japan running news

by Brett Larner The first full day of fall temperatures brought fast times in the 35 heats of 5000 m on the second day of the 218th Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama.  In the men's A-heat, junior Wataru Ueno  (Komazawa University) aggressively frontran his way to the win in 13:46.79 to lead five Komazawa men under 14 minutes.  3rd-placer Masato Kikuchi  (Meiji Univ.) likewise led four Meiji runners under 14 including Daiki Hirose 's mark from heat 34.  With Meiji's Tetsuya Yoroizaka  having run 27:44.30 and Komazawa's Ikuto Yufu  and Hiromitsu Kakuage  28:02.46 and 28:03.27 this season both schools look set to make a dent in Hakone Ekiden rivals Waseda University and Toyo University. 2010 Tokyo Marathon winner Masakazu Fujiwara  (Team Honda) was the top corporate runner, 4th in 13:52.23 after abandoning plans to run the Berlin Marathon.  The big news for many fans came far down the field, where marathoner Yuki Kawauchi...

by Brett Larner click here for JRNLive's detailed race commentary Yurika Nakamura scores Okayama Prefecture's first win at the National Interprefectural Women's Ekiden Jan. 17 in Kyoto. Click photo for video highlights. An Okayama Prefecture team made up primarily of members of the pro Team Tenmaya and the elite Kojokan H.S. derailed hometown hosts Kyoto Prefecture's bid for a sixth-straight National Interprefectural Women's Ekiden win on Jan. 17. Okayama took its first-ever national title, winning the nine-stage, 42.195 km event in 2:16:24 thanks to stage best runs by members Kaori Urata and Katsuki Suga and a new stage record by Kojokan H.S. first-year Mahiro Akamatsu. Okayama's anchor, Olympic marathoner and World Championships track runner Yurika Nakamura, was only 8th on stage time but had a big enough lead to hold off Chiba Prefecture anchor Hitomi Niiya by 15 seconds. Chiba's best-ever 2nd place showing was a surprise and came thanks in large part t...