japan running news

Despite Osaka being named to a preliminary state of emergency as Japan goes deeper into its omicron wave, this weekend's Osaka International Women's Marathon and Osaka Half Marathon are going ahead on their traditional public road courses. Osaka Women's is Japan's last remaining purely elite marathon, and with the mass-participation Osaka Marathon moving to the last weekend of February this year and targeting WA platinum label status the writing has to be on the wall for its future. It just doesn't seem sustainable to have this race four weeks before the start of a three-week run of platinum label races, one in the same city, one in Tokyo and one in Nagoya. But for this year, at least, Osaka Women's clearly has the support up top in the local government to keep moving, and that counts for something. Like the 2021 race, despite its name it's a Japanese-only field with male pacers, kind of inevitably on the first point given Japan's ongoing border fortif...

The organizers of next month's Osaka International Women's Marathon have announced the invited field of 43 for Japan's last remaining purely elite marathon. Like the 2021 race, despite the event's name it's a Japanese-only field with male pacers, kind of inevitably on the first point given Japan's ongoing border fortification but a bit regrettably on the second. For a domestic field it's pretty good, all 17 of the women in it who've run under 2:35 in the last three years having done it either here or in Nagoya. 2020 winner and unlucky Olympic alternate  Mizuki Matsuda  (Daihatsu) is the favorite, with support from Sayaka Sato  (Sekisui Kagaku), the 4th-fastest Japanese woman in 2020 and 2021, 2019's fastest Reia Iwade  (Adidas), and 2021's 3rd and 4th-placers Yukari Abe  (Shimamura) and Mao Uesugi  (Starts).  Six other women in the field have run under the 2:27:00 B-standard for qualification for the 2024 Olympic marathon trials, including curr...

Coming back from a scandal earlier this year in which a non-Japanese former team member spoke out about abusive behavior by male coaches toward the team's female athletes,  Shiseido  was back with what looked like a more positive team culture, dominating Sunday's Princess Ekiden with a course record win. Shiseido didn't quite lead start-to-finish, but it came close. Tomoka Kimura got it rolling with a 21:44 stage record on the 7.0 km opening leg, 38 seconds under the old record.  Former national champ Daiichi Seimei 's Hibiki Sakuragawa  broke the course record on the Second Stage to put her team 5 seconds ahead of Shiseido, but it didn't last long as on the next stage Shiseido's Naruha Sato  retook the lead and built up a margin that Shiseido's last three runners held. Anchor Kain Maeda  brought the team home in 2:16:41 for the full 42.195 km distance, 21 seconds under the previous course record and securing the team's place at next month's Queen...

Running almost 15 laps of Osaka's Nagai Park behind a pair of male pacers right up to the entrance to the track finish, Mao Ichiyama  (Wacoal) came up two minutes short of Mizuki Noguchi 's 2:19:12 national record but clipped 7 seconds off Noguchi's event record to win Sunday's Osaka International Women's Marathon in a world-leading 2:21:11.  Her Tokyo Olympics marathon teammate Honami Maeda  (Tenmaya) was the only other woman to try to go with her, dropping off NR pace before 15 km but hanging on for an 18-second PB of 2:23:30 for 2nd with the help of another male pacer who stayed with her right to the start of the track finish. Ichiyama only made it through halfway on NR pace before she fell off, but she did manage to rally in the last few km to get under Noguchi's event record, even though Osaka organizers announced post-race that Ichiyama's mark would be listed as a mixed race record alongside Noguchi's women-only record in the hereafter.  Next up ...

Most of the real contenders for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men's and women's marathon teams qualified for the MGC Race, Japan's new Olympic trials race coming up Sept. 15, with ease. Even more barely made it, some qualifying by just a few seconds, and for every one of those there was someone who missed by just as close a margin. Here are a few who came just short of achieving a place on the MGC starting line and realizing their dreams of representing Japan in a home soil Olympic marathon. Women Yuka Takashima  (Shiseido) 2:26:13, 8th, 2018 Paris Marathon DNF, 2019 Tokyo Marathon DNF, 2019 Hamburg Marathon Solid on the track, Takashima ran the fastest-ever Japanese women's debut outside Japan with a 2:26:13 in Paris last year. That didn't come close to the 2:24:00 requirement for one-shot qualification outside the big three domestic women's marathons but did give her an easy target of 2:29:47 for her next marathon to qualify via the two-race 2:28:00 avera...

The JAAF announced the lineups today for the Japanese women's and men's marathon teams for this fall's Doha World Championships . Having scheduled Japan's new MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials event for two weeks before the World Championships the JAAF has specified that nobody can double, meaning that, including alternates, three of the four women and all four men named would have to give up a chance at being part of the Tokyo Olympics in order to get a guaranteed spot on a lesser national team. That means a team drawn from the middle and lower end of the list of trials qualifiers, a good mix of relatively inexperienced younger athletes likely to develop further for the 2024 Paris Olympics, mid-career runners without much chance of making the top few spots at the trials, and aging veterans who've shrewdly sussed out that being on a national team is better for their brands than going for a higher-level one they know they can't make. It's a B-team t...

Relative darkhorse Fatuma Sado (Ethiopia) outlasted some of Japan's top Olympic hopefuls and her Kenyan competition to win the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:25:39. Stellar pacing right on the A-group target of 17:00 per 5 km quickly shook the pack down to the main contenders, Ethiopians Sado, Abebech Afework and Sutume Asefa Kebede , Kenyans Bornes Chepkirui and Eunice Jeptoo and Japan's Rei Ohara (Tenmaya), Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal), and Natsuki Omori (Daihatsu). Ohara had already qualified for September's MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials, but for Fukushi, running her first marathon since the Rio Olympics, and the debuting Omori, they needed to either clear 2:24 or be in the first three Japanese women after Ohara and under 2:28. Just past 12 km disaster struck Fukushi. Tripping in the middle of the pack and falling, she tore both knees and hands before hitting her head on the pavement. Fukushi bounced up and quickly regained contact with th...

In preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the JAAF will hold a 10-day women's marathon training camp in Chitose, Hokkaido from July 27 to August 5. It is the first time for the city of Chitose to host a JAAF training camp since it was selected as the site for the Japanese national team's pre-Tokyo Olympics base. Six athletes including 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian Mai Ito will take part, with the program scheduled to include running classes with local amateur runners. The six athletes identified as high-level in the marathon and long distance and invited to participate in the program are Ito, Yuka Ando , Hanami Sekine , Yukari Abe , Mao Ichiyama and Miyuki Uehara . Along with them, a staff of sixteen support personnel will also take part. Conceived of as a simulation of the Tokyo Olympics, the camp takes place at the same time and for the same number of days as it will two years from now before the main event. The athletes will train at Aoba Field, on the 3.6 km Aoba Par...

For its 40th anniversary running Australia's Gold Coast Marathon has brought in a woman capable of giving the event a course record worthy of its gold label status, and maybe of taking a swing at the fastest marathon ever run on Australian soil, Naoko Takahashi 's 2:23:14 gold medal run at the Sydney Olympics. Runner-up at last year's Paris Marathon in 2:20:59, Kenyan Agnes Jeruto Barsosio is the class of the field, almost five minutes faster than her strongest competition, fellow Kenyan Ruth Chebitok . Despite a scarcity of results this year it's Barsosio's race to lose. That said, the long travel to Australia often takes a toll on the top competitors, leaving the top of the podium accessible to women in the 2:25-2:27 range. Along with Chebitok, Australia's Jessica Trengove and Japan's Ayaka Fujimoto (Kyocera) and Miharu Shimokado (Nitori) are positioned at exactly that level and should contend for top three at the worst. The 2015 Melbourne Maratho...

In a race that came down to an uphill battle near 20 km, Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) emerged on top of a lead pack of five to win the men's race at the 28th Sendai International Half Marathon . Matsumoto outkicked Rio Olympics marathon team member Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) on the track to take the win in 1:03:05, the fastest winning time by a Japanese man in Sendai history. Sasaki returned from the injury that kept him out of March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marahton to finish 2nd in 1:03:10, holding off collegiate runners Kengo Nakamura (Toyo Univ.) and Akihiro Gunji (Tokai Univ.). Defending champion Charles Ndirangu (JFE Steel) suffered some sort of injury in the late going, shuffling down the home straight and almost walking across the finish line to take 5th in 1:03:39. Just behind him, 2017 Gold Coast Marathon winner Takuya Noguchi (Konica Minolta) nicked 2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) at the line after sitting on Kawauchi the entir...

Japan dominated the 14th Asian Cross Country Championships Thursday in Guiyang, China, winning all four team gold medals to hold the hosts China back to silver in every race. Japan's only individual gold came in the Junior Women's race, one of its usual areas of strength. Yuna Wada led a Japanese sweep of the top four positions to win the 6 km race in 20:43 with scoring teammates Ririka Hironaka and Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu just behind. Wada Yuna of Japan wins Junior Women’s 6km cross country race of 14th Asian Cross Country Championship . Japan also won Team championship pic.twitter.com/Q6l0b48pKV — Asian Athletics (@asianathletics) March 15, 2018 With the meet also serving as China's National Championships Chinese athletes won the individual gold in the other three races, Dan Li , Cairen Suolong and Jianhua Peng all showing better closing speed to beat their Japanese rivals by 3~4 seconds. Li won the Senior Women's 8 km by 3 seconds over Japan's ...

Top-ranked high schoolers Ririka Hironaka (Nagasaki Shogyo H.S.) and Yuhi Nakaya (Saku Chosei H.S.) won the junior titles at Saturday's National Cross-Country Championships in Fukuoka's Umi no Nakamichi Kaihin Park. With some of her main competition including Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) on a training camp in Australia, Hironaka's primary challenge in the U20 Women's 6 km came from Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) who pushed her throughout the race but couldn't keep up in the later stages. Hironaka won in 19:50 by a margin of 8 seconds over Takamatsu, the pair the only ones to break 20 minutes. Nakaya, star runner of 2017 National High School Ekiden champ Saku Chosei H.S. with accomplishments including a 13:47.22 best for 5000 m last October, outclassed the field to win the U20 Men's 8 km in 24:05 by 12 seconds over Takuro Miura (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.). His Saku Chosei teammates Sakito Matsuzaki and Keita Honma took ...

by Brett Larner click photo for video courtesy of  NHK Snow throughout the night and morning yielded to freak weather alternating between piercing sunlight and near-whiteout conditions at the 35th edition of the National Women's Ekiden in Kyoto. A unique format featuring teams of junior high school, high school, university and pro runners from each of Japan's 47 prefectures, the National Women's Ekiden is the peak of ekiden season for most Japanese women. It was an unusually tight race, with the lead turning over five times over the nine-stage, 42.195 km course and 2nd place within 3 seconds of the leader at six of the eight exchanges.  Many of the favorites, including defending champion Aichi , 2015 winner Osaka and powerhouses Hyogo and Okayama , got off to a slow start, ranging from 10th to 44th on the first stage and spending the rest of the race digging themselves out of a hole. 2014 winner Kyoto , course record holder, 2013 winner Kanagawa and the alway...

Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, 5/22/16 click here for complete results Women 1. Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) - 1:09:07 2. Ayantu Gemechu (Ethiopia) - 1:11:19 3. Bekelech Daba (Ethiopia) - 1:11:42 4. Risa Takenaka (Japan/Shiseido) - 1:11:52 5. Etalemahu Zeleke (Ethiopia) - 1:15:04 Men 1. Abraham Akopesha (Kenya) - 1:02:08 2. Evans Kurui (Kenya) - 1:02:27 3. Wilson Too (Kenya) - 1:02:48 4. Amos Kurgat (Kenya) - 1:03:25 5. Simon Tesfay (Eritrea) - 1:04:01 GoteborgsVarvet Half Marathon Goteborg, Sweden, 5/21/16 click here for complete results Men 1. Richard Mengich (Kenya) - 59:35 2. Geoffrey Yegon (Kenya) - 1:00:12 3. Leonard Langat (Kenya) - 1:01:40 4. Morris Munene (Kenya) - 1:01:40 5. Festus Talam (Kenya) - 1:01:48 ----- 9. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Japan/Toyota) - 1:04:12 11. Keita Baba (Japan/Honda) - 1:04:51 Women 1. Viola Jepchumba (Kenya) - 1:08:01 2. Worknesh Degefa (Ethiopia) - 1:08:54 3. Angela Tanui (Kenya) - 1:09:32 ...

by Brett Larner Although many events in Kyushu were cancelled as a series of major earthquakes and aftershocks hit the Kumamoto and Oita areas, track season went ahead as usual in the rest of Japan despite high winds and rain that kept times relatively slow.  Some highlights at home and abroad: Former Sera H.S. ace Charles Ndirangu (Team JFE Steel) delivered the fastest 5000 m of the weekend, running 13:40.34 to win the Chugoku Corporate Time Trials meet's fastest heat.  High schooler Joel Mwaura (Kurashiki H.S.) was the only other runner under 14 minutes, running 13:48.20 for 2nd. The lone entrant in the women's 5000 m at the Chugoku meet, Sera's Yuka Mukai ran a solo 15:58.62. Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) was the only Japanese man to break 14 over the weekend, winning Friday's Oregon Relays 5000 m in 13:45.39. Masaru Aoki (Team Kanebo) narrowly missed joining him, running 14:00.47 to win the Challenge Meet in Kumagaya 5000 m A-heat. 17-year-old Hyug...

by Brett Larner Following the rebranding of the Chiba International Cross-Country Meet earlier this month as the trendier-sounding X-Run Chiba, Japan's mini XC season saw most of its action over the weekend.  The other big domestic meet alongside Chiba, the Fukuoka International Cross-Country Meet was likewise rebranded this year as the National Cross-Country Championships .  Yukari Abe (Team Shimamura) was crowned the first senior women's national champion, winning the 8 km race in 27:13 by a second over Tomoka Kimura (Team Univ. Ent.).  With Ethiopian Kassa Mekashaw (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) running up front to keep the pace hot, first-year pro Takashi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) had a surprise win over Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage star Daichi Kamino (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) and, fresh from breaking 1:01 at the Marugame Half, the ascendant Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) to pick up the inaugural senior men's 12 km title in 35:59.  Fukiko Ando (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) and Sot...

by Brett Larner Japan's major mid-summer distance series, the Hokuren Distance Challenge kicked off later than usual this week with meets in the towns of Shibetsu and Fukagawa on the northern island of Hokkaido, where distance runners from high school to pro head in the summer to escape the heat and put in mileage for the fall ekiden season. At the series-opening Shibetsu Meet, the biggest news came in the men's 5000 m A-heat.  Last December Fukushima 10th-grader Hyuga Endo (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) exploded into the news with a 13:58.93, the fastest-ever 5000 m by a Japanese 16-year-old.  Now an 11th-grader but still 16 for another month, in Shibetsu Endo smashed his own record with a 13:50.51 PB to finish just behind 2014 Asian Games marathon silver medalist Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi HPS), the 9th-best time ever by a Japanese high schooler and 2nd-best by an under-18 Japanese runner.  Hilsawat Mamiyo Nuguse (Ethiopia/Team Yasukawa Denki), a newcomer to the Ja...

by Brett Larner photos by rikujolove and Dr. Helmut Winter, video by naoki620 Endeshaw Negesse and Birhane Dibaba scored the first-ever Ethiopian double at the Tokyo Marathon , both close to the course records as they won in 2:06:00 and 2:23:15.  Former Hakone Ekiden uphill star Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) made it a show for the home crowd with a 2:07:39 PB for 7th, making him the all-time #6 Japanese man and fastest-ever on the Tokyo course. With decent weather conditions the massive lead pack went out slower than the 1:02:35 first half planned to get them in range of Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede 's 2:05:18 Japanese all-comers' record, Kebede among those up front as they went through half in 1:03:08.  Early casualties included last year's top Japanese man and 2014 Asian Games silver medalist Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki), 2012 Tokyo winner Michael Kipyego (Kenya), debuting great Tariku Bekele (Ethiopia), 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon...