will ever get the chance of that dream coming true. Eiji Kobayashi was one of the many who dedicated themselves to this dream but fell short, a member of Josai University's ekiden squad during the school's rise following its hiring of former Waseda University aces Jun Hiratsuka ...

At the Kinki Region High School Track and Field Championships Saturday in Osaka’s Nagai Stadium, 17-year-old Ryuji Miura of Rakunan H.S. took down one of the oldest records in Japanese athletics, breaking the 30-year-old 3000 m steeplechase high school record by 5 seconds to win in 8:39.49. Running in heavy rain after clocking the fastest time in the qualifying rounds , Miura went straight to the front in the final and was on his own within 200 m. From the start the record was in reach as he went through 1000 m in 2:49 and 2000 m in 5:43, building up a lead of about 200 m over the rest of the field. Miura’s final time of 8:39.49 was the fastest in the world this year by an U18 athlete and 6th-best among U20 men, a new Japanese U18 record and all-time #2 for the U20 category. He came short of the outright Japanese high school record of 8:19.21 held by future marathon great Daniel Njenga , but took 5 seconds off the Japanese citizen high school record of 8:44.77 set back in 1989 ...

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/sports/athletic/all/2015/columndtl/201507270006-spnavi?page=1 translated and edited by Brett Larner videos by toyosina2008 and botwinner When Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei), who won the men's 5000 m at June's National Championships , graduated from Josai University this spring, he left with these words: "Looking back on my four years of university, the thing I'm most proud of is running 3:39.56 my senior year.  When I entered university my goal was to run 3:45, so I never imagined I'd run in the 3:30s.  It makes me really happy to have gotten faster than I expected of myself."  Murayama's 3:39.56 was the fastest Japanese men's time last year and the first time in three years that a Japanese runner had broken 3:40. With the 5000 m as his main focus, Murayama's view that the 1500 m was just something to help him get stronger never faltered, but given that he calls his 1500 m result "the thing I'm most p...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20140807-OHT1T50169.html translated by Brett Larner Tossed about by the winds of a complex fate, Josai University 's twin runners Ryota and Keita Kishima , both seniors, face their final year at the Hakone Ekiden together.  At the last Hakone this past January, the younger Keita was scheduled to run the anchor Tenth Stage but was replaced by the older Ryota on race morning.  In his debut at Japan's greatest race Ryota finished only 18th, while Keita still awaits what will be his first and last time setting foot on Hakone's hallowed ground.  This season the pair are aiming to make the team together, handing off the tasuki one to another and going for the top. This year Hakone celebrated its 90th running.  Course record holder Toyo University 's twins Yuta Shitara (now Team Honda) and Keita Shitara (now Team Konica Minolta) won the Third and Fifth Stages, playing crucial roles in guaranteeing Toyo the overall win.  While...

by Jason Lawrence As the results of last Saturday's Hakone Ekiden Qualifier 20 km road race continue to reverberate, the inevitable questions about how Japanese runners train have resurfaced. In the summer of 2006 Kiwi runner Jason Lawrence had a rare opportunity to attend 2007 and 2008 Hakone Qualifier winner Josai University's summer gasshuku, an intensive training camp in the remoteness of northern Hokkaido. Josai is coached by former Hakone star Jun Hiratsuka and one hour run national record holder Seiji Kushibe. Among the runners Lawrence trained alongside at the camp was Yuta Takahashi, the 2nd place finisher at this year's Hakone Qualifier in 59:23. Lawrence, now the top runner in Singapore, shared his diary from the training camp with JRN. Summer Training Camp Diary August 6, 2006: I flew up to Hokkaido to join the Josai University distance squad for their summer training camp. 12 days of just running - it's going to be tough. In the afternoon after my flight I...