japan running news

Yasushi Sakaguchi , who guided the Chugoku Denryoku men's corporate team to the peak of its power as its head coach and later executive head coach, retired from the team at the end of June. Appearing at his final race on June 29, he said, "It all went by in a blur. I was blessed with the right people for 35 years." Sakaguchi helped co-found the Chugoku Denryoku team, working to build the team up from zero and becoming its head coach in 1994. "We started with the basics, and built Chugoku Denryoku up into a well-known powerhouse in athletics," he said. Sakaguchi's coaching style encouraging the independence of his athletes helped produced Olympians, World Championships medalists and national record breakers like Shigeru Aburaya , Tsuyoshi Ogata and Atsushi Sato . In the team's golden era it even won the New Year Ekiden national title. Asked what athletics has meant to him, Sakaguchi answered, "I got to experience the world, and to see it in all its...

Part three of three in JRN's interview with Tsutomu Akiyama , one of the people responsible for first bringing Kenyan athletes to run in Japan. Read part one and part two. Stephen Mayaka told me that jitsugyodan teams want Kenyans mostly for the New Year Ekiden. In the last few years they’ve restricted foreign runners to one stage, the “International Stage,” and have dramatically shortened it to 8 km. Do you think this is going to result in fewer opportunities for Kenyans to find a place on a Japanese team? With regard to that, my opinion is this: At the Olympics, the World Championships or major marathons they don’t say, “You are faster so you have to run 43 km or 44 km.” It’s the same for everyone. Everyone has the same start line and finish line. In these Japanese corporate ekidens, where they tell fast foreigners that they can only run a particular stage, the only Japanese runners who run that same stage are the slowest ones. It makes it so that you can’t really tell ho...

Stephen Mayaka was the first Kenyan high school runner in Japan and the first to go the complete route from high school to university and on into the corporate running world. Now a Japanese citizen, married to a former World Championships-level Japanese marathoner and head coach of Obirin University’s track and field team, Mayaka is a mentor to Kenyan athletes both across Japan and back in Kenya. JRN interviewed Mayaka just before New Year, 2010 for an article for Running Times magazine. Part One: Discovery, High School and University Could you talk a bit about your personal history? How were you selected to come to Japan? I first came to Japan in 1990, in December. I came here to test myself. When I was in Kenya I ran in the Kenyan Secondary School Championships. I was the top at cross-country. There was a Japanese there, the one who introduced Samuel Wanjiru to Sendai Ikuei [High School], Mr. Kobayashi. He had spotted me, and before, Joseph Otwori , who came from the same...

The World Championships in athletics were first held in Helsinki, Finland in 1983. Up until the 1991 Tokyo World Championships they were held once every four years, but beginning with the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships they switched to an every other year format. London this year was the 16th edition. To date 68 men with Hakone Ekiden experience have competed in the World Championships, with three of them winning medals in the marathon. In Tokyo in 1991 Hiromi Taniguchi became the first Japanese World Championships gold medalist, raising the excitement level at the games.  As a student at Nittai University Taniguchi had won the Hakone Ekiden's downhill Sixth Stage three years in a row from 1981 to 1983. As a fourth-year in 1983 he set a new stage record of 57:47. Course changes have rendered his record an historical artifact, but Taniguchi is still considered Hakone's greatest downhill runner. At the 1999 Seville World Championships and 2005 Helsinki World Championsh...

http://hirospo.com/quick/34808.html translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 15 the Chugoku Newspaper reported that 2:07:52 marathoner Shigeru Aburaya has been promoted from his position as assistant coach at the Chugoku Denryoku men's corporate team to head coach.  Aburaya will assume his new duties next year on Feb. 1.  After 25 years working in that role current head coach Yasushi Sakaguchi will become general manager.  In November Sakaguchi became coach of the JAAF's men's marathon development program for the buildup to the Tokyo Olympics. Translator's note: Along with his 2:07:52 best from the 2001 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Aburaya's achievements as an athlete included 5th-place finishes in the 2003 Paris World Championships and 2004 Athens Olympics marathons.  Besides Aburaya, Sakaguchi also coached 2:07:13 all-time Japanese #4 marathoner and half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato and 2:08:37 marathoner Tsuyoshi Ogata , the last Japanese man ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120427-941257.html translated by Brett Larner Hiroshima University of Economics announced April 27 that 2008 Beijing Olympics marathoner Tsuyoshi Ogata  (38) has been named head coach of its track and field team following his retirement from Team Chugoku Denryoku after December's Fukuoka International Marathon.  At a Hiroshima-area press conferece Ogata told members of the media, "I want to pass on the knowledge and experience that I've been able to develop in my career, and to bring my athletes up to be people who will keep looking upwards to the next level."  Ogata left Team Chugoku Denryoku at the end of January and began focusing on his new work in February.  "It was hard to leave," he said of the decision, "but you only live once.  More than feeling like I've left something behind I view this as the chance to take on something I've always wanted to do."  Ogata has not fo...

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/news/national/20111207-OYS1T00173.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner At February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon Olympian Shigeru Aburuya  (Team Chugoku Denryoku) ran a disappointing 2:19, leading him to make the decision to hang up his shoes at the end of this season.  In his 17th year as a professional runner, Aburuya has chosen Yamaguchi prefecture's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon as the site of his final pro race.  "I'm from Yamaguchi, so I feel like it's on home ground," he said.  "I want people to see that I haven't given up." Aburuya was 5th in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 5th again in two World Championships marathons.  Two years ago he shifted his emphasis to coaching at [Chugoku Denryoku] .  With new responsibilities for athlete recruitment and other obligations of coaching, his own day-to-day training routine became difficult to sustain.  "My position [as a runner]  is just an ordinary one, so it go...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201112070118.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Once the leading force in Japanese men's ekidens and marathons, the name of the Chugoku Denryoku  team has faded into history.  Of the team's three pillars of strength, 38-year-old Tsuyoshi Ogata  has declined dramatically in ability, while 34-year-old Shigeru Aburuya  will retire after next week's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon.  It is a sign of the changing of the guards.  "One era is over," says Chugoku Denryoku head coach Yasushi Sakaguchi .  "Now it is time for us to start again from zero." "Members of our team had a streak of making the national team in the marathon," says Sakaguchi, "and in the ekiden we were #1 in Japan twice."  Chugoku Denryoku first ran the New Year Ekiden national championships in 1993.  With an all-Japanese lineup the team won the New Year Ekiden in 2004 and 2007, and it has finished in the top eight seventeen out of ...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20110206k0000e050020000c.html http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/110206/oth11020617280011-n1.htm http://www.47news.jp/CN/201102/CN2011020601000204.html http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/110206/oth11020617300012-n1.htm http://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/sports/local/article.aspx?id=20110206000201 translated and edited by Brett Larner Last year's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships winner Samuel Ndungu (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) won the 2011 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Feb. 6, clocking a PB of 1:00:55. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta), the 12th-placer at last year's World Half Marathon Championships, was 2nd in a PB of 1:00:58, the all-time 3rd-fastest Japanese mark. Course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) was 3rd after slowing dramatically in the final kilometer of the race. Times were fast overall as eight of the top ten recorded new PBs. Beijing Olympics marathoner Tsuyoshi Ogata (Tea...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20101118070.html http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20101119k0000m050060000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Nov. 18 Rikuren announced the elite field for this year's Fukuoka International Marathon scheduled for Dec. 5, the first of the domestic selection races for the 2011 World Championships marathon in Daegu, Korea. Beijing Olympics silver medalist and two-time World Championships gold medalist Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) leads the overseas invited field while a large group of Japanese elites will vie for a World Championships berth. The domestic field includes 2005 World Championships marathon bronze medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku), 2009 World Championships marathon team member Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo), 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta), and in his marathon debut 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu). Gharib will be run...

by Brett Larner In high winds, Kenyan Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) took his first win in his new team colors as he ran 13:48.17 in the men's 5000 m at the 44th Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet on Apr. 29. Last month Karoki graduated from Sera High School to take a place with the elite Team S&B. Interestingly, the runner-up in the Oda Memorial 5000 m was his succesor at Sera, Kenyan Charles Durango , who clocked 13:58.15. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) finished 3rd in 14:04.70 over Kenyan Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda). The women's 5000 m was a closer-pitched battle, turning into a three-way sprint finish. Ethiopian Betelhem Moges (Team Denso) came out on top in 15:38.70, with Kenyans Felista Wanjugu (Team Universal Entertainment) and Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) just a step behind. Just behind, Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) outleaned Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) for 4th. 2010 Oda Memorial Track & Field Meet - Top Finishers click event ...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201003170188.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The men's and women's National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships take place this Sunday, Mar. 21 in Yamaguchi. A selection race for the national team for October's World Half Marathon Championships, the Jitsugyodan Half wraps up the road season as athletes head to track in April. Leading the way in the women's race is the star of Team Daiichi Seimei, 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki , running her last major tuneup race before April's London Marathon. Her main competition will come from teammate Misaki Katsumata , who had a brilliant victory at last month's Chiba International Cross Country Meet, and defending champion Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo). National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships Sixth Stage winner Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya) could also be a threat. 2009 World Championships marathoners Kazuhiro Maeda ...

by Brett Larner The 24th Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet takes place Saturday, Feb. 27. The second of Japan's two selection races for its World Cross Country Championships team, this year's entry list promises a great matchup in the senior men's 10 km race. Three of the leaders of Japan's upcoming 18-25 generation, university 10000 m national record holder Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B), 1500 m and 5000 m double national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) and all-time Japanese #3 over 10000 m Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin), are scheduled to start. Takezawa and Ueno are current teammates, while Ueno and Sato were teammates at 2008 national champions Saku Chosei high school, the only school in Japan which includes cross country as a core part of its training. Should all three make it to the line it will be a chance to see them race head-to-head. Also in the field is last year's Tokyo Marathon runner-up and Berlin World Championships marathon team me...

by Brett Larner Kebede vs. Mogusu - click for preview video Update 12/5: 2005 World Championships bronze medalist and 2004 Fukuoka winner Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku) has withdrawn due to illness. The 63rd Fukuoka International Marathon takes place this Sunday, Dec. 6. With the puzzling and almost total absence of elite Japanese runners this year the focus is rightfully on the foreign field, and the Japanese media are setting up the race as a two-man show. In the one corner, Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) returns after setting the Japanese all-comers record of 2:06:10 at last year's race and then going on to take his PB down to 2:05:20 at the London Marathon in April. In the other, the popular and likeable Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem), who became a star before graduating from Yamanashi Gakuin University this past April thanks to four years' worth of suicidal Hakone Ekiden runs and a hat-trick of sub-hour half marathons during his juni...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20091120k0000m050095000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Nov. 19 the organizing committee for the 63rd annual Fukuoka International Marathon , a domestic selection race for next November's Asian Games in China, announced the elite field for this year's Dec. 6 race. The seven overseas invited elites are led by last year's winner, Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia). In Fukuoka last year Kebede set the course and Japanese all-comers' record of 2:06:10. In April he went on to finish 2nd in the London Marathon in a PB of 2:05:20, ranking him at #9 on the all-time list. Among those facing Kebede are 2008 Chicago Marathon winner Evans Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2005 Fukuoka winner Dmytro Baranovskyy (Ukraine) and top Eritrean runner Yonas Kifle. Japan-based Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem), a popular Hakone Ekiden star while at Yamanashi Gakuin University, will be making his marathon debut off his...

by Brett Larner Sammy Korir leads the pack at 30 km. Photo by Christian Sommer. Nearly gale-force winds throughout the race, including a headwind from 28 km to the finish, kept times slow, but Kenya's Salim Kipsang persevered to take the 2009 Tokyo Marathon in 2:10:27. Despite a PB of only 2:11:52, little-known Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) made the first big move of the race with an attack after 30 km. Kipsang and Sammy Korir (Kenya) came after Takahashi, and the three ran as a group over the next 5 km. Lost alone in no-man's land between the breakaway trio and the remnants of the lead pack was first-time marathoner Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), a 2007 World Championships 10000 m runner. Losing ground after a water station mishap at 35 km, Kipsang came back to pass Korir and Takahashi at 37 km, pushing on to the finish. Maeda came on strong in the last stage of the race, likewise passing Korir and Takahashi and closing with a 7:14 split for the final 2.195 km, the fastes...

by Brett Larner Updated 3/21/09 to reflect athlete withdrawals. The 2009 Tokyo Marathon is the first marathon in Japan to publicly announce significant prize money, the first A-level marathon to host both elite men's and women's fields, and the final domestic selection race for the 2009 World Championships men's marathon team. On paper the men's race has attracted a respectable field, with four runners posting best times under 2:07 and ten under 2:09. The reality is that almost all are aging veterans, with only four runners in the field having broken 2:10 within the last two years. The chance may be there for a first-timer or little-known name to step up for the win. Among the overseas entrants, most eyes will be on Sammy Korir (Kenya). Korir is the third-fastest man ever in the marathon with a PB of 2:04:56 from Berlin 2003. A past winner of the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, he ran the 2007 Tokyo Marathon but dropped out near 16 km, sitting out the rest of the year w...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp200903180106.html translated by Brett Larner One more domestic selection race for August's World Championships in Berlin remains, the Mar. 22 Tokyo Marathon . Team Chugoku Denryoku Olympian Tsuyoshi Ogata may be bathing in the spotlight, but his teammate Kurao Umeki , who finished 6th last year in Tokyo, will also be lining up for his 15th marathon. At age 33 Umeki is trying to capture the prize which has thus far eluded his grasp, a place on the national team. Umeki debuted at the 2000 Tokyo International Marathon. In 2003 he set his PB of 2:09:52 at the Berlin Marathon and was 3rd in Berlin in 2006, but he has never been able to put together a good performance in a national team selection race. In the 2007 Biwako Mainichi Marathon he dropped out of the race. "I think I've been too focused..." he trails off. At last year's Tokyo Marathon he ran his best-ever time within Japan, 2:11:00, but he fell behind the leaders in the lat...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090310-OHT1T00211.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics marathoner Tsuyoshi Ogata (35, Team Chugoku Denryoku) held a press conference in Hiroshima on Mar. 10 to talk about his plans for the Mar. 22 Tokyo Marathon, where he will try to earn a place on his fourth-straight World Championships team. "I want to make this [World Championships] team clearly and without any ambiguity," he said, revealing that he still has the ambition to think about winning. The Tokyo Marathon will be Ogata's first race since finishing 13th in the Beijing Olympics marathon. Discussing his condition, Ogata showed some uncertainty as he admitted, "Things haven't been going smoothly, but I feel like it's coming together now. I'll be ready just in time, but you never know what's going to happen." Nevertheless, he was determined as he said, "I'm running this because I want to win. I want it to be a ra...