japan running news

In its 71st edition the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon saw new course records in both the women's and men's races. On a cold and slightly windy day Japan-based Ethiopian Zeyituna Husan took advantage of the big crowds of amateur men at her pace, going through halfway in 1:14:44 en route in her debut to win in 2:31:41. Her time took 1:19 off the previous record set in 2018 by Hiroko Yoshitomi . Excellent pacing that saw every 5 km split through 30 km in the men's race land in the 15:01 to 15:03 range and a big pack that rolled with it set up a tough last 12 km. Djibouti's Ibrahim Hassan inched it up a notch as soon as the pacers were done, covering the next two 5 km in 14:59 each. That gave him a short lead over Kenyan Daniel Kipchumba , but Hassan almost lost it. Deeply in the zone, he didn't notice the turn into the stadium for the track finish and ran into the back of the camera truck. Kipchumba surged to take advantage of Hassan's loss, but Hassan managed t...

  With strict limitations on immigration still a reality in Japan, the Dec. 6 Fukuoka International Marathon has announced an almost entirely domestic field of less than 100 that includes only five Japan-based foreign-born athletes plus an all-Japan-based Kenyan pacing crew led by Bedan Karoki (Toyota). Not that the field is hurting for quality. Ryu Takaku (Yakult), 2:06:45 in Tokyo this year, 2018 Fukuoka winner and Tokyo Olympics marathon team member Yuma Hattori (Toyota), and  Taku Fujimoto (Toyota), a bump up to the 2019 Fukuoka winner's position pending after the subsequent suspension of the Moroccan who crossed the line first for biological passport violations, make up the front end of a field that includes eleven current sub-2:10 men and seven of last year's top ten. Hattori has said publicly that he'll be going for Suguru Osako 's 2:05:29 national record, and with pacing support from teammates Karoki and Fujimoto, his former Toyo University teammate Taka...

Good weather and a good field meant great racing at the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon . Shuji Yamamoto (Asahi Kasei) did a stellar job of ushering the pacing crew and lead pack of around 30 through 25 km, clocking 15:05, 15:10, 15:15, 15:15 and 15:10 for each 5 km before he stepped off. The remaining two pacers Matthew Sang and Alex Kipkorir held steady with a 15:10 through 30 km to deliver up the lead group on 2:08:07 pace, just under the Beppu-Oita course record of 2:08:15. Mirroring last year's Beppu-Oita winner Hicahm Laqouahi and since-disgraced Fukuoka winner El Mahjoub Dazza , Moroccan Hamza Sahli was quick to make a move to the front right after the pacers stepped off. But where his countrymen made off with their races, Sahli's move served more to shake off some of the pack, leaving a group of about a dozen stretched out behind him that regrouped with a few minutes. The debuting Kento Kikutani (Toyota Boshoku) was the next to go to the front just in time for ...

A Bank of America Chicago Marathon press release. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced today that several international running stars are joining the 41st annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon elite athlete competition. Past champions Abel Kirui (KEN) and Dickson Chumba (KEN) lead the charge on the men’s side, and 2017 runner-up Brigid Kosge i (KEN) and two-time podium finisher Birhane Dibaba (ETH) stand out among the women. They will join previously announced global sensations Mo Farah (GBR), Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) and Suguru Osako (JPN). Note: The previously-announced Chihiro Miyawaki (Japan) is no longer listed in the men's field. 41st Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Field Highlights Chicago, U.S.A., 10/7/18 times listed are best in last three years except where noted complete elite fields Women Roza Dereje Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:19:17 (Dubai 2018) Birhane Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:19:51 (Tokyo 2018) Brigid Kosgei (Kenya) - 2:20:13 (London 2018)...

A Bank of America Chicago Marathon press release The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced today that reigning Boston Marathon champion and “citizen runner” Yuki Kawauchi and 2016 Olympian and Nike Oregon Project runner Suguru Osako will join the elite competition as they both seek to become the first Chicago Marathon champion from Japan since Toshihiko Seko took the crown in 1986. "I'm really happy to have the chance to race in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the Abbott World Marathon Majors," Kawauchi said. "I'm looking forward to running the same race where Toshinari Takaoka set the former national record and so many other great Japanese athletes have run well. My results in the other American Abbott World Marathon Majors races, Boston and New York, were pretty good, and I'll do everything I can to line up in Chicago ready to produce good results there too." “Yuki and Suguru are exciting additions to our elite field,” said ...

It took until the last lap of the track to do it, but Desmond Mokgobu had the kick to overcome the relentless Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima) and become the first South African winner of the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon since 2006. Running into a moderate headwind for the part of the race, the pacers took things through 10 km in 30:47, just under 2:10 pace. For the Japanese men in the field that was a critical mark. The first of them across the line would qualify for the MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials , with the next five also up for a spot if they went sub-2:10. Rounding the turnaround the lead pack found itself with a nice tailwind all the way to 35 km, and with the boost the pace quickly shifted to 2:09-flat. The fastest Japanese man in the field was Sonoda, head tilted and expression dire, his 2:10:40 best one of the highlights of Fukuoka in 2016. With the pace they were going that meant a steady rate of attrition in the lead pack after 20 km, one or two men dropping off e...