japan running news

Although the official new coronavirus case count 7-day average for the entire country of Japan has dropped below 200, about 1/5 that of New York City which hosted its marathon this past weekend , marathons as far away as the Mar. 13, 2022 Shizuoka Marathon are still citing pandemic risks and announcing fresh cancelations. Despite that, some of Japan's marathons have bucked the trend of timidity and are bringing large-scale races back. The Oct. 31 Kanazawa Marathon was the first, with 9,457 finishers and winning times of 2:17:03 by Junichi Ushiyama  and an excellent 2:35:52 PB by 47-year-old Mai Fujisawa .  On the Nov. 3 public holiday, the Gunma Marathon in Maebashi returned for its 31st running. 3,408 people finished, Taku Fujiwara  winning the men's race in 2:23:14 and Tomomi Sawahata  winning for the fifth time in a course record 2:37:02. The same day as New York, 8,880 people finished the 6th edition of the Toyama Marathon within its 7-hour limit. Hiroki Suga...

http://www.tulip-tv.co.jp/news/detail/?TID_DT03=20151101165718 http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHC154GFHC1PUZB008.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 14,000 runners took part in the 2015 Toyama Marathon on Sunday, making it the largest full marathon race in the prefecture of Toyama.  The Toyama Marathon was launched to celebrate the opening of the new Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line linking Toyama with the rest of the country.  A total of 14,000 people from around the nation came together to run in the full marathon and shorter distances.  Runners in the full marathon division ran across the historic Shinminato Bridge and through the traditional townscapes of Yamachosuji in Takaoka on the way to the finish line in Toiwa Kansui Park.  Of the 12,000 starters in the full marathon, 10,483 people finished.  First to make it there was local London Olympian Arata Fujiwara (Miki House), winning the marathon in 2:17:05.  Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsu Lea...

http://mytown.asahi.com/toyama/news.php?k_id=17000001209070002 translated by Brett Larner London Olympics marathoner Arata Fujiwara  (30, Miki House), a native of Nagasaki, visited Toyama city hall on Sept. 6 to talk to mayor Masashi Mori  about his Olympic experience.  Asked whether he is targeting the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil four years down the road he replied, "Of course," showing his resolve to make his third Olympic marathon team. In the course of his casual chat with Mayor Mori, Fujiwara looked back on the endless parade of little curves and undulations on the Olympic marathon course, saying, "It was a rough, unsteady course and it just cracked my strength."  When the topic turned to the psychological demands of competing in an event that lasts for hours Fujiwara told the mayor, "When you're running for a long period of time a lot of things float through your mind to fill the emptiness.  Sometimes I find myself singing songs inside,...