japan running news

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/150060 translated by Brett Larner Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon will be the final run for one of the country's best, 1999 Seville World Championships marathoner Tadayuki Ojima (33, Team Asahi Kasei). For 15 years he has been a force in the Japanese marathon and ekiden circuit, ranked all-time #3 in the Kyushu Isshu Ekiden with a lifetime total of 38 stage best titles, running in the World Championships and narrowly missing out on the Athens Olympics but always remaining quietly focused on challenging his own limits. Now, his strength spent, he prepares for retirement with a deep feeling of gratitude toward the people of Kyushu. His final 42.195 km will be his way of saying thank you. "I've given it everything I have for 15 years," Ojima says. "Really, I just don't have anything left to give." "He doesn't waste words on excuses," says Team Asahi Kasei head coach Takeshi Soh. "He just doe...

by Brett Larner There's a lot of negativity in Japanese men's marathoning these days. After the dismal Beijing Olympics, 2009 was one of the worst years in the country's history. Sure, Japanese men still took the team bronze at the Berlin World Championships and over the course of the year outperformed every non-African country in the world, but in absolute terms it was their worst since 1996 and relative to world standards their poorest showing ever. The venerable circuit of elite men's marathons has struggled to remain relevant in an era when richer overseas majors draw the best talent, and the rise of the Tokyo Marathon has only worsened their predicament. In this atmosphere comes the 59th running of the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon this Sunday, Feb. 7. Beppu-Oita, or Betsudai as it is usually abbreviated in Japanese, is one of the oldest Japanese marathons but has long occupied a difficult position as the most minor of the four main elite men's races. It has be...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20100118119.html http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010011800601 http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20100119k0000m050076000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Jan. 18 the organizing committee for the 59th Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon announced the elite field of 15 for this year's Feb. 7 running. At the top of the list of ten Japan-based athletes is Kenyan Daniel Njenga (Team Yakult), who won last summer's Hokkaido Marathon and holds a PB of 2:06:16. Lining up against Njenga in his marathon debut is 2007 World Championships track runner Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu). Athens Olympics marathon 6th place finisher Toshinari Suwa (Team Nissin Shokuhin) is also in the field, and 2:08 man Tadayuki Ojima (Team Asahi Kasei) will be running as his final race before retirement. The 5 overseas invited athletes are led by Kenyan Jonathan Kipkorir , who set his PB of 2:07:31 last year at the Paris Marathon. Jo...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0002629542.shtml translated by Brett Larner 1999 World Championships marathoner Tadayuki Ojima (33, Team Asahi Kasei) announced on Jan 8 that he will retire from competition following his run at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. After retirement Ojima plans to concentrate on his work obligations with Asahi Kasei. A native of Sasayama, Ojima went to the competitive Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. where he was part of the school's two year-straight national champion ekiden team. Following his older brother Muneyuki to Team Asahi Kasei, Ojima had a remarkable string of successes as a pro. He was a member of the Japanese national team at the 1999 World Championships marathon in Seville. At the 2004 Biwako Mainichi Marathon he ran 2:08:18, 2nd overall and the top Japanese finisher. The mark put him into contention for the Athens Olympics marathon team but ultimately he was not selected. Ojima commented, "Before I joined Team Asahi Kasei, Nishiwa...