japan running news

The fourth in JRN's series of in-depth, original interviews with the Japanese friends and colleagues of Samuel Wanjiru , this interview with Yasuto Kimura , a popular Tokyo-based coach of amateur runners and a former Hakone Ekiden ace with Chuo University who became close friends with Wanjiru following his departure from the Toyota Kyushu corporate team in 2008, is the most personal of them all. Click here for an introduction to this series of interviews and for links to the previous interviews with Masato Imai, Stephen Mayaka, Yu Mitsuya and Koichi Morishita. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion to the series. Yasuto Kimura interviewed by Brett Larner in Kanda, Tokyo, 7/20/11 © 2011 Brett Larner all rights reserved No part of this interview may be reproduced or quoted without express written permission. photos © 2010 Yasuto Kimura all rights reserved To start off, could you talk about the nature of your relationship with Samuel Wanjiru? People are saying that I might h...

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/s/article/2011041001000311.html http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110410/spg1104101719004-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner At the Apr. 10 Daegu International Marathon, a selection race for the Japanese women's marathon team for this summer's Daegu World Championships, Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) was the top Japanese woman. Finishing 7th in a time of 2:32:39, her chances of making the team are very slim. Among other contenders for the World Championships team, Tomomi Higuchi (Team Daihatsu) was 8th in 2:33:48, while Seika Iwamura (Team Daihatsu) was 12th in 2:36:33. Atsede Besuye (Ethiopia) won in 2:25:12. Veteran Takeshi Hamano (Team Toyota) was the top Japanese man, 14th in 2:16:49. With the cancellation of March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon selection race and its designated replacement, April's Nagano Marathon, following the March 11 disasters in northeastern Japan, the Japanese federation Rikuren na...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110406/spg1104061710002-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner With last month's Nagoya International Women's Marathon having been cancelled in the wake of the disasters to hit northeastern Japan, marathoner Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) left Japan's Kansai International Airport on Apr. 6 to try for a spot on this summer's World Championships marathon squad at one of the designated substitute races for Nagoya, this Sunday's Daegu International Marathon. Machida was caught in February's major earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand while there on a federation-sponsored training junket, returning to Japan only to have her team's base in Osaki, Miyagi be heavily hit by the Mar. 11 earthquake. "I want to run fast so I can send back some good news," she said. If she fails to make the World Championships team, Machida plans to retire following this weekend's marathon. The 30 year-old Machida, a native of Saitama,...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&rel=j7&k=2011032300862&m=rss translated and edited by Brett Larner On Mar. 23, Rikuren announced that three overseas races, the April 10 Daegu International Marathon, the April 17 London Marathon, and the April 18 Boston Marathon have been designated as the official replacement selection races for this summer's Daegu World Championships women's marathon team. Due to the earthquake and tsunami disasters in northeastern Japan, both the final domestic selection race, the Nagoya International Women's Marathon, and its replacement, the Nagano Marathon, were cancelled, leading to the necessity of designating overseas events as the selection race. Only women who were entered in Nagoya are elligible for a World Championships team berth. Following the preemptive withdrawal of 2010 Nagoya winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), Beijing Olympian Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) leads eight Japanese women in London. 2011 Osaka International W...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20110223-OYT1T00809.htm translated by Brett Larner On Feb. 23 Rikuren announced that the nine athletes and six support staff members training in Christchurch, New Zealand at the time of the major Feb. 22 earthquake will leave New Zealand the evening of Feb. 24 and arrive back in Japan the morning of Feb. 25. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) and five staff members will fly to Sydney before transferring to a Narita-bound flight. The other five athletes and remaining staff member will fly to Auckland and continue on to Kansai International Airport. The Rikuren-sponsored training camp was scheduled to run from Feb. 7 through the 27th, but to ensure the safety of all participants in the wake of the earthquake the decision was made to cut it short. The extensive damage to the roads and surrounding area make running outside impossible, and the hotel to which th...

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Update: 5/16/11: Click here to read Chicago champion Samuel Wanjiru remembered by his Japanese colleagues and friends . After years of near-misses, former Second Wind AC and Team Shiseido runner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) finally broke through the 2:30 barrier, barely, with a 2:29:45 PB for 8th place at the 2010 Chicago Marathon. After a solid buildup which included wins at July's Gold Coast Marathon and last month's Hakodate Half Marathon, both in times just off her PBs, Yoshida hit Chicago hard with a 1:13:06 first half, just seconds off her winning time in Hakodate. Largely ignored on the Japanese television broadcast which concentrated on cursed Tenmaya runner Naoko Sakamoto 's attempt to make a comeback, Yoshida faded in the final kilometers but rallied to just clear her target and mark the best Chicago finish by a Japanese woman since her former Shiseido and Second Wind teammate Kiyoko Shimahara 's 3rd-place showin...

by Brett Larner 2009 World Championships marathon 7th place finisher Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) took a perfunctory win at the 2010 Nagoya International Women's Marathon , running 2:27:11 for the second marathon victory in her career. Ethiopian Derartu Tulu , who beat Kano at last November's New York City Marathon, was second in 2:28:13. For the first time this season the weather cooperated, with clear skies, low winds and humidity and temperatures which started in the upper teens and dropped comfortably. The race kicked off with a quick 3:20 first km but quickly calmed down with veteran Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) doing much of the early leading work. Kano and Tulu were part of a pack of four, along with Ominami and first-timer Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), who broke away from the field after a slow half. Tulu fell away around 25 km, and after Kano picked up the pace rounding the turnaround point at 28 km Ominami likewise fell back. Only Ito was able to hang on afte...

by Brett Larner So far this year Japan's major marathons have been cursed with bad weather. January's Osaka International Women's Marathon, February's Tokyo Marathon and last week's Biwako Mainichi Marathon all had cold, rainy, windy conditions which put the brakes on hopes of good times. This Sunday's Nagoya International Women's Marathon looks set to have the first genuinely nice spring day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper teens. Could it be too much of a good thing? The race is being pitched in the Japanese media as a battle between the holder of the fastest PB in the field, 2007 Rotterdam Marathon winner Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai), and the field's highest-placing finisher from last summer's World Championships marathon, 7th-placer Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC). Ominami hasn't broken 2:30 since 2007 but turned in strong performances at February's Marugame Half Marathon and Ome 30 km which indicate she is in g...

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18939

by Brett Larner Mara Yamauchi (GBR) continued her return from the injuries that kept her out of last summer's World Championships and the fall marathon season win a 1:43:24 win at the classic 2010 Ome 30 km Road Race in the mountains west of Tokyo on Feb. 21. Yamauchi pulled away from veteran Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) just before 15 km and steadily lengthened her lead over the hills in the middle section of the course. Up by 48 seconds at 25 km, Yamauchi ran 17:30 for the final 5 km to Ominami's 17:07, finally winning by a margin of just 25 seconds. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind A.C.) ran most of the race in 4th place behind little-known Saori Makishima (Canon A.C. Kyushu) but had a strong last 5 km to take 3rd. Makishima went on to DNF. Yamauchi's win adds to her three titles in Ome's 10 km over the last four years. The men's 30 km was a blowout as 2006 Ome winner Takashi Ota (Team Konica Minolta) frontran his way to a repeat victory in 1:31:54. Wit...

by Brett Larner The 19th edition of the Sendai International Half Marathon takes place May 10. The second of Japan's three selection races for its World Half Marathon national team, Sendai features some of the country's top pro and university runners on both the women's and men's side along with a good number of Japan-resident Kenyan aces. Setting Sendai apart from the other Japanese half marathons with the 'international' title is its policy of inviting groups of three amateur runners from Sendai's sister cities around the world rather than professionals. Unquestionably the main attraction at this year's race is the season debut of Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren). Akaba's spectacular 2008 began with her running 1:08:11 to win the Jitsugyodan Half Marathon and break the course record set by Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex). Her time made Akaba the third-fastest Japanese woman ever, and she went on to duplicate the feat over 5000 m and 10000 m. She ran in bo...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/05/20090508t14029.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner 2008 World Half Marathon national team member and local native Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) will be among the runners lining up for the May 10 Sendai International Half Marathon . Machida finished 3rd in Sendai the last two years. This time she is aiming to break 1 hour 11 minutes for the first time and to finish "even one place higher." At last October's World Half Marathon in Brazil Machida placed 22nd, an improvement of four places over her showing two years ago in Udine, Italy. "Even though it was hot," Machida recalls, "I was able to pick it up in the second half and start chasing down people ahead of me." She was also 3rd in this year's Nagoya International Women's Marathon, an excellent result which gives her great confidence as she says, "I'm not afraid of breaking down partway through the race or of losing my concentration....

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/04/20090415t14022.htm http://www.sendaihalf.com/jp/document/2009news0414a3.pdf translated and edited by Brett Larner The 19th edition of the Sendai International Half Marathon takes place May 10. Headlining the women's and men's fields are Beijing 5000 m and 10000 m Olympian Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and 2004 Athens Olympics men's marathon 6th place finisher Toshinari Suwa (Team Nissin Shokuhin). Akaba made her marathon debut this year at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, finishing 2nd overall. This will be her fourth time running Sendai. Suwa was 7th in the 2007 Osaka World Championships marathon and continues to be one of the strongest of Japan's marathon men. In the women's race, last year's runner-up Julia Mombi (Team Aruze) and 3rd place finisher and Sendai native Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) will return. Joining them are 2009 Osaka Half Marathon winner Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) and former world...

by Brett Larner Running her marathon debut at age 27, Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) won the 2009 Nagoya International Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, booking her first ticket to the World Championships since competing in the 5000 m in Seville 1999 as a high school student. Fujinaga was patient and tenacious, falling behind the lead pack of Caroline Cheptonui Kilel (Kenya), Bai Xue (China) and pre-race domestic favorite Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) five times over the course of the race but gradually working her way back up each time before taking the lead from Niiya at 36.9 km. Fujinaga ran unchallenged over the final 5 km to win in 2:28:13 and take the third and final guaranteed spot on the five-member Berlin World Championships team. Niiya was likewise patient for the first two-thirds of the race, tailing early leaders Kilel and Xue when the foreign pair broke away after a slow first 5 km but ignoring Kilel's frequent surges. Rounding the 28.5 km turnaround Kilel mad...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20090226-OYT1T00793.htm http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20090227k0000m050029000c.html http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/sports/news/CK2009022702000155.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 26 Rikuren released the names of the elite field for the Mar. 8 Nagoya International Women's Marathon , a selection race for the Berlin World Championships women's marathon team. Eleven women make up the domestic elite field, among them 2007 Tokyo Marathon winner Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) and 2003 Nagoya winner Takami Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai). The five elite foreign women include 2000 Sydney Olympics silver medalist Lidia Simon (Romania) and 2008 Beijing International Marathon winner Xue Bai (China). 303 runners make up the general division. In addition to Niiya and Ominami, the domestic elite field includes last year's 5th place finisher Chika Horie (Team Aruze) and 7th place finisher Yumi Hirata (Team Sh...

by Brett Larner While the 2008 Ome Marathon 30 km and 10 km road race was cancelled due to heavy snowfall, this year's race saw unseasonable mid-spring temperatures around 20 degrees. 23280 people ran the two races, with 17959 in the 30 km race and 5321 in the 10 km. Team Konica Minolta's first-year star recruit Hirokatsu Kurosaki continued to impress, taking the win in the men's 30 km division in 1:32:50, a strong time on Ome's famously hilly course. Veteran jitsugyodan runner Kurao Umeki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) was 48 seconds back in 2nd, narrowly beating out Waseda University's downhill specialist Sota Kato who ran a PB of 1:33:52 for 3rd. 2009 World Championships marathon team member Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo) was 4th in 1:34:17, just half a step ahead of American Nicholas Arciniaga who clocked the same time but was 5th. The women's 30 km race was a three-way battle, with Tomoe Yokoyama (Team Toto) winning in 1:47:01 over Team Hokuren's Yoshie Kito...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090107k0000m050022000c.html http://www.47news.jp/CN/200901/CN2009010601000557.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Jan. 6, 20 year old Maki Suzawa (Team Kyocera) won the 29th Yamazaki Women's Road Race half marathon, breaking her PB by 1:07 to take her first victory in 1:11:22. 46 elite women ran the course from the Prefectural Office building in Miyazaki city along Kusunamiki Street to the Miyazaki Prefectural Sports Park . With 200 m to go Suzawa broke from the lead pack of four to win a sprint finish. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) and Ruth Wanjiru (Second Wind AC), both in training for the Jan. 25 Osaka International Women's Marathon, were 2nd and 3rd, with Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Oki) coming in 4th. Yukari Soh, daughter of marathon great Takeshi Soh, who now coaches her at Team Asahi Kasei, was 10th in her half marathon debut. Temperatures at the start were 15 degrees with 43% humidity and northerly winds at 0.7 m/s. 20...

by Brett Larner Team Toyota Boshoku's rookie Yusei Nakao had the strongest Japanese performance at the Rio World Half Marathon Championships on Oct. 12, finishing 5th in the men's race in 1:02:05, while the Japanese women came up with another bronze medal-winning team performance led by the 10th place finish of Team Hokuren's Yukiko Akaba. In the men's race, Masato Kihara (Chuo Gakuin University) led the way as the sole non-African in the lead pack of thirteen at the 5 km point, crossing the mark in 14:07. Although he has run faster than this before in a half marathon, Kihara soon ran into trouble and began to move backward, eventually finishing 83rd of 86 finishers in a shocking 1:20:05. Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN), Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) and Tetsuo Nishimura (Team YKK) set out at a more conservative pace and finished accordingly. Nakao, who ran a massive PB of 1:02:00 in May's Sendai International Half Marathon, ran the early stages of the race in...