japan running news

Having set an U18 world record of 10.00 in July's National High School Championships men's 100 m, 16-year-old Sorato Shimizu (Seiryo H.S.) held a public practice session in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. "I'm going for sub-10 while I'm still in high school," he said, indicating that he is aiming even higher. "I'm doing what I can to get there." The 2-hour public practice session focused on elements of motion. Although Shimizu is only 164 cm, he stands out for having proportionately long limbs and a dynamic running form. The up-and-coming new star of Japanese men's sprinting commented, "I want to work on movement focused on my hips. I think I can still improve my stride." Shimizu's performance at the National High School Championships got noticed not only in Japan but all around the world. German media even attended the session to interview him. "I want to become internationally competitive, so I hope a lot of people will get to find...

Winner of the 2016 Gold Coast Marathon and 4th in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2011 Asian Championships, Sysmex corporate team athlete Misato Horie has retired following her run at the Feb. 2 Hyogo Prefecture Ekiden. Born in 1987, Horie's best achievement at Seiryo H.S. was making the Kinki Region championships. But after entering Mukogawa Joshi University and starting to run the 3000 m steeplechase she grew into one of Japan's top athletes with an 8th-place finish at the 2008 National Championships. After graduating she joined the Noritz corporate team, where she was 2nd at the 2011 National Championships in what was at the time an all-time Japanese #6 mark of 10:02.24. That put her on the team for that year's Asian Championships, where she placed 4th. 2 years later she took 6th at the 2013 Asian Championships. From 2015 on Horie focused on road racing, winning the 2016 Gold Coast Marathon in a then-CR 2:26:40 and following up with her career PB of 2:25:44 for 2nd ...

Kanazawa's Seiryo High School ekiden team has signed a contract with local fitness club Aim to train in the "Hi-Arch" high-altitude simulation room at Aim's Skyship facility. Training for 30 minutes in a low-oxygen altitude training simulation room is said to produce the results of two hours' worth of regular training. With few opportunities to travel for training in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the facility provides an efficient way for athletes to improve their fitness. Three Aim branches in Kanazawa feature the Hi-Arch room, and Seiryo is the first high school to contract for its use. At sea level the normal concentration of oxygen in the air is 21%, but in the room it is adjusted to 15%, about the same level as at 3000 m elevation. Doing aerobic training in that kind of environment increases the body's efficiency of oxygen uptake, improving endurance and making it easier for the athlete to become leaner. The Seiryo team couldn't train f...

translated and edited by Brett Larner The week of Nov. 2-9 saw the men's and women's district championship races to select the teams which will compete in the December 21 All-Japan High School Ekiden Championships. Each of the district races featured a standardized format, with men running a 7-stage, 42.195 km course and women a 5-stage, 21.0975 km race. Winners automatically advance to Nationals, with the top 6 teams in each district going on to the regional ekiden championships on Nov. 22 and 23. A selection of some of the results nationwide: Yamagata Aomori Yamada had a sensational day, taking both the men's and women's district titles after several winless years. The men's team won its first district competition in 3 years with a time 2:09:21, while the women recorded their first win in 6 years, running 1:10:49. Kagoshima Running in unseasonable temperatures of 27' C, Kagoshima's dominant men's and women's schools continued their streaks. Kagoshi...