japan running news

http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2898668.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner The Princess Ekiden , gateway to the throne of Japan's ekiden queens.  28 teams competed Oct. 23 for the 14 remaining spots at next month's National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships . The fierce battle to sit atop the throne started right out of the gate.  Its big movement came on the 3.8 km Fourth Stage.   Shuru Bulo , making her debut for toilet and washlet maker Toto , made up a 46-second deficit to put Toto into the lead by 4 seconds.  From there on out Toto sailed on smoothly and without straining to score its first Princess Ekiden title by 45 seconds over rival Noritz .  The win meant a fourth-straight appearance at Nationals for the Toto team.  Can they become the queens of tomorrow? More drama was to found further back in the field in the race for the 14th and final ticket to Nationals.  In 14th on the second-to-last stage, the Juhachi Gink...

by Brett Larner It was a big day for records at Australia's Gold Coast Airport Marathon , high-quality fields and the relative absence of the Gold Coast's infamous winds combining for a day to remember.  Japan's Takehiro Deki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) got things started in the men's half marathon, running alone after just 7 km to drop a 1:02:11 PB for the win, the 5th-fastest winning time in the event's 32-year history.  A very likeable former Hakone Ekiden star who as a complete unknown in college ran a 58:51 CR at the Takashimadaira 20 km and a 2:10:02 marathon debut without specific marathon training his junior year, Deki helped set Aoyama Gakuin University on the road to its course-record Hakone Ekiden win this year. "It was a little tough being out there on my own," he said post-race, "but I ran the way I wanted. This was a big step toward making the Rio Olympics team in the marathon."  Deki's coach Yasushi Sakaguchi , who previo...