japan running news

photo by Eldoreso , used with permission Japan's last two big marathons of the year both happened Sunday at the Fukuoka International Marathon and Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . Both came down to sprint finishes between a lead pack of four, and both saw past championships back on the top spot on the podium. Fukuoka only lasted through 15 km on the target pace for Japanese favorite Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) to hit the 2:05:50 he needed to replace Suguru Osako (GMO) on the Paris Olympic team. Past 15 it slowed, with a halfway split of 1:03:00 that the lead group held until 30 km. At that point it was a lead group of six, with Hosoya, 2021 Fukuoka winner Michael Githae (Suzuki), 2017 Fukuoka winner Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway), Chinese duo Shaohui Yang and Peiyou Feng , and two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya). The pace slowed between 30 and 35 km once the pacers stopped, but even so Feng and Kirui lost contact, leaving the other four on track ...

With less than 4 weeks to go the organizers of the Dec. 3 Fukuoka International Marathon have announced this year's elite field. And here it is. The field is set up to try to help top Japanese man Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima), who fell and dropped out during last month's Olympic marathon trials, to 2:05:50, where he'll take the third spot on the Paris Olympic team away from trials 3rd-placer Suguru Osako (GMO). Hosoya ran 2:06:35 in the Miracle at Lake Biwa in 2021, but although he's been pretty stable since then he hasn't been able to get under 2:08 again. Abebe Negewo Degefa (Ethiopia) is the only athlete in the field to have gone under 2:05:50 in the last 3 years, with Kenyans Bethwel Yegon and Abel Kirui , 5th last year at age 40, both at the 2:06 level. Beyond that it looks like a solid 2:07 race with 6 men including last year's 2nd through 4th-placers Vincent Raimoi (Suzuki), Michael Githae (Suzuki) and Australian NR breaker Brett Robinson . An in...