japan running news

2019 African U18 3000 m champ Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) led a 3-way sprint finish to break the meet record at the Hachioji Long Distance meet at Kanagawa's Gion Stadium Saturday, going under the 2023 Budapest World Championships standard for the first time in 27:07.59. 2nd-placer Benson Kiplangat (Subaru) also cleared the 27:10.00 Worlds standard in 27:09.83, 3rd-placer Samwel Masai (Kao) just missing in 27:10.06. With the WaveLight pacing system making its Japanese debut the Hachioji A-heat produced the deepest-ever 10000 m. The first 24 finishers cleared 28 minutes, breaking the previous world record of 21 set at last year's Hachioji meet. 12th-placer Takuya Hanyu (Toyota Boshoku) ran 27:27.49 to come in at all-time Japanese #4 and knock former NR holder Toshinari Takaoka out of the all-time top 10. Led by Takashi Nanba (Toenec) in 27:48.27, another 10 men were sub-28 in the B-heat including 2:06:35 marathoner Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima), 9th in a PB 27:...

Streaming of Wednesday's Golden Games in Nobeoka , the main spring 5000 m on the Japanese calendar pre-National Championships, kicks off at 4:00 p.m. local time, with senior women's and men's races starting at 6:00 p.m., the women's A-heat at 8:40 p.m., the men's B-heat at 9:05 p.m. and the men's A-heat at 9:30 p.m. A lot of top-tier people will be at Saturday's 10000 m National Championships instead, but there are still enough good names on the entry list to keep GGN's torch blazing. Sub-15 Kenyans Naomi Muthoni (Univ. Ent.), Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) and Judy Jepngetich (Shiseido) lead the women's A-heat, with an exciting addition being 8:47.85 high schooler Karoline Karaba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.). Mikuni Yada (Denso) is the top Japanese woman on the list at 15:19.67. The men's A-heat is packed with Japanese guys at the 13:30 level, most notably Yuhi Nakaya (SG Holdings) in his corporate debut and Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) in his collegi...

Two corporate men's teams based in Saga have gotten fresh reinforcements for their quests to make it to the New Year Ekiden national championships in Gunma on New Year's Day. Togami Denki has recruited two new members, while Hiramatsu Byoin has brought in four. Both teams will be spending the year building themselves up in hopes of scoring a hard-to-come-by ticket north come the new year. New to Togami Denki, which has qualified for the last three years, are Kokushikan University graduate Kazuya Mishiro , 22, and Saga native Taiki Ueda , 19, a grad of Tosu Kogyo H.S. Mishiro, who has Hakone Ekiden experience to his name, has a reputation for pushing through when things get hard, is enthusiastic about his new team. "I want to be part of the action right from my first year," he says. Always stable in his races, Ueda said, "To start off I want to improve on the track and roads and get closer to some of the senior guys on the team in ability." Hiramatsu Byo...

In 2017 Japan Running News celebrated its 10th anniversary. From the Hakone Ekiden to the London World Championships to the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, looking back over the year here are its top ten stories as determined by JRN readers. 1.   Last-Place Finisher Named Winner After Entire Rest of Field Disqualified  -  Feb. 15 At a children's road race in Okayama runners were misdirected on the course and ran a shorter distance. Followed by a sweeper, only the last-place runner ran the correct 3.0 km course, and when the other 262 participants were disqualified the last-placer was named the winner. 2.   Hawkins and Kirwa Win Marugame Half, Takeshita Over Muiru in Kanagawa - Feb. 5 Less than a week after his breakthrough 1:00:24 was annulled due to a short course, Scotland's Callum Hawkins won Marugame in a new national record of 1:00:00, while Rio Olympics silver medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) made it two Marugame titles in a row.  Men's preview  and...

Credited as being only 17 years old, Ethiopian Yeneblo Biyazen (Yachiyo Kogyo) made a big splash in his 10000 m debut, running an under-18 world-leading 27:32.51 to lead 12 men under 28 minutes at Hosei University 's Hachioji Long Distance Meet . Biyazen and compatriot teammate Abiyot Abinet  ran together throughout the race before Biyazen dropped an incredible kick over the last lap. Abinet couldn't match it, running a PB 27:37.62 to outlast Kenyan Muthoni Muiru (Soka Univ.) for 2nd. Muiru's 27:38.05 PB run ranked him at all-time #3 among sutdent athletes at Japanese universities. With an overall slow opening pace,  half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda), decked out in Nike's Vaporfly 4%, did his share of the heavy lifting up front but was never on for a shot at the 27:29.69 national record set in Hachioji two years ago. Riding the ebbs and flows of the race before losing touch with the lead trio over the last lap he snipped one second off his...

As ekiden season gets into full swing, track time trials continue to be a staple of Japanese and Japan-based athletes from junior high school to the corporate leagues. This weekend's main results from across the country: 15'35”31で世界ジュニアぶりの自己ベスト更新出来ました! 素直に、本当に嬉しい😂 2週間後の全日本駅伝まで更に調子を上げて頑張ります👊✨応援ありがとうございました☺︎ pic.twitter.com/SO9M1MPdeS — 加世田 梨花 (@rikaks3) October 15, 2017 Just six days after running 8:54.27 to win the National Sports Festival junior women's 3000 m, Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) won again, this time running a PB 15:32.34 to take the 5000 m A-heat at the Shizuoka Time Trials meet. Having led the national champion  Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuen H.S. girls to the win at last weekend's Kurayoshi Women's Ekiden , Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu won the 3000 m A-heat in 9:10.53. At Saturday's Chubu Jitsugyodan Autumn Championships , Rodgers Chumo Kemoi (Aisan Kogyo) ran 27:48.30 to win the men's 10000 m, leading James Rungaru (Chuo Ha...