japan running news

We've been in transit back from NYC, where Komazawa University  2nd-year Shunsuke Kuwata turned in t he fastest-ever half marathon by a Japanese man outside Japan , and are catching up on a busy weekend in Japan and elsewhere. Saturday saw 2 new records and 2 international medals. At the rebranded Fukuoka Ohori Road Running race, Ojiro Honda (Tottori Johoku H.S.) took 1 second off the NR in the men's road mile, coming up just short of a sub-4 in 4:00.2. Laura Nicholson (Ireland) won the women's mile in 4:44 by 3 seconds over Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu). Caroline Kariba (Japan Post) had a big win in the women's 5 km, outrunning the more accomplished Medina Eisa (Ethiopia) and Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) to win in 15:15 with Medina 2nd in 15:20 and Akidor 3rd in 15:33. Marathoner Mao Uesugi (Tokyo Metro) was the top Japanese finisher at 4th in 16:11. Kio Furuhashi (Surugadai Univ.) took the men's 5 km in 13:45 by 2 seconds over steepler Ryoma Aoki (Honda), 2n...

The 66th Karatsu Road Race took place Feb. 8 in Karatsu, Saga. In his first time running the men's 10 mile, Taisei Kiyono (Chugoku Denryoku) ran 47:12 to win. The race came down to a 4-way sprint finish, with Kiyono pulling away on the track to beat 2nd place by just 1 second. 2nd on the 12.3 km opening leg at the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden , Kiyono already had proven ability. "I was pretty confident of my chances if it came down to a kick," he said. "I didn't think there was any way I was going to lose on the track." Kiyono was making his debut over 10 miles in windy conditions. "I couldn't tell what the pace was, so it se long," he said. "Winning it was a great experience." After this Kiyono will shift focus to outdoor track season. "I want to make the 5000 m and 10000 m at the National Championships," he said. In the women's 10 km, Miu Saito (Panasonic), who represented Japan in the 3000 mSC at last fall's Tokyo Wo...