japan running news

This season's Izumo Ekiden winner Koku Gakuin University and National University Ekiden champ Komazawa University brought solid squads to Sunday's Ageo City Half Marathon , pushing the always super-deep race into uncharted territory with almost 50 people under 63 minutes, over 100 under 64, and up front, a new race record courtesy of the favorite for the win. Making his half marathon debut, Komazawa 2nd-year Shunsuke Kuwata did all the work almost the entire way, leading the front pack almost from the gun steadily on low-61 pace, 14:35 through 5 km, 28:55 at 10 km, and 43:27 at 15 km. Just past 15 km the fastest guy in the race, KGU's Rui Aoki with a 1:00:47 PB that exactly matched the Ageo record, took over, and only Kuwata could follow. The lead changed multiple times over the last few km as the projected finish time got closer and closer to the record, and after a 57:44 split at 20 km, inside the last km Aoki kicked. Track resurfacing meant a slightly different cou...

Australian Andrew Buchanan took over a minute and a half off his PB to win the third running of Tokyo's Year-End Half Marathon Dec. 29 in the western suburb of Tachikawa. Conceived of as a race targeting university and corporate league men whose teams had missed out on qualifying for the New Year and Hakone Ekidens and for amateurs to get the chance to run alongside them, the Year-End Half Marathon covers four rolling laps of Showa Kinen Park, the same site used for the Hakone Ekiden Qualifier half marathon and National University Men's Half Marathon. Buchanan ran as part of a lead group of five near 1:03-flat pace, with the group shaking down to four by 15 km. As Buchanan started to push over the final lap longtime leader Koga Matsuo (Josai Univ.) dropped off, leaving Shingo Moriyama (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) and Taiyo Iwasaki (Jobu Univ.) to compete for the win. Neither was up to the task, Buchanan kicking away for the win in 1:02:50 good enough to make him the four...