japan running news

After 54 years at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, first as athlete and then as coach, Takeshi Soh will retire at the end of this month. Together with his twin brother Shigeru Soh they formed a duo who were icons of the Japanese marathoning world and went all the way to the Olympics. After retiring from competition Takeshi devoted himself to coaching young athletes and came to play a primary role in the leadership of Japanese long distance. His list of achievements is long, and so is the list of those he influenced and inspired. His twin Shigeru was chosen for three Olympic teams in the marathon, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi was named to the Moscow and Los Angeles teams, placing 4th in L.A. to confirm his position as one of the greatest names in the sport in that era. After becoming a coach the twins helped lead Hiromi Taniguchi to gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, Koichi Morishita to silver a year later at the Barcelona Olympics, and o...

Japan's golden years dream team of Toshihiko Seko and the Soh twins at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Toshihiko Seko against Juma Ikangaa , the Soh twins and Alberto Salazar at the 1983 Fukuoka International Marathon.

interview by Mika Tokairin and Tsuguki Matsuda translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner In part one of his interview with JRN,  Arata Fujiwara talked about the 2008 Tokyo Marathon 2:08:40 run that made him famous. In part two of the interview he discussed the mental and physical aspects of his training. Now in part three he talks about racing; his strategy, tactics and long-term goals. Do you think it’s important to have practice runs on the course, to study the course and know where the curves and hills are? Yes, definitely, if you have the chance to do that it’s always a good idea. The first time you run a course it’s totally different whether you know a course well or not at all. The time passes more quickly if you know the course. For example, if you go somewhere on a training camp and jog for 60 minutes on a road you don’t know it feels longer. So, it’s a big advantage to know the course well. If you know the course you know what’s coming next, and after that...

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170515-00000124-sph-spo translated by Brett Larner 今日から新しいチームメイトが旭化成に加わりました！！ 共に世界を目指して頑張ります。 応援よろしくお願いします。 #ケニア #🇰🇪 #左 #アブラハム #右 #ケネス https://t.co/OSMR3UynMN pic.twitter.com/UiuIcQTFUK — 市田 孝 (@TAKA_supra) May 15, 2017 On May 15 ekiden and marathon powerhouse Asahi Kasei welcomed its first-ever foreign-born team members, Kenyans Kenneth Kiprop Kipkemoi , 32, and Abraham Kapsis Kipyatich , 24, to the team's base in Nobeoka, Miyazaki. The highly accomplished Kipkemoi holds a 10000 m best of 26:52.65 far superior to the 27:29.69 Japanese national record held by Asahi Kasei's Kota Murayama , 24, and his 5000 m and half marathon bests of 13:03.07 and 59:01 are likewise better than the Japanese national records. By comparison, Kipyatich is still young with room to grow further in the future. Regarding the reinforcement of the team's strength, an Asahi Kasei spokesperson commented, "The mission of our athletics program ...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20170408-OHT1T50191.html translated and edited by Brett Larner A long distance and marathon powerhouse, the 2017 New Year Ekiden national champion Asahi Kasei team has recruited Kenyan athletes for the first time. Surpassing even the 10000 m national record of 27:29.69 set by Asahi Kasei's Kota Murayama , 24, the pair of Kenyans includes a 32-year-old veteran who has run sub-27 and a young 23-year-old.  With experience coaching Kenyans at the Aisan Kogyo corporate team through the end of March, Isamu Sennai has also joined the Asahi Kasei staff in preparation for the Kenyans' arrival. At this year's New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, 30 of the 37 teams in the field featured foreign athletes.  In the midst of such a field, Asahi Kasei scored the first win by a Japanese-only team in 18 years.  Founded in 1946, Asahi Kasei produced greats including twins Shigeru and Takeshi Soh , 1991 World Championships mar...

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201701140003-spnavi translated by Brett Larner Part three in a three-part series written by Yuki Kawauchi  and published by Sportsnavi . Visit the above link to their original Japanese-language article for more photos. Click here for part one in the series, “The Miracle in Fukuoka,” and here for part two , “Bringing All My Experience Into Play in London.” During his days at Gakushuin University Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Prefectural Government) ran in the Hakone Ekiden as part of the Kanto Region University Select Team. After graduating he chose to take a job as a Saitama Prefecture employee rather than going into the corporate running leagues, and since then he has run countless marathons as an “amateur runner.” By choosing a different road from the elite runners who join the corporate leagues Kawauchi has worked on the marathon under his own power and has put long and serious thought into it. His path has shown the runners to come the...

http://www.sanspo.com/rio2016/news/20160823/rio16082305020030-n1.html translated and edited by Brett Larner In the Aug. 21 men's marathon on the final day of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics the Japanese men suffered a crushing defeat.   Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) was the top Japanese man at 16th overall, while Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa Denki) was 94th, falling below even Kenjiro Jitsui 's 93rd-place finish at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.  JAAF director of men's marathoning Takeshi Soh, 63, held his head in his hands as he said, "I guess maybe all we can do is try to get our fastest runners to come to the marathon and then build up their stamina."  But with the heavy emphasis placed on running ekidens wearing sponsor company logos, training and development are left up to each individual team.  Lamenting the way they are mired in lasting, deep-rooted tradition, Soh said, "At the present time we just can't seem to do that. We need the JAAF, th...

http://www.nikkansports.com/olympic/rio2016/athletics/news/1698472.html translated by Brett Larner In the Rio de Janeiro Olympics men's marathon on Aug. 21 , Satoru Sasaki (30) was the top Japanese man at 16th in 2:13:57.   Suehiro Ishikawa (36) was 36th, with Hisanori Kitajima (31) placing 94th. At the end of athletics competition Japan's total was two medals and two top eight finishes, a total exceeding the JAAF's target one medal but falling short of its goal of five top eight finishes.  JAAF strengthening committee chairman Kazunori Asaba (55) announced that he intends to resign his position following the Rio Olympics.  Strengthening committee vice-chairman Katsumi Sakai (56) and director of men's marathoning Takeshi Soh (63) are also expected to join the exodus of resignations.  Japanese athletics will be forced to make a fresh start before the Tokyo Olympics.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2016/07/27/kiji/K20160727013046870.html http://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2016072700768&g=spo translated and edited by Brett Larner Training in Kushiro, Hokkaido in preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Japan's three marathon men Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei), Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) appeared at a press conference July 27 at a Kushiro hotel.  Ishikawa was enthusiastic as he said, "We're not going there just to take part.  We're ready to take on the world." All three men wore the flashy bright "Sunrise Red" national colors that represent the power of the rising sun.  The oldest-ever Japanese man to run the Olympic marathon, Ishikawa said that his goal is to do better than the 6th-place finish by Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) at the London Olympics.  With two wins in his three marathons to date, Nakamoto's training partner Kitajima c...

http://www.germanroadraces.de/24-1-46579-kosice-marathon-2016-dedicated-to-takeshi-so.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner click athletes' names for source articles Despite the ongoing swell of high-level domestic performances over the last few years, the 2015 World Championships were nearly a complete failure for Japanese long distance.  The lone highlight was 23-year-old women's 5000 m runner Ayuko Suzuki (Team Japan Post Group), who frontran in both the qualifying heat and final on the way to setting an all-time Japanese #5 PB of 15:08.29 for 9th in the final, missing a place on the Rio Olympic team by a fraction of a second.  Her teammate in the final, Misaki Onishi (Team Sekisui Kagaku) and women's marathon 7th-placer Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), who did score a Rio spot for making top 8, earned passing marks, but the rest of the distance team and in particular the men ranged from mediocre to completely unprepared.  The 2015 Beijing World Championships in the words of Japanese distance runners and those responsible for their performances: A...

http://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/823811 by Takaomi Matsubara translated and edited by Brett Larner Kenta and Kota Murayama were born Feb. 23, 1993 in Miyagi prefecture.  After graduating from Meisei High School Kenta went to Komazawa University, where he played a major role in the team winning four-straight National University Ekiden titles, while Kota went to Josai University where he was coached by one hour run national record holder Seiji Kushibe .  As students both brothers had strong records of achievement outside the ekiden, Kenta breaking the Japanese university student half marathon record in 2014 with a PB of 1:00:50 and going on to run for the Japanese national team at the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships, and Kota running for the Japanese national team at the 2014 Asian Games where he ran a PB to place 5th in the 5000 m close behind four African-born athletes.  After their graduation this spring both twins joined the Asahi Kasei corporate team....

http://www.sankei.com/sports/news/150222/spo1502220024-n1.html translated by Brett Larner Just over 30 minutes into the Tokyo Marathon, 2014 Asian Games silver medalist Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) was already showing strain on his face.  Around 12 km he suddenly fell back from the lead group never to return, finishing 25th in 2:16:25.  "Am I shocked?  I guess so..." he said in a thin voice post-race.  "I felt it in my legs right from the start."  In past races he has been able to pick it up partway through, but this time he was unable to focus and get into a steady rhythm.  "I just couldn't get it together today," he said. Last year Matsumura was the top Japanese finisher in Tokyo, 8th in 2:08:09.  At the Asian Games he won the silver medal in the marathon.  Aware of his status as Japan's top current marathon, pre-race he enthusiastically said, "My goal is 2:07.  I want to live up to expectations."  But those s...

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://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141207-00000527-sanspo-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Former world record holder Patrick Makau (Kenya) ran 2:08:22 to win the Dec. 7 Fukuoka International Marathon, the first domestic selection race for the Japanese team for next August's Beijing World Championships.  Japanese Federation executives who set the Beijing qualification standard at sub-2:06:30, a time only one Japanese man has ever run, were quick to express their disappointment at the 2:09:06 4th-place finish by 33-year-old Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) being the top Japanese placing. Executive Director Mitsugi Ogata , 55, expressed concern about the lead-up to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in two years and beyond to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, saying, "We must cultivate true star athletes.  We've still got a harsh road ahead of us."  Ogata praised 3rd place finisher Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN), 4th at October'...

by Brett Larner photo by Dr. Helmut Winter Five Japanese men and one woman are scheduled to run Sunday's Chicago Marathon led by two members of the Japanese Federation's new National Team project, Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) and Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei).  Coached by 2:08:49 marathoner Wataru Okutani , Kobayashi has been improving gradually since his 2:12:52 debut at the 2012 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon, running 2:10:40 in Chicago later that year and 2:11:31 the next in Berlin before taking it down to 2:08:51 in Tokyo this spring.  Sasaki, a graduate of Daito Bunka University and guided by the legendary Takeshi Soh , has progressed even more steadily since his 2:14:00 debut in 2009, outrunning Daegu World Championships silver medalist Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) for 2nd in 2:09:47 at March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.  Of the 146 sub-2:10 marathons run so far by Japanese men only 22 have ever been done outside Japan, but although they will likely end up ru...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/10/04/kiji/K20141004009042500.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/asia/2014/news/p-sp-tp0-20141004-1377183.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/10/04/kiji/K20141004009044120.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/asia/2014/news/f-sp-tp0-20141005-1377940.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/10/04/kiji/K20141004009042480.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Following the closing ceremonies of the Incheon Asian Games on Oct. 4, marathoners Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) and Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) returned to Japan the afternoon of Oct. 5 with the main group of the Japanese delegation.  JAAF Director of Men's Marathoning Takeshi Soh commented, "Neither of them ran spectacularly.  They didn't seem to have much confidence." In his international debut Matsumura won the silver medal in just his fourth marathon.  "I was going for gold, so I'm c...

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20140813/k10013771981000.html translated and edited by Brett Larner In preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics two years from now, executives from each Japanese sports federation visited the city this week to inspect the venues for their disciplines during the same period in which the Olympics will take place.  JAAF representatives including men's marathon director Takeshi Soh and women's marathon director Yutaka Taketomi examined the marathon course running through the heart of the city. For the most part the course avoids the Copacapana and Ipanema waterfront that characterizes Rio de Janeiro, instead featuring many straight sections with few hills or undulations.  Although it is winter, temperatures in Rio de Janeiro peaked at 30 degrees with strong sunshine on the day of the course inspection.  Members of the inspection committee began at the start point of the marathon, examining the road conditions and taking measurements ...