japan running news

by Brett Larner Three half marathons over the long weekend marked the start of the transition from ekiden season to the winter and early spring road season.  The first elite-level Japanese half marathon of the year, Sunday's 41st Unzen Obama Half Marathon , saw a great battle almost to the line between pro Taku Miyahara  (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) and Keisuke Sago  (Takushoku Univ.).  Miyahara took the title in 1:04:21, just 2 seconds off the course record which dates back to 1996, with Sago 4 seconds back in 1:04:25.  Miyahara's teammate Hayato Mera  (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) was over a minute behind in 3rd in 1:05:40. The same day in Tokyo, Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.) started off his season as usual at the 14th Mari Tanigawa Half Marathon .  Starting off at world record pace with a 2:42 opening km he soon settled down to take 1st in 1:05:31, his second win and fastest time at the Tanigawa Half. Kaori Yoshida (Puma RC) won he...

by Brett Larner Japan's #1 marathoner, London Olympics 6th-placer Kentaro Nakamoto , returned to the roads Oct. 30 with the Fukuoka Prefecture  team on the third day of the Grand Tour Kyushu 2012 , an eight-day, 50-stage, 732.2 km ekiden around Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu. After dominating on the traditional 72-stage, 1056.6 km course in 2010 and at last year's scaled-back 60th running, Miyazaki Prefecture  got off to a strong start on Day One, finishing the day with an 84-second lead over Fukuoka and a lead of more than 2 1/2 minutes over Nagasaki Prefecture  thanks to large part to Third and Fourth Stage wins by rookie pro  Tetsuya Yoroizaka  and Kazuya Deguchi . 2009 winner Fukuoka fought back on Day Two, winning four of the six stages and opening a nearly 2 minute lead on Miyazaki with Nagasaki another 5+ minutes back.  Miyazaki's lone stage win of the day came thanks to 2011 World Championships marathon 7th-place finisher Hiro...

by Brett Larner As road season got underway, three track time trials and one regional high school meet across Japan on Oct. 1 saw competitive action. Sato leading the Otani twins in Hiroshima. Photo by rikubaka. Click for complete photo album. At the Chugoku Jitsugyodan Time Trials meet in Hiroshima, half-marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato  (Team Chugoku Denryoku) ran his final tuneup for next weekend's Chicago Marathon, leading the 5000 m A-heat the entire way before being outkicked.  Sato finished 3rd in 14:05.76 with Masaki Sekido  (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) taking the win in 13:59.27.   Kenta Otani  (Team JFE Steel) was 2nd in a PB of 14:04.13 with his identical twin brother Keita Otani  (Team JFE Steel) 5th in 14:07.54.  Daegu World Championships marathoner Mai Ito  (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) returned to action with an easy win in the women's 5000 m in 16:24.07.   Hiroki Ishida  (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) took the...

2010 Kyushu T&F Championships - Top Results click event header for complete results Women's 5000 m 1. Kazuka Wakatsuki (Team Toto) - 16:25.45 2. Yoko Nishimi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 16:41.07 3. Misaki Kato (Team Kyudenko) - 17:02.54 Men's 5000 m 1. Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:23.67 2. Taku Miyahara (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 14:26.85 3. Tomoaki Bungo (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:29.25 Junior Women's 3000 m - Heat 3 1. Tomoka Kimura (1st yr., Chikushi Jogakuen H.S.) - 9:26.99 2. Maika Nishi (3rd yr., Kumamoto Shinai Joshi H.S.) - 9:47.66 3. Kaho Sasaki (2nd yr., Chikushi Jogakuen H.S.) - 9:49.11 (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved