Part of the 2022 Skyrunner Japan Series (SJS), the Ueda Vertical Race and Ueda Sky Race took place May 3 and 4 in Ueda, Nagano. Put on by the Japan Skyrunning Association, SJS is the peak of the domestic mountain running circuit. Founded in 2015 and now in its 8th season, the series has made a fresh start with the Swiss company Norqain as its official timekeeper. The first day of racing featured the Ueda Vertical Race, 5 km with 1000 m of climb. Honoka Akiyama won the women's race in 54:31, Karen Kobayashi taking 2nd and Suzuha Kusuda (Team Sky Kyoto) 3rd. In the men's race Ryunsoke Omi (Team Sky Kyoto) took the top spot in 43:47, with Tomofumi Miyagawa 2nd and Miki Ushida 3rd. The 2021 National Sky Champion, Akiyama joined last year's SJS during its 2nd half. Ueda was her 5th win, 3 of which came in Vertical Kilometer races. "I'd been targeting the course record of 49:54 (set in 2017 by Yuri Yoshizumi ), but I wasn't even close," she said post-race...
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