japan running news

2022 100 km World Championships gold medalist Haruki Okayama (Comodi Iida) and club runner Akiko Maruichi (GRlab) took the top spots in the Shibamata 100 km ultramarathon in Tokyo, Saitama and Ibaraki. The men's race was set up as an aggressive shot at the first-ever sub-6-hour time, with three pacers leading a group including Okayama, '22 silver medalist Jumpei Yamaguchi (Eldoreso), 5th-placer Guillaume Ruel (France), sub-2:10 marathoner Jo Fukuda (Hoka) and others out at a pace of around 3:34/km. Yamaguchi survived the longest at that pace, holding it until almost 70 km before starting to slow. Okayama, who had fallen off pace after 50 km, passed him not long past 80 km and pushed on to win in 6:23:16. Yamaguchi, Ruel and Fukuda all DNFd, Fukuda after only 50 km, Ruel after 60 km, and Yamaguchi not making it to 90 km. Having ignored the early fast pace and stuck to a steady 4:00/km, Masato Takahashi (Track Tokyo) was 2nd in 6:43:01. Veteran Hideo Nojo (Mitsui Fudosan)...

Nao Kazami  (Aisan Kogyo), the undisputed world record holder in the men's 100 km, took another title Saturday in Tokyo with a win at the Shibamata 100 km . Running two laps of a 25 km out-and-back course along the Edo River in high humidity but moderate temperatures, Kazami had company from Hiroki Takashima  (GASC) and the debuting Junpei Yamaguchi  (Eldoreso) through 60 km, all three passing halfway in 3:17 flat and keeping the pace steady for the next 10 km.  Takashima was the first to fall off just after 60 km, and a surge from Kazami just before 65 km was enough to put Yamaguchi away. Kazami covered the 5 km from 65 to 70 km in 18:34, about a minute faster than his splits up to that point, and while he slowed incrementally the rest of the away he still had it in him to drop a negative split of over two minutes to win in 6:31:47.  柴又100K、JP2位でゴールしました！皆様、応援ありがとうございました🙌 pic.twitter.com/Z9JVVL1LQX — ELDORESO (@eldoreso) October 9, 2021 After getting dropped ...