japan running news

The second of Japan's four big February-March elite men's marathons, the Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon has released its entry list for this year's 56th running on Feb. 11. Traditionally a developmental event for first-timers and early-career marathoners, Nobeoka has been the place where some of Japan's best, most notably Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki) have gotten their start. This year Ryoichi Matsuo of the locally-based national champion Asahi Kasei team will try to become only the second man in Nobeoka history to win it three years in a row. His main challenge will probably come from Masahiro Kawaguchi (Yakult), at 2:13:27 the only man in the field with a faster recent time than Matsuo's winning time of 2:13:36 from Noboeka last year. But given Nobeoka's nature any of the relatively inexperienced marathoners in the field, particularly Shota Miyagami (Kyudenko), could get it right this time and break through to Matsuo's level or beyond. Among ...

by Brett Larner photo by a_yamako videos by Ekiden News Perfect conditions brought fast times at one of the best distance meets on the Japanese spring calendar, Saturday's Golden Games in Nobeoka.  With a focus on 5000 m, almost every heat saw four out of the top five run PBs.  Kenya Pauline Kamulu  (Team Toto) soloed her way to a one-second best of 15:29.55 in the women's 5000 m A-heat, with runner-up  Miho Shimizu  (Team Hokuren) in 15:36.03 leading three Japanese women to PBs under 15:40. Newcomers Bernard Kimani  (Team Yakult) and James Mwangi  (Team NTN) continued their climb up the ranks of the Japan-based Africans, beating World XC junior silver medalist Leonard Barsoton  (Team Nissin Shokuhin) in PBs of 13:14.64 and 13:16.06 with Barsoton 3rd in 13:21.44 in the men's 5000 m C-heat.  The lone Japanese man in the heat, 2014 World Half Marathon team member Masato Kikuchi  (Team Konica Minolta), ran 13:35.18 for 6th, yet anot...

by Brett Larner photos by t_tsuki While Tokyo's Ome 30 km fell victim to the major snowstorm that hit the north half of Japan on Friday, the Kumanichi 30 km near the southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu picked up another piece of history on Sunday. After a spectacular four-way battle last year saw a new course record of 1:29:31 from Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and a university national record of 1:29:55 by Toyo University 's Keita Shitara , this year's race was billed as a shot at Shitara's national record.  Over a half dozen of Japan's top collegiates, including 2014 Hakone Ekiden champion Toyo's Yuma Hattori  and Ryu Takaku , 2013 National University Half Marathon champion Shogo Nakamura  and outgoing team captain Shinobu Kubota  of 2013 National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University , 2012 National University Half Marathon champion Toshikatsu Ebina  (Teikyo Univ.) and ace Takumi Honda  of 2012 Hakone winner Nit...

https://twitter.com/a_yamako/status/424296422305849344/photo/1 translated and edited by Brett Larner The organizers of the 58th Kumanichi 30 km and 3rd Kumamoto-jo Marathon on Feb. 16 announced the 20 members of its 2014 elite field on Feb. 2.  Previously-announced Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't), has elected to run the marathon division rather than defend his course record win last year in the 30 km division, but the 30 km will focus on university athletes from the popular Hakone Ekiden, making it one of the freshest young fields in years.  From Hakone winner Toyo University  come ace Yuma Hattori  who took 3rd on Hakone's Second Stage, its most competitive, and Eighth Stage winner Ryu Takaku . Hakone runner-up Komazawa University  sends two of its best men, team captain Shinobu Kubota  and 2013 National University Half Marathon champion Shogo Nakamura .  3rd-place Nittai University  sends top man Takumi Honda .  2012 National...

by Brett Larner After doubling in the 1500 m and 10000 m last weekend, Yamanashi Gakuin University sophomore Enock Omwamba  took his third title of this year's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships, outrunning #1-ranked Japanese collegiate Suguru Osako  (Waseda Univ.) and fellow Kenyan Daniel Kitonyi  (Nihon Univ.) for the win in the Div. I 5000 m, clocking a solid 13:31.54.   Kosei Yamaguchi  (Josai Univ.), 6th in 13:55.85, deserves special mention for running the 5000 m just after winning his fourth-straight Kanto Div. I steelechase title.  The Div. II 5000 m was a nearly perfect replica of the Div. I race, Duncan Muthee  (Takushoku Univ.) outkicking Yudai   Okamoto  (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) and Ethiopian Leul Gebrselassie  (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) for the win in 13:56.22. Earlier the same morning, Takumi Honda  of 2013 Hakone Ekiden champion Nittai University  took the honors in the Div. I half marathon, ...

Bydgoszcz, Poland, 3/24/13 click here for complete results Junior Women's 6 km 1. Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (Kenya) - 17:51 2. Agnes Jebet Tirop (Kenya) - 17:51 3. Alemitu Heroye (Ethiopia) - 17:57 ----- 18. Azusa Sumi (Japan) - 19:28 19. Miyuki Uehara (Japan) - 19:32 24. Saki Yoshimizu (Japan) - 19:39 29. Maki Izumida (Japan) - 19:54 43. Nanami Aoki (Japan) - 20:28 53. Yui Fukuda (Japan) - 20:52 Team Results 1. Kenya - 14 2. Ethiopia - 23 3. Great Britain - 81 ---- 4. Japan - 90 Junior Men's 8 km 1. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopia) - 21:04 2. Leonard Barsoton (Kenya) - 21:08 3. Muktar Edris (Ethiopia) - 21:13 ----- 27. Yuki Hirota (Japan) - 23:13 28. Tatsuya Hayashi (Japan) - 23:14 31. Tadashi Isshiki (Japan) - 23:17 52. Hideto Yamanaka (Japan) - 23:40 59. Yusuke Nishiyama (Japan) - 23:50 81. Kazuki Takahashi (Japan) - 24:28 Team Results 1. Ethiopia - 23 2. Kenya - 26 3. Morocco - 65 ----- 5. Japan - 138 Senior Women's 8 km 1. Emily Che...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/junior-women-carry-japans-hopes-for-world-cro

by Brett Larner At the second big race of the university ekiden season Nihon University senior Benjamin Gandu  continued to develop into one of the hottest properties on Japanese soil, following his 1:01:06 best at February's Marugame Half Marathon with a 57:47 win at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 20 km road race, the qualifying race for January's Hakone Ekiden for schools that fell outside the top ten at this year's Hakone.  With a nearly one and a half minute lead over the closest competition Gandu became the second-fastest man ever at the Yosenkai, leading Nihon University back to Hakone after the team's decades-long streak was broken last year. With 2009 Yosenkai winner Akinobu Murasawa  out with an Achilles injury Gandu easily broke his closest Kenyan competition, Duncan Muthee  (Takushoku Univ.), with a surge at 10 km after the pair dueled their way through 14:22 and 28:40 opening 5 km splits.  Muthee in turn barely held off Keisuke Fujii  (Chuo...

by Brett Larner Along with Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet where four men cleared 13:30 in the 5000 m , the weekend saw a number of small meets between Kanto-region university teams with the odd pro popping up in a few races.  Among the highlights: 2012 Hakone Ekiden champion Toyo University 's twin juniors Keita Shitara  and Yuta Shitara  dominated the Five-University Meet at Daito Bunka University on Sunday.  Both brothers surged away from the field mid-race to take their events in new meet records, Keita with a 14:04.40 in the 5000 m to win by 8.62 seconds and Yuta with an 8:04.87 in the 3000 m to win by 8.00 seconds. With a strong international debut in New York three weeks ago and a 10-mile win over marathoner Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.) last weekend, next weekend Yuta will run on the Japanese national team at the World University XC Championships in Poland. Nihon University's Kenyan senior Benjamin Gandu  made easy work of the rest ...

by Brett Larner Earlier this week JRN reported that based on Waseda University posting that one of its athletes had finished 211th at the Mar. 4 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships in 1:06:11 it appeared that over 200 athletes may have broken 66 minutes for the first time ever.  With complete results available it is now evident that only 193 athletes, led by Teikyo University sophomore Toshikatsu Ebina  in 1:02:23, broke 1:06.  This surpasses the previous world record of 188 set at the 2005 Ageo City Half Marathon but falls short of clearing the 200 mark. JRN regrets the error. 2012 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships Tachikawa, Tokyo, 3/4/12 click here for complete results 1. Toshikatsu Ebina (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB 2. Yudai Yamakawa (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:36 - PB 3. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:02:37 - PB 4. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB 5. Kenta Kitazawa (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB...

by Brett Larner Nittai University's star first-year Shota Hattori , 2nd on the Third Stage of last month's Hakone Ekiden behind Kenyan Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), won the 27th Moriya Half Marathon on Feb. 6 in his debut over the half marathon distance. In a last kick sprint finish Hattori prevailed over Chuo Gakuin University captain Koji Kobayashi and Hattori's teammate Takumi Honda by one second to win in 1:03:54. With mostly university runners in the front end of the field, the top corporate runner was 2:08:56 marathoner Kazutoshi Takatsuka (Team Komori Corp.), 6th in 1:05:09. Nittai runners Hidemi Sakurai and Yasuha Kurita went 1-2 in the women's race. 2011 Moriya Half Marathon click here for complete results Men 1. Shota Hattori (Nittai Univ.) - 1:03:54 - debut 2. Koji Kobayashi (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:55 3. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:03:56 4. Tomohiro Hayakawa (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:02 - PB 5. Ataru Otani (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:02 - PB...

by Brett Larner photos by Daniel Seite Suguru Osako, 2010 Ageo City Half Marathon winner. Waseda University first-year Suguru Osako ran his biggest performance yet Nov. 21 at the Ageo City Half Marathon, winning his half marathon debut in a new junior national record and junior Asian record of 1:01:47. Running in perfect conditions the 19 year-old Osako, who holds a 5000 m PB of 13:47.29 and a 10000 m PB of 28:35.75, battled it out with Kenyan Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) for 16 km ahead of a large chase pack before dropping a hard surge with 5 km to go and pulling away for the win with the largest margin of victory in Ageo history, 57 seconds. Following the race he told the Yomiuri newspaper , "That didn't feel like it was very long at all." Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) leads Osako and 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) at 3 km. Osako became only the third man to break 1:02 at Ageo and the fastest-ever Japanese runner to...