japan running news

After moving up to the top ranks of amateur Japanese women's marathoning with a 2:36:37 PB at this year's Tokyo Marathon, club runner Shiho Kaneshige (GRlab Kanto) took another big step with a 2:33:16 PB for 14th at the Chicago Marathon . Running almost perfectly evenly, her first 5 km 18:11 and none after that faster than 17:49 or slower than 18:17, Kaneshige managed a slight negative split with a 1:16:46 first half and 1:16:30 second half. Just short of rival club runner Haruka Yamaguchi 's 2:33:09 PB in Sydney last month, with that kind of control Kaneshige looks to have plenty more room for growth. On the men's side, four Japanese men, Minato Oishi (Toyota), Tsubasa Hayakawa (Toyota), Ryoma Takeuchi (Hitachi Butsuryu) and Yuta Takahashi (Otsuka Seiyaku), went out in the second pack with the main leading group of American men. The fastest Japanese half marathoner so far this year, Oishi was almost as steady as Kaneshige the entire way as he opened with a 15:...

by Brett Larner The 65th Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon has announced the elite field for its 65th running on Feb. 7.  Coming just before the second and third selection races for Japan's Olympic marathon team it's small up front but features a solid mid-pack of relatively young runners including some good first-timers. Evans Ruto (Kenya) leads the internationals with a 2:08:55 at last year's Gold Coast Airport Marathon, with competition from sub-2:10 men Hailu Shume (Ethiopia) and Anthony Maritim (Kenya).  Japan-based Ethiopian Melaku Abera (Team Kurosaki Harima), the course record holder at Oita's Half Marathon, is scheduled to debut and should be another to watch. On the home front, Kenichi Shiraishi (Team Asahi Kasei) is the only Japanese man on the list sub-2:11 recently with a 2:10:36 in Beppu-Oita two years ago.  High-volume marathoner Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) follows close behind with a 2:11:15 in Tokyo in 2013.  Most interesting among the de...

http://mainichi.jp/sports/news/20151104k0000m050015000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 朝チャン！ 東日本実業団駅伝 「いつも追いかけている仕事の警視庁。この日ばかりは必死で逃げます！」←思わず笑ってしまった(^O^) pic.twitter.com/nKLg7mMNcs — ku_min (@kunkun_san) November 3, 2015 Running from the Saitama Prefectural Government offices to Kumagaya Sports Park Field, 27 corporate men's teams raced the 56th running of the seven-stage, 77.5 km East Japan Corporate Ekiden on Nov. 3.  The local Honda team won for the first time in 3:47:09 after anchor Yuki Matsumura made up a 52-second deficit to run down leader Nissin Shokuhin .  Nissin Shokuhin finished 2nd for the fourth year in a row, with DeNA taking 3rd and Konica Minolta , in search of a fourth-straight win, finishing on 4th.  The top 15 teams qualified for the 60th running of the New Year Ekiden national corporate men's championships on Jan. 1.  The new ND Software team was the 16th finisher, just missing making its New Year Ekiden debut by 3 second...

by Brett Larner 【箱根駅伝予選会まで5日】 17日(土)9:25〜11:25地上波生中継！日テレ／テレビ信州／静岡第一テレビが内定…直前で変動するため地元の番組表をお確かめ下さい。 地上波がない地域は 17日(土)14:00〜16:00BS日テレ pic.twitter.com/ZlLUoicisJ — 箱根駅伝番組公式 (@hakone_ntv) October 11, 2015 Just five days after a record-breaking start to Japan's university men's ekiden season at the Izumo Ekiden the next big race is set to go off Saturday in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race .  The January 2-3 Hakone Ekiden, where 20 universities from around the Tokyo-area Kanto Region send 10-man teams to race roughly a half marathon distance each, is Japan's biggest sports event.  The first 10 schools to cross the finish line on Hakone's second day score places at both the following season's Izumo Ekiden and Hakone Ekiden.  The rest line up with 40 other Kanto teams at the Yosenkai to try to make it back onto the Hakone start line. This year 49 teams will start the Yosenkai, a 20 km road race in and around Showa Kinen P...

by Brett Larner video by naoki620 Following in the footsteps of his former Aoyama Gakuin University teammate Takehiro Deki 's win at last weekend's Gold Coast Half Marathon , Yusuke Ogura became the first Japanese man since 2001 to win the World University Games half marathon taking gold in 1:04:41.  Ogura, who played a key role in AGU's course record-setting Hakone Ekiden win in January and ran 1:02:03 at February's Marugame Half Marathon, led his AGU teammate and National University Half Marathon champion Tadashi Isshiki and Yuta Takahashi (Teikyo Univ.) in a sweep of the podium, the first time in World University Games history that men from a single country have taken all three half marathon medals. A slow first 10 km kept most of the field together, but a move from the Japanese athletes shortly after that broke things up quickly, and by 15 km they were well ahead of chasers Soufiane Bouchikhi (Belgium) and Naoki Kudo (Komazawa Univ.), the runner-up b...

by Brett Larner The IUAU has announced the Japanese men's and women's rosters for July's Universiade , the World University Games, in Gwangju, South Korea.  2012 London Olympian Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.), 2014 World Junior Championships men's 400 m silver medalist Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.) and 200 m 4th-placer Yuki Koike (Keio Univ.) feature prominently in the sprints, with 2014 Youth Olympics men's high jump silver medalist Yuji Hiramatsu (Tsukuba Univ.) leading the field contingent.  The strong men's distance squad is led by 2015 National University Half Marathon champion Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) and 2015 Kanto Regionals D2 double 5000 m and 10000 m champion Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), while 2015 National University Half Marathon champion Ayumi Uehara (Matsuyama Univ.) and 2015 Kanto Regional double 5000 m and 10000 m champion Sakurako Fukuuchi (Daito Bunka Univ.) front the women's distance group. 28th Universiade ...

by Brett Larner videos by Ekiden News Two months after his 3rd-place finish on the Hakone Ekiden's most competitive stage helped put Aoyama Gakuin University in position for the overall win and a month after running a 1:02:09 PB at the Marugame Half, 20-year-old AGU second-year Tadashi Isshiki scored his first national title with a 1:02:11 win at the 18th National University Men's Half Marathon Championships in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park.  After record-setting depth last year when a world record 207 men broke 1:06:00 the National University Half blew minds again this year, the top 12 all breaking 1:02:30 and 27 collegiate men going under 1:03:00.  With perfect conditions today the field excelled, completely rewriting the record books as 265 men went under 1:06:00. With places on the Japanese team for this summer's World University Games half marathon for the top three finishers and a bigger dream hovering in the distance 5 1/2 years away the massive pack wen...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20141019-1384249.html translated by Brett Larner 1229 people ran in the 39th edition of the Takashimadaira Nikkan Sports Road Race Oct. 19 on a 5 km loop course in Takashimadaira, Tokyo.  In the men's open division, last year's winner Benjamin Ngandu (23, Team Monteroza) ran solo from the first lap to defend his title in 1:00:01.  His next race is the Dec. 7 Fukuoka Marathon, where he made an unsuccessful debut last year.  "This year I want to break 2:10," he said with conviction. 39th Takashimadaira Nikkan Sports Road Race Takashimadaira, Tokyo, 10/19/14 Men's 20 km 1. Benjamin Ngandu (Kenya/Team Monteroza) - 1:00:01 2. Shohei Hayakawa (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:14 3. Yuta Takahashi (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:21 4. Yusei Tsutsumi (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:22 5. Takayuki Tsuchiya (Tokai Univ.) - 1:00:29 6. Hiroki Takemoto (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:30 7. Kenta Ando (Tokai Univ.) - 1:00:38 8. Kodai Matsushit...

by Brett Larner Four track meets featured noteworthy Japanese performances on the first truly busy weekend on the spring outdoor season calendar. Cold rain and wind hit the biggest of the domestic meets, the Hyogo Relay Carnival.  In the Grand Prix 10000 m,  Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) continued his climb to the top of the Japanese circuit with a world-leading 27:40.44 to win over world-level medalists Paul Tanui  (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) and Martin Mathathi (Kenya/ Suzuki Hamamatsu AC).  Former 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) was the top Japanese man, 5th overall with the fastest time so far this year by a Japanese man, 28:16.79.  The year's leading Japanese marathoner, Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), was 12th in a decent 28:32.23 as he began working toward the Moscow World Championships.  His teammate Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) easily won the Grand Prix women's 10000 m in 32:00.02.  Run...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2013/02/24/kiji/K20130224005268200.html http://dena.jp/press/2013/02/post-125.php translated and edited by Brett Larner With Team S&B 's longstanding sponsorship set to be eliminated at the end of next month due to a streamlining of operations,  Kensuke Takezawa , 26, announced that he will not join the rest of the team in moving to new sponsor DeNA .  His plans remain undecided. A 2008 Beijing Olympics track team member, Takezawa commented, "My path forward is something that I ultimately want to find by myself, under my own strength, and for this reason I've decided not to move with the team.  I need to re-examine myself and carefully consider the best course of action." The new DeNA team will become an official entity on April 1.  Previous announcements had said that all athletes and staff from the S&B team would transfer together. Kensuke Takezawa : Born Oct. 11, 1986 in Hyogo. 3000 m: 7:49.26    ...

                                   Seko with the announcement. Click photo to enlarge. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2012/09/01/kiji/K20120901004017610.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009359.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009418.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009427.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009421.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009429.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009436.html translated and edited by Brett Larner S&B greats group photo (c) 2012 Tim Chamberlain, all rights reserved S&B Foods announced Aug. 31 that its men's running team, long the home of Japan's best distance runners, will be disbanded...

by Brett Larner click here for complete results In his first serious race since winning the 2011 New Year Ekiden national championships First Stage, 2010's top Japanese 10000 m and half-marathon man Tomoya Onishi  (Team Asahi Kasei) made a successful and surprising comeback after a year and a half of injury troubles as he won the July 4 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami Meet men's 5000 m in 13:46.06, just six seconds off his best.  Onishi ran up front much of the way with Korea ace Seungho Park  and equally injury-hampered former Komazawa University standout Sota Hoshi  (Team Fujitsu), taking the lead for good after Park dropped out.  Onishi's performance signaled hope for improvement on the promising 27:50.72 and 1:01:31 marks he recorded in 2010 and a not-too-distant marathon debut.  His twin brother, former Hakone Ekiden champion Toyo University captain Kazuki Onishi  (Team Kanebo), ran the same heat but was far off form as he finished 19t...

by Brett Larner Along with marathons and other road races, this busy weekend included two significant ekidens and three large track time trial meets. At the Nov. 19 Biwako University Ekiden, Western Japan's answer to January's Hakone Ekiden, defending champion Kyoto Sangyo University  braved heavy rain and wind to take its second-straight Biwako title.  After a slow 8th-place start Kyoto Sangyo worked its way up through the field and covered the eight-stage, 83.6 km course in 4:16:17.   Daiichi Kogyo University  was 2nd in 4:18:09 thanks in large part to an impressive 31:57 record for the 11.0 km Third Stage by its Kenyan ace  Kiragu Njuguna , a full 43 seconds under the old record.  Njuguna put Daiichi Kogyo in the lead by more than a minute over early leader  Ritsumeikan University , and the team maintained the lead all the way until the 7th stage when Daiichi Kogyo was overtaken by Kyoto Sangyo's stage-winning Kazuki Noda .  Ritsumeikan anc...

by Brett Larner The 2011 Nittai University Time Trials series gets underway next weekend in Yokohama. A tuneup event for other track meets on Japan's spring calendar, the 214th edition of Nittai sees the return to action of Japan's current #1 marathoner, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama T&F Assoc.). The amateur who made worldwide news with a moving 2:08:37 3rd-place finish at February's Tokyo Marathon, Kawauchi comes to Nittai fresh from having been named to Japan's 2011 World Championships marathon team as its #1 man. Entered in both Saturday's 10000 m A-heat and Sunday's 5000 m A-heat it's unlikely he will run both, but whichever distance he chooses it is safe to say that everyone will be watching Kawauchi. This early in the season most distance men are focusing on 5000 m, and as a result the 5000 m A-heat features a larger number of noteworthy names. Among them are Japan's top man at last month's World XC Championships, Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/event/sports/news/20101213-OHT1T00247.htm translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 13 Jobu University's ekiden team held a workout session at the school's track in Isesaki, Gunma prefecture as it prepares for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden. Speaking to the media at the workout, the team's captain and senior ace Yusuke Hasegawa , holder of the fastest 10000 m time of the year by a Japanese university student, revealed that he has signed to join the elite Team S&B following his graduation in March. Hasegawa, the national university 1500 m champion as a sophomore, is a top-class speed runner among university athletes. At November's Nittai University Time Trials meet he ran a 10000 m PB of 28:07.47, the best of the year by a Japanese student and all-time #8 on the collegiate 10000 m rankings. Having led Jobu from scratch to Hakone in a remarkably short time, head coach Katsuhiko Hanada , a former S&B star himself, will continue to serve as Hasegawa...

2010 Atletica Roverto Quercia - Top Results Aug. 31, 2010 - click here for complete results Men's 5000 m 1. Alex Korio (Qatar) - 13:17.09 2. Paul Lonyangata (Kenya) - 13:19.07 3. Daniele Meucci (Italy) - 13:24.38 ----- 11. Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) - 13:46.86

2010 EA Classic Atleticky Most, Slovakia - Top Results click event header for complete results Men's 5000 m 1. Micah Kogo (Kenya) - 13:26.03 2. Paul Lonyangat (Kenya) - 13:30.58 3. Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Team S&B) - 13:32.56 ----- 7. Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) - 14:07.00 8. Yo Yazawa (Waseda Univ.) - 14:14.32 9. Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) - 14:19.04 (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100815/spg1008152024002-n1.htm http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010081500118 translated and edited by Brett Larner At an international athletics meet in Leuven, Belgium on Aug. 14, 2009 men's 1500 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) recorded a PB of 3:39.52 while finishing 5th. His teammate Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) was 4th in the 3000 m in 7:51.91 with fellow teammate Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) 11th in 8:00.21. Waseda University junior Yo Yazawa was 7th in 7:57.62. Ueno's time was a PB by 1.31 seconds and puts him 2.10 seconds off the Japanese national record. The same day at a meet in Fribourg, Switzerland, women's 100 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Team Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC) won the 100 m in 11.32 with her longtime rival Momoko Takahashi (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in 11.64. Takahashi was also 2nd in the 200 m in 23.87. The pair, part of a first-ever Rikuren-sponsored European trip for Japan'...

by Brett Larner After being named to this year's World Half Marathon team on the strength of her runner-up finish at last month's National Track and Field Championships, Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) closed off this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge with a bang. Kizaki won the HDC's Abashiri meet 10000 m in 31:38.71, a PB by over 45 seconds and a time which missed putting her in the top 10 worldwide so far this year by only 1 second. Second place finisher Kayo Sugihara (Team Denso) was nearly a minute behind in 32:33.37. Sugihara was the only runner in the top 5 not to run a PB. Kizaki is now ranked 3rd among Japanese women for 10000 m in 2010. Combined with her rankings of 6th for 5000 m, 7th for half marathon and 5th for marathon she is the frontrunner to be named Japanese women's distance runner of the year. Kenyan ace Edward Waweru (Team NTN) took the men's 5000 m in a quick 13:18.54, while 5th-placer Seung-Ho Baek (S. Korea), a university student and thi...

by Brett Larner Quick results from the distance events at the 2010 Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, CA. 2010 Brutus Hamilton Invitational - Top Finishers click here for complete results or event header for individual events Men's 10000 m 1. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:27.93 2. Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) - 28:36.86 - PB 3. Takeshi Makabe (Team Kanebo) - 28:40.23 ----- 6. Yusuke Hasegawa (Jobu Univ.) - 28:58.63 Men's 5000 m 1. Galen Rupp (Unattached) - 13:32.53 2. Juan Carlos Romero (Nike German Silva) - 13:34.27 3. Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) - 13:47.30 ----- 5. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:54.15 9. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 14:07.59 11. Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) - 14:15.99 Women's 3000 m 1. Amy Begley (Nike Oregon) - 8:53.73 2. Malindi Elmore (Unattached ) - 8:57.97 3. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 9:01.39 ----- 9. Kazue Kojima (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 9:17.08 Men's 3000 mSC 1. Steve Strickland (Utah State) - 8:4...