japan running news

After coming up empty-handed last month in the Sapporo Olympic marathons, Japan scored three marathon medals on the streets of Tokyo proper at today's final day of the Tokyo Paralympic Games . The T54 men's wheelchair marathon was the first race off the line, followed ten minutes later by the T54 women's wheelchair marathon and another ten minutes later by the men's and women's T12/T46 marathons. As cold rain started to pour down just as the race began, Swiss favorite Marcel Hug  went head-to-heat with surprise challenger Yong Zhang  of China in the T54 men's race. The pair steadily built a lead over the rest of the field until Hug, showing frustration at Zhang's refusal to lead, broke away on the series of hills just after 40 km to take gold in 1:24:02 to Zhang's 1:24:22. American Daniel Romanchuk  took the top spot in the chase pack, beating Canada's Brent Lakatos , who had trouble on a corner and lost ground early in the race, by 13 seconds for br...

Japan will field a team of 20 women and 26 men for track and field competition at the Tokyo Paralympics, spanning most of the Paralympics' duration with a daily schedule from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5.  The complete schedule can be found here . Many of Japan's medal chances come in the marathon, including women's T12 world record holder Misato Michishita  and veteran Wakako Tsuchiya  in the T54 class, and Shinya Wada  in the men's T11 class and Tsutomu Nagata  in the men's T46 class. A breakdown of who's who on the Japanese team: Women 100 m Kaede Maegawa - T63 Momoka Muraoka - T54 Mana Sasaki - T13 Uran Sawada - T12 Chiaki Takada - T11 Saki Takakuwa - T64 Yuka Takamatsu - T38 200 m Sae Tsuji - T47 400 m Mana Sasaki - T13 Yuka Takamatsu - T38 Ayumi Takemura - T38 Aimi Toyama - T20 Sae Tsuji - T47 1500 m Anju Furuya - T20 Sayaka Makita - T20 Moeko Yamamoto - T20 Marathon Yumiko Fujii - T12 Tsubasa Kina - T54 Misato Michishita - T12 Mihoko Nishijima - T12 Wakako Ts...

by Brett Larner 2014 was a mixed year for Japanese distance running.  Most of the good came from the under-25 generation that will be at its peak at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  More than a dozen high school boys including one 16-year-old broke 14 minutes for 5000 m, and at least four high school girls ran 9:01 or better for 3000 m, one winning Youth Olympics gold while doing it.  A 19-year-old woman ran an under-20 Japanese record 2:27:12 , and a 22-year-old set a collegiate national record of 2:26:46 .  Another 22-year-old went under 9 minutes for 3000 m.  Japanese university men ran times from 3:39.56 for 1500 m to 1:00:50 for the half marathon to an incredible 1:28:52 collegiate national record for 30 km by a runner just turned 20.  A 23-year-old set a 3000 m NR of 7:40.09 , and a 24-year-old ran the fastest 10000 m ever by a Japanese man on Japanese soil , 27:38.99.  Among older runners ten Japanese men broke 2:10 for the marathon a total of ...

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter In the 25th anniversary year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Great Britain's Mark Perkins ran the race of his life to take nearly three hours off the 100 Meilen Berlin course record and an hour off his own best, covering the 100 mile course along the former path of the Berlin Wall in 13:06:52. A partially handicapped runner ranked 6th in the world for 100 km in 2013 , Japan's Tsutomu Nagata took the race out hard in his European debut, running mid-11 hour pace, just one second off world record pace through 21 km, and holding near world record level through 30 km before settling into something more sustainable in the low-12 hour range.  Skipping many aid stations while receiving on-the-run assistance from his wife and daughter, Perkins was never far behind him, maxing out at 4 minutes behind as he followed Nagata's lead and ran steadily on low-12 hour pace. Nearing halfway Nagata began to suffer stomach trouble an...

by Brett Larner In the fall of 2010 Tsutomu Nagata was in his mid-20's, a nearly-elite runner who had done 14:16 and 29:44 on the track before leaving the Self-Defense Forces team to join the ranks of the world's countless full-time working amateur runners.  On November 28, 2010, he raced the Tsukuba Marathon, running down four people in the last 5 km to take 3rd in a PB 2:27:36.  Nine days later Nagata's right arm was caught in the conveyor belt of a can-pressing machine at the factory where he worked, causing serious damage that left him hospitalized for almost two months.  Reconstructive surgery was unsuccessful, leaving his right arm permanently in a brace with limited use of his hand and fingers. After months in the hospital he was unsure of the impact on his running, but, he says, "there was never any question of quitting.  Instead, I felt very strongly that 'I can still do it!'"  Once he returned home he started with walking, building up to...

American Catlow Shipek  beat Japan's Tsutomu Nagata  to win last weekend's Coldwater Rumble 100 Mile trail race.  Earlier this week JRN featured a translation of Nagata's account of the race .  Shipek has posted a companion piece telling his side of the story.   Read it here .

http://ameblo.jp/1984-0220/entry-11758652352.html translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner photo courtesy of race organizers Aravaipa Running 14:16 / 29:44 track runner  Tsutomu Nagata , 29, took up ultramarathons after an accident in 2010 left his right arm permanently handicapped.  In 2013 he finished 3rd at the Lake Saroma 100 km in 6:44:33, a time that ranked him 6th in the world for the year.   Nagata made his 100 mile and international debut Jan. 25 at the Coldwater Rumble 100 Mile Trail Run in the U.S., leading for the first two 20-mile laps before being overtaken by eventual winner Catlow Shipek  (U.S.A.). Post-race he wrote about his experience. Japanese emoticons: (^-^)/ = happy/waving (T-T) = crying (embarrassment) (-_-;) = worried/stress To begin with I'd like to thank Iwamoto-san and Rina-san from Club My Star for first suggesting this opportunity. Also to everyone in Tokirun, Igarashi-sensei, Seki-sensei, Ota-san and ot...

by Brett Larner The 28th edition of Japan's premier ultra, the Lake Saroma 100 km and 50 km Ultramarathon , took place June 30 along the northeastern shore of Hokkaido.  Lake Saroma was to have been the official selection race for the Japanese team for this year's IAU 100 km World Championships, but on Friday organizers posted a notice on the race website informing top-ranked participants that due to  uncertainty surrounding South Africa's readiness to host the World Championships  this October the team selection would be cancelled. Despite both this disappointment and hot temperatures, both the men's and women's 100 km races saw world-leading performances.  In the men's 100 km division, 2009 winner Hideo Nojo  (New Balance) improved on his 2nd-place finish last year with a world-leading 6:37:16 for this year's title, 4 1/2 minutes ahead of 2:18 marathoner Takayoshi Shigemi  (Urugimura).  Two-time Olympic medalist and 2010 Lake Saroma champion Eri...