japan running news

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20100416k0000m050048000c.html translated by Brett Larner On April 15 Rikuren announced that as part of an effort to strengthen Japan's future marathoners it will begin using young Japanese athletes as pacemakers in next year's World Championships selection edition Osaka, Yokohama and Nagoya International Women's Marathons. It will be the first time the races have made use of pacemakers. The move is intended to give up-and-coming athletes the experience of running in a major marathon and the feeling of running competitive marathon speed. Rikuren also announced that it will be sending a crew of sprinters to the U.K.'s Loughborough University for a training camp intended to give them increased experience in an international environment.

by Brett Larner Click here for an extensive set of photos from the ekiden and after-party courtesy of NTV. To the surprise of none, a crack Japanese national team made up of most of the country's best current distance runners easily dispatched six foreign and seven regional domestic teams to win the final edition of the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden on Feb. 22. Among the foreign teams, on paper only the Kenyan and Russia squads stood a chance of competing with the hosts' loaded national team, which covered the six-stage, 42.195 km course in 2:15:05 to take its 10th win in the ekiden's history. Kenya was a distant 2nd in 2:16:58, while Russia fell victim to two of the regional Japanese teams, finishing 5th in 2:19:20. The Japanese national team's three big guns, Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) and Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) all took stage best titles, while Japan's other three runners were all 2nd on t...

The final running of the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden will be broadcast live nationwide on NTV on Feb. 22 beginning at 11:45 a.m. International viewers should be able to watch online for free through one of the sites listed here .

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20090212-OYT1T00998.htm http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090213/spg0902130502000-n1.htm http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/0212/TKY200902120294.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090213-460245.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Click photo for a preview video of the 2009 Yokohama International Women's Ekiden (viewing area may be limited). On Feb. 12 the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden organizing committee held a press conference to announce the lineup of the Japanese national team for this year's 27th and final running scheduled for Feb. 22. Leading the team are Beijing Olympians Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki). Shibui, who will compete in the marathon at this summer's World Championships in Berlin, set a stage record the last time she ran Yokohama in 2002. Kobayashi has run the 1st leg for the last three years, winning the stage in 2008. Join...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20080802k0000m050054000c.html translated by Brett Larner On Aug. 1st, Rikuren announced that the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon, scheduled to end after this year`s 30th anniversary running on Nov. 16th, will be replaced with a new international women`s marathon in Yokohama. The first edition of the new race is scheduled to take place in Nov. 2009. The race is expected to feature elite foreign and domestic runners to continue in the tradition of the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon. The course and name of the new race have yet to be decided, but Rikuren intends for the successor race to be a selection event for major international competitions such as the Olympics and World Championships. As part of this move toward a new marathon, the Yokohama International Women`s Ekiden will be disbanded after its 27th running in Feb. 2009. The Tokyo International Women`s Marathon was the world`s first women-only marathon when it was founded...

http://iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=43543.html

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2008022200916 http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2008/02/22/0000846994.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner The Yokohama International Women's Ekiden takes place this Sunday, Feb. 24. The 42.195 km course consists of 6 stages through the streets of downtown Yokohama. The Japanese team met the press at a pre-race conference on Feb. 22. A victory here would be Japan's first Yokohama win in 3 years. Team member and 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi, 19, (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), said, "I'm the youngest person here but I want to lead our team to win. I don't want to let us down. I want to learn about international running culture from the foreign runners too." Kobayashi brushed aside questions about her conflict with Rikuren over being banned from jitsugyodan races for enrolling in university after joining a jitsugyodan team. "I'm leaving that to the coaches. I don't let it distract me." ...