japan running news

2011 Bolder Boulder 10 km Boulder, CO, 5/30/11 click here for complete results Women 1. Lineth Chepkurui (KEN) - 32:30 2. Mamitu Daska (ETH) - 32:35 3. Meseret Mengistubiru (ETH) - 34:06 ----- 10. Yuri Kano (JPN) - 35:17 11. Yuko Watanabe (JPN) - 35:20 17. Yumi Hirata (JPN) - 36:53

by Brett Larner 2010 Nagoya International Women's Marathon winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) was 3rd at the May 14 Grand Prix von Bern 10-Miler in Switzerland in her first serious race since pulling out of last month's London Marathon. Kenyan Monica Jepkoech and Hungarian Aniko Kalovics ran side-by-side throughout the race, finishing 1-2 in 55:55, while Kano ran a solo performance further back to finish in 57:25. Her teammate Yumi Hirata (Second Wind AC) started more conservatively and advanced through the field to finish 5th in 58:44. Kenyan Daniel Chebii took the men's race easily in 48:18. 2011 Grand-Prix von Bern 10-Miler click here for complete results Men 1. Daniel Chebii (Kenya) - 48:18 2. Abraham Tadesse (Eritrea) - 49:16 3. Alemayehu Wodajo (Ethiopia) - 49:16 Women 1. Monica Jepkoech (Kenya) - 55:55 2. Aniko Kalovics (Hungary) - 55:55 3. Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) - 57:25 ----- 5. Yumi Hirata (Second Wind AC) - 58:44 (c) 2011 Brett Larner all rights reserve...

by Brett Larner It's Tokyo Marathon week. This is the first of JRN's two-part preview of this year's fifth edition, to be held this Sunday, Feb. 27. Click here for part two , our men's preview. Look for additional articles and info as the week goes along. This year's race will be broadcast live on Fuji TV beginning at 9 a.m. Japan time. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online via Keyhole TV . Some viewers experienced trouble with Keyhole for last week's Yokohama International Women's Marathon but it appears to be working fine as of this writing, so make sure you have downloaded the current version of the player to increase your chances. In any case, JRN will be doing live race commentary via Twitter. Click here to follow . The Tokyo Marathon's elite women's race occupies a peculiar position in its third edition, with world-class prize money at stake and quality overseas competition but excluded from the selection races for this year's Wo...

by Brett Larner The Tokyo Marathon has announced the elite field for this year's fifth running, to be held Feb. 27. Following through on his pre-retirement crisis promise, world record holder Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) will return to the marathon distance after his DNF at November's New York City Marathon. Gebrselassie faces what is without a doubt the strongest field in Tokyo's short history, including 2010 and 2009 winners Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) and Salim Kipsang (Kenya), 2010 Biwako Mainichi Marathon winner Yemane Tsegaye (Ethiopia), 2010 Hokkaido Marathon winner Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable), 2008 Kenyan XC champion Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) in his marathon debut, recent 2:07 man Paul Biwott (Kenya), 2:07 runner and former teammate of Fujiwara's Hailu Mekonnen (Ethiopia), veteran great Felix Limo (Kenya), top-ranked Japanese debutant Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota), and, thus far unsuccessful at the marathon in his first two atte...

http://svr.sanyo.oni.co.jp/feature/sports/road/2010/12/01/20101201095337.html translated by Brett Larner The organizing committee of the 29th Sanyo Women's Road Race , to be held Dec. 23 in Okayama, have announced the fields for this year's running. 88 women are entered in the Yuko Arimori Cup Half Marathon and 220 in the Kinue Hitomi Cup 10 km, making for the race's largest-ever overall field, 308. A large number of experienced international-level athletes will wrap up their 2010 on Okayama's local streets. Headlining the half marathon are defending champion Yumi Hirata (Team Shiseido) and 2009 World Championships marathon 7th placer Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC). Locally-based Team Tenmaya will supply Athens Olympics marathoner Naoko Sakamoto , 2010 Berlin Marathon 3rd place finisher Tomo Morimoto and last year's runner-up Kaori Urata . Other top women include Noriko Matsuoka and Kaori Akagawa (both Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) and this ye...

by Brett Larner With six elite marathons in seven weeks, the crowded 2010 Japanese marathon season gets rolling this Sunday, Jan. 31 with the Osaka International Women's Marathon . With only an Asian Games spot at stake in a year without a major worldwide championships this year's Osaka has nevertheless attracted an interesting field containing a good number of relative newcomers and a few solid pros. Osaka has been the site of some very memorable marathon debuts. Last year it was the site of track and half marathon star Yukiko Akaba's first marathon, 2nd overall in a credible 2:25:40. The Team Hokuren runner has been one of the main forces in the domestic track and ekiden scene for the last two years but her shaky appearances at the Olympics, the World Half Marathon and especially her disastrous run in the World Championships marathon have all weakened Akaba's reputation. With some expecting her to become Japan's next sub-2:20 woman Akaba is returning to Osaka to g...

by Brett Larner The Osaka International Women's Marathon has announced the elite field for the 2010 edition of the race to be held on Jan. 31. The domestic field should prove to be quite interesting, headed by Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), including talented veterans Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) and Kayoko Obata (Team Acom) and featuring promising first-timers Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) and Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei). An elite women's marathon in Japan wouldn't be complete without Sydney Olympics silver medalist Lidia Simon (Romania), and Simon is sure enough slated to be on the starting line again this time along with Olympian Olivera Jevtic (Serbia), 2009 Los Angeles Marathon runner-up Amane Gobena (Ethiopia) and others. 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon - Elite Field click here for more detailed profiles and athlete photos Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:22:54 (Osaka 2000) Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 2:23:30 (Osaka 2003) Kayoko Obata (Team Acom) - 2:25:14 (Osa...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/091223/oth0912231444004-n1.htm http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009122300218 translated and edited by Brett Larner complete results will be added when available Yumi Hirata (Team Shiseido) took the win in the Sanyo Women's Road Race Half Marathon on Dec. 23 in Okayama. Hirata, who finished 6th in last spring's Nagoya International Women's Marathon and will run January's Osaka International Women's Marathon, clocked 1:11:13. In 2nd place in 1:12:02 was Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya), who took the stage best on the 6th leg of the National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships on Dec. 13. Kaori Akagawa (Team Suzuki) was 3rd. In the 10 km race, Nanae Kuwashiro (Team Sysmex) won in 32:27 over November's Yokohama International Women's Marathon 9th placer Hiromi Ominami, who was 7 seconds back in 32:34. World Championships marathoners Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) and Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) were 7th a...

http://svr.sanyo.oni.co.jp/feature/sports/other/2009/12/01/20091201101648.html translated by Brett Larner The 28th Sanyo Women's Road Race is scheduled to take place Dec. 23. 65 women are entered in the elite half marathon, while the 10 km division has a field of 199. A number of athletes who competed in August's World Championships in Berlin will take their next step on the roads of Okayama. At the top of the field in the half marathon is Berlin WC 10000 m 7th place finisher and Beijing Olympics marathoner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya). Her toughest challenge will come from Kenyan Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo), who defeated Nakamura in March's National Jitsugyodan Women's Half Marathon, and last year's runner-up Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex). Marathoner Yumi Hirata (Team Shiseido) and Nakamura's teammate Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya) are also expected to challenge for the lead. In the 10 km, Berlin World Championships marathoners Yuri Kano (Second Wi...

http://www.iaaf.org/WHM09/news/kind=100/newsid=54247.html Complete results are available here .

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...