japan running news

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20150215-OHT1T50273.html translated by Brett Larner 4th in the marathon at the Seoul Olympics and Barcelona Olympics, Takeyuki Nakayama , 55, ran Sunday's Senshu International Marathon as a specially invited guest.  Nakayama ran 2:54:26, finishing 19th in the general men's division and far surpassing his goal of 3:30.  "I started up front, so I went out at a faster pace than I was planning," he said with a smile.  "I figured that if I kept running like that I'd break 3 hours, so that's what I did." In 1985 Nakayama set the then Japanese national record of 2:08:15.  Along with Toshihiko Seko and twins Shigeru Soh and Takeshi Soh he was one of the leaders of the Japanese marathon world.  Nakayama won the Senshu International Marathon in 1996 in 2:17:28.  "There was a headwind the whole way," he recalled.  "When I saw the bridge [at 40 km] I was totally exhausted." These days the freelanc...

http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/sports/28609/ translated by Brett Larner The views expressed in this editorial are those of the original author. In a rainy Olympic women's marathon, the top Japanese finisher was  Ryoko Kizaki  (27, Team Daihatsu), 16th in 2:27:16 as the Japanese women missed out on the medals and even the top ten for the second Olympiad in a row.   Yoshimi Ozaki  (31, Team Daiichi Seimei) was 19th in 2:27:43, while Risa Shigetomo  (24, Team Tenmaya) ran 2:40:06 for a lowly 79th place.  By comparison,  Tiki Gelana  (24, Ethiopia) set a new Olympic record as she won in 2:23:07.  The Japanese women were totally defeated and could not even improve on top Beijing Olympics Japanese finisher*  Yurika Nakamura 's 13th place.  What has happened to Japan? "It's not so much that the international level has gotten more competitive, it's more that Japan has stopped going anywhere," says double Olympic marathon medalist a...

by Brett Larner click here for JRNLive's detailed race commentary Click photo for a gallery of images from the 2010 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. In a tactical race of few surprises, Jonathan Kipkorir (Kenya), the strongest man of '09 in the field, took the 2010 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon on Feb. 7 in a sprint finish over the final 500 m against aging 2:06:16 runner Daniel Njenga (Kenya/Team Yakult), holder of the fastest PB in the field. Japanese debutant Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) had a good race, 4th overall in 2:11:04 after repeatedly attacking the lead pack of eight over the final 10 km. Track darling Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu) performed below expectations in his own marathon debut, 9th in 2:12:59. However, the biggest news of the race was Australian Jeffrey Hunt . Debuting at the marathon, Hunt spent the early parts of the race far back in the third pack while the leaders ran on track for 2:08. Despite a fast new course and good conditions, the pacema...

Suntory's 'Zeitaku Marathon' ad for its Boss Coffee was released on June 1. http://www.suntory.co.jp/softdrink/boss/cm_press/index3.html The commercial includes actors Atsushi Ito and Hiroshi Neko along with running greats Erick Wainaina, Shigeru Soh, Shingo Suetsugu, Dai Tamesue, Yoshio Koide and Akemi Masuda. JRN's Brett Larner is runner #808. Click here for a direct link to the 30-second version of the commercial.

Sorry for not posting much this week, but I've been on the set of a TV commercial shoot the last few days. The cast of the commercial included celebrities Atsushi Ito and Hiroshi Neko, marathon legends Shigeru Soh, Akemi Masuda and Erick Wainaina, Olympic and World Championships bronze medalist sprinter Shingo Suetsugu, two-time World Championships bronze medalist hurdler Dai Tamesue, famed marathon coach Yoshio Koide, three-time Japanese national duathlon champion Yuya Fukaura, a World Championships race walker whose name I didn't catch, several Hakone Ekiden runners, my training partner Jason Lawrence, me, a few others, and several hundred extras. If it becomes available on YouTube I'll post a link.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090401-477581.html translated and edited by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura (60), the man who made custom shoes for the likes of baseball's Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) and Olympic marathon gold medalists Naoko Takahashi and Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), retired from Asics on Mar. 31 after 42 years with the company. Mimura now plans to launch his own new brand, Mimura Shoes, from a workshop in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture. Certified as a 'modern artisan,' Mimura wants to continue helping support athletes from the ground up. Even on his last day with Asics, Mimura was to be found hard at work matching careful measurements of each individual athlete's feet as he hand-crafts all his shoes. Mimura joined Asics in 1967 and began to make his customized shoes in 1974. Seko, the Soh brothers, Nakayama, Taniguchi, Arimori, Suzuki, Takahashi, Noguchi....the list of Mimura's clients over the ye...

by Brett Larner Click photo for video highlights courtesy of NHK. Following the All-Japan High School Girls Ekiden Championships, the seven stage, 42.195 km Boys Ekiden took place Dec. 21 in Kyoto. While conditions in the morning had been warm and sunny for the girls' race, an approaching storm front brought clouds and increasing rain for the afternoon boys' race. Defending champion Sendai Ikuei High School, alma mater of greats including Samuel Wanjiru and Daniel Njenga, was presented with a tough battle against rivals Saku Chosei High School and Sera High School, facing on one hand the mid-season loss of head coach Takao Watanabe, who quit the school to become future marathon great Megumi Kinukawa's personal coach, and on the other a new rule designed partly to minimize the efficacy of non-Japanese runners in ekidens. Government sponsored-broadcaster NHK's otherwise excellent live, commercial-free nationwide coverage of the Boys Ekiden was seriously marred ...

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/local/20080208/20080208_001.shtml translated by Brett Larner On Feb. 7 the organizing committee of the 46th Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon, sponsored by Kyushu Rikuren, Nobeoka City and the Nishi Nihon Newspaper Group, held a press conference at Nobeoka City Hall in Miyazaki Prefecture to announce the elite field for this year's race, to be held on Feb. 24. The invited field includes 24 athletes, 7 more than last year, with total entries standing at 356 runners, also up from last year. The elite field includes several members of local team Asahi Kasei. Muneyuki Ojima, the fastest man in the field with a PB of 2:08:43, will be running his final race before retiring. Also appearing from Asahi Kasei are Fumiyuki Watanabe, who was injured and had to withdraw from last year's race, and Masaya Shimizu. These athletes will all be spurred on by the extra motivation of having watched their teammate Tomoya Adachi win the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon on Feb....

by Brett Larner While much of the rest of Japan struggled with heavy snow, clear skies, cool temperatures and gentle winds greeted the runners in the 42nd Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon in Oita Prefecture. Beppu-Oita, or Betsudai as the race is usually known, has the reputation of being a development for younger runners to break through into the front ranks of Japanese marathoning. This year's race lived up to the event's reputation. A large pack of 16 runners with 2 pacemakers ran together through the first half of the race, passing 5 km in 15:19. 2003 L.A. Marathon winner Mark Yatich was the first to drop off the pack. Race commentators passed along their condolensces to Yatich, whose older brother was killed last week in the ongoing strife within Kenya. By 10 km the pack was down to 14 runners plus the pacemakers, going through the mark in 30:29. 15 km (45:50) and 20 km (1:01:16) passed mostly without event. Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki's Yoichi Watanabe slipped and fell...