japan running news

After giving it a miss last year to prepare for the London World Championships, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) returned to Hokkaido's Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km to rack up his seventh win. This year Kawauchi faced some competition from members of the Raffine corporate men's team, but within the first few kilometers he was already on his own. At 10 km he was 23 seconds up on Raffine's Hiroki Kai with Kai's teammate Yoshiki Koizumi another 13 second behind. Koizumi, who broke 2:14 for the first time at this year's Tokyo Marathon, sped up after 10 km to overtake Kai and cut 14 seconds off Kawauchi's lead, but over the hilly last 10 km he couldn't manage to close the gap. Kawauchi was first across the line in 1:34:34, splitting it right down the middle with the 4th-fastest of his 7 Kushiro wins to date and seemingly back on track after a string of lackluster runs since May's Nobeyama 71 km. Koizumi was next in 1:35:05, just missing his 30 km spl...

Rio 10000 m Olympian Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) made a good debut Sunday at the Paris Marathon , finishing 8th in 2:26:13. Takashima started fast, on sub-2:21 pace until just before 30 km before fading. Her time was the 4th-fastest this year by a Japanese woman and best so far this season outside Japan, and it put her well within reach of the two-race sub-2:28:00 average route to qualifying for the MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials marathon. Kasumi Yoshida (Nitori) was 11th in 2:38:15 and Kanae Shimoyama (Noritz) 16th in 2:45:34. Yoshiki Koizumi (Raffine) was the top Japanese man at 24th in 2:20:29. Things went less smoothly at the Rotterdam Marathon . Running her third marathon in less than four months in a desperate attempt to get her MGC Race qualifying time this season, Hofu Yomiuri Marathon course record holder  Misaki Kato (Kyudenko) went through halfway on schedule in 1:13:22 before starting to slow, ultimately finishing in 2:47:25 for 15th. On the men's side Yuki Yagi (Y...

Overcoming humid conditions and competition over two minutes faster than his best, 2016 Incheon Songdo International Half Marathon winner Paul Kipkorir (Kenya) negative splitted his way to his second-straight Incheon title, winning in 1:02:32. Conditions just before the start were good, cool and breezy with light clouds. Even so, the early pace was unexpectedly slow given a field that included sub-60 men Edwin Rotich (Kenya) and Adunga Bikila (Ethiopia), Kipkorir, 2015 winner Isaac Kiplagat (Kenya) and five men with 62-minute bests including 19-year-old Japanese runner Tomoki Ota (Waseda Univ.). Running 3:01-02 per km kilometer for 5 km, a push from Kipkorir at the turnaround near 9 km was enough to shake off Ota and a few others but still took the lead pack through 10 km dead on 30:00. Over the second half the humidity rose rapidly as the cloud cover shifted to mist, and one by one the contenders in the lead pack dropped off. In the final kilometers it came to a race bet...

by Brett Larner The biggest domestic road action of the weekend took place in Shizuoka at the Yaizu Minato Half Marathon where Yoshiki Koizumi  of 2013 Hakone Ekiden winner Nittai University  battled last year's winner Tomoyasu Matsui  (Meiji Univ.) from start to finish, both breaking the course record as Koizumi claimed the win in 1:03:26. 2013 National University Men's Ekiden champion Komazawa University  had the next two men across the line, both Kohei Futaoka  and Shoya Kurokawa  timed at 1:03:48.  Komazawa took the win in Yaizu's University Pair Marathon team scoring based on the combined times of its top two finishers, setting a new record of 2:07:36. Nittai was just a second behind, likewise clearing the old record in 2:07:37.  The top non-collegiate runner was Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't), 9th overall in 1:04:19 a week after his latest marathon course record win in Saga.  Almost simultaneously, his youngest brother Ko...

by Brett Larner Correction: Although Kenta Murayama is 19, his 1:01:19 will apparently not be considered a new Asian Jr. record as age is calculated on Dec. 31 of the year of competition for the purposes of junior records. After a record-setting edition last year the Marugame Half Marathon was back with exciting races in both the men's and women's divisions.  London Olympics marathon gold medalist and defending Marugame women's winner Tiki Gelana  (Ethiopia) went out alone with a 15:52 opening split, but the fastest woman in the race, Kim Smith  (New Zealand), patiently reeled her back in and by 15 km had a stride-length lead.  At 20 km they were virutally side-by-side, but Gelana still had the kick to put Smith away.  Gelana crossed the finish line 7 seconds ahead of Smith in 1:08:53, just off her best but good enough for a second-straight Marugame title.  3rd-place Yuko Shimizu  (Team Sekisui Kagaku) broke from the Japanese chase pack at 15 km t...