japan running news

by Brett Larner This Sunday kicks off the busiest part of the year on the Japanese racing calendar, the national championship ekiden season.  At all levels from junior high school to the jitsugyodan corporate league, the national championship ekiden road relays are the main event for Japanese distance runners and the most dramatic racing of the year, with all but the National Junior High School Ekiden Championships broadcast live nationwide to large-scale audiences and viewable overseas through the miracle of Keyhole TV .  A quick guide to the most important of them: Dec. 18:   National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships , Sendai - 6 stages, 42.195 km The decision was already made to move the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships to Sendai well before March's disasters, and this weekend's race will be the first major event held in the city since then.  In memory of the victims of the disasters the corporate league expanded the field this year to a...

http://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/news/tochigi/region/news/20081218/87474 translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 18 Kurobane Elementary School in Kurobanetamachi, Tochigi Prefecture, held its annual 42.195 km marathon ekiden. A team of 30 6th grade students and their teacher each ran from 13 to 14 100 m segments of a 200 m loop course on the school's grounds, passing a baton in a quest to beat British runner Paula Radcliffe's women's world record time of 2:15:25. This year the 6th graders wore t-shirts printed with the runners' names. Continually accompanied by enthusiastic shouts of encouragement from their classmates, the ekiden team finished in a time of 2:09:22, reaching their goal of a 'new world record.' Teacher Masami Murakami, 47, smiled, "Everybody did much better than expected." Anchor Shogo Kikuchi, 11, commented, "I'm glad we could all run til the end."

http://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/news/tochigi/region/news/20081208/84215 translated by Brett Larner Students from Mishima Junior High School in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, took part in an ekiden in Nishinasu Exercise Park over the weekend, attempting to break the full marathon world record of 2:03:59 held by Ethiopia's Haile Gebreselassie. The ekiden began last year as part of the school's 60th anniversary festival, making this year the event's second running. The student body was divided by class year into 21 teams made up of 38 students apiece. Each student ran between 1 and 2 km, with the total distance covered by each team adding up to the full marathon distance of 42.195 km. Each team targeted Gebrselassie's mark. The winning team, 3rd-year Class 7, fell short of the world record, clocking a time of 2:38:30 but giving everything they had, cheering for classmates with all their hearts. After finishing his stage in 1st place, 2nd-year student Maito Sugo, 14, tol...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20081104083.html translated and edited by Brett Larner At the halfway point of the 2008 Kyushu Isshu Ekiden , a 10-day race around the 1056.2 km periphery of Japan's southernmost major island, defending champion Fukuoka Prefecture maintained its lead over rival Miyazaki Prefecture, winning the 7-stage, 118.3 km fifth day in a time of 6:00:31 after catching Nagasaki Prefecture on the day's sixth stage. Fukuoka's accumulated time for the first 5 days of the race is 25:16:37, leading Miyazaki by 4 minutes 51 seconds. The Kyushu Isshu Ekiden finishes Nov. 9 in Fukuoka.

by Brett Larner The team from Tokyo's western suburb of Hachioji showed the value of solid teamwork, winning the 61st Tokyo Tomin Ekiden on Mar. 23 in Tokyo's Komazawa Park without the benefit of an ace runner. Professional, university and talented amateur runners alike competed as 24 teams representing Tokyo's wards and suburbs faced off in the annual metropolitan championship. Each of the six runners on a team covered two laps of a rolling 2.6 km course beginning and ending in Komazawa Stadium. Several days of rain ended just in time for the race to take place under warm, sunny skies free of the cedar pollen which blankets Tokyo each spring. 1st Stage Leading the pack from the start was Shibuya's Yuhei Tomioka, a former Josai University runner who ran the 9th stage of the 2004 Hakone Ekiden. After the first lap the lead pack had whittled down to three, with Tomioka trailed by fellow Hakone alumnus Keishi Nomura of Fuchu and Hachioji's Sadakazu Saito. Tomioka ...

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http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/spomain/sp_08012251.htm?from=top translated by Brett Larner In Kagoshima live two runners with a big dream. The identical twin Ichida brothers Takashi and Hiroshi are 3rd year students at Yoshino Junior High School where they are members of the school's track team. In the 3000 m at last year's All-Japan Junior High School Championships the brothers finished 1-2; they are already dreaming about when they move up to the world level. "We want to run the Olympic Marathon together." The brothers were selected for the Kagoshima prefectural team for this past Sunday's 13th All-Japan Men's Interprefectural Ekiden in Hiroshima. Takashi ran the 2nd leg where he passed 14 runners and took the 2nd fastest time on the stage. Before running the 6th stage, Hiroshi said, "I'm going to get revenge for Takashi [not getting the stage best time]." He followed through on his promise, setting the stage best mark. Quite impressive con...

by Brett Larner The Harriers team overcame an accident-ridden 1st stage to score its first-ever win in the Shibuya Ekiden on Jan. 20. Threatened snowy weather did not materialize, making for ideal conditions on the 12 km, 4 stage course. 1st stage Harriers runner Eiji Kobayashi ran the first 10 m of the race without realizing that his tasuki had come off while taking off his warmup uniform. Kobayashi doubled back to the warmup area to retrieve the tasuki before starting again, losing over 1 minute. Harriers' 2nd, 3rd and 4th stage runners clocked stage best time performances to help the team move up through the field, with anchor Jason Lawrence of New Zealand taking the lead immediately after beginning his run. Harriers won in a total time of 37:43 including loss time from the 1st stage accident. 2-time defending champion Namban Rengo was 2nd, with the Tokyo Fire Department AC 3rd. UPDATE: On the strength of its win at the Shibuya Ekiden, Harriers was selected by Shibuya government...

by Brett Larner In miserable conditions of rain and snow with temperatures of 3 degrees, Nagano overcame rivals Hyogo and a strong performance by Aichi on Jan. 20 to take back the title it lost at last year's All-Japan Men's Interprefectural Ekiden . The Interprefectural Ekiden features a 7-stage, 48 km course starting and ending at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Like last week's women's edition of the event, teams in the Interprefectural Ekiden include star professional, university, high school and junior high school runners from each of Japan's 47 prefectures. It is an unusual sight to see young runners barely into their teens handing off to Olympian teammates, but this is one of the Interprefectural Ekiden's unique points. The last four years have been duels between Nagano and Hyogo, with Nagano coming out on top for three years straight before Hyogo's victory last year on the strength of its anchor Satoru Kitamura's dominating performance. This...

http://www.ayomi.co.jp/sports/detail.php?eid=00442&sports-kind=00 translated by Brett Larner On January 6th, the 14th All-Japan Unicycle Ekiden was held along the Arakawa River in Tokyo's Adachi Ward. On a windy day, 700 people took part in the event and showed off fine performances. Each team consisted of 6 athletes handing over a tasuki in traditional ekiden style over the 42.195 km full marathon course. In addition to elementary school, junior high school and independent categories there was a 5 km mini-marathon for individual cyclists. In the elementary school division 'The Green Angels' unicycle club of Jonai in Shizuoka Prefecture set a new course record of 2:13:29. Natsumi Kanazawa and Rie Yamazaki of the Adachi Ward Unicycle Association select team 'Pretty Girls' were chosen to represent all 700 members of the field in promising to compete with fair play and to abide by race regulations. For results and additional information please consult the Adachi Wa...

I was very touched by the video of Juntendo's Hiroyuki Ono on the Hakone 5-区. Today I came across another video of a news segment which includes home video of Ono going down, an interview with him, and highlights of Hakone. The first section is on the three stage records set this year by Mekubo Mogusu, Yuki Sato and Jun Shinoto (2008 Hakone Ekiden MVP). The second is on the three schools which DNF'd, showing Tokai's Takehiro Arakawa, Daito Bunka's Naoki Sumida, and Juntendo's Ono. I'll try to put up a translation of the audio track shortly. The text printed across the bottom of the still below is Ono saying, "I want to apologize to everybody." Someone put up a video of Juntendo University's Day One anchor Hiroyuki Ono collapsing 460 m from the finish, eliminating the defending champions from the Hakone Ekiden. Two other schools, Tokai University and Daito Bunka University, also did not finish, the first time in Hakone's 84 year history that t...

by Brett Larner The 3rd stage of the 2008 New Year Ekiden featured an incredible array of Japan-based African stars including half marathon world record holder Samuel Wanjiru, Osaka World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Martin Mathathi, 2007 World XC Championships 4th place finisher Ngatuny Gideon, and all-time top 10 fastest marathoner Daniel Njenga. The top 10 finishers on the 3rd stage, 11.8 km with about 15m downhill and strong headwind: 1. Ngatuny Gideon: 30:59 2. Josephat Muchiri Dabili: 31:15 3. Martin Mathathi: 31:16 4. Samuel Wanjiru: 31:17 5. John Kariuki: 31:22 6. Tesfaye Asefa: 31:26 7. Sammy Alex: 31:27 8. Cyrus Jui: 31:41 9. Charles Kamathi: 32:04 10. Daniel Njenga: 32:08 10. Davis Kabiru: 32:08 (c) 2008 Brett Larner all rights reserved

I've had a busy last couple of days, including a 24 km tempo run this evening in an unexpected 1:22:01, so I haven`t had much time to finish the detailed Day Two Hakone report. It's done now except for a few missing names and splits which I will add soon. Check here for the report. The detailed version of the Day One report is still here . Digest versions of both days are also on the main page. Some post-Hakone news will be up tomorrow.

by Brett Larner videos by Mika Tokairin Komazawa University fulfilled predictions to win the 2008 Hakone Ekiden. Komazawa reeled in Day One winner Waseda University over the course of Day Two, taking the lead on the 9th stage and running on to its 1st win in three years. Waseda was content with its 2nd-place finish, something of a return to form for the old-time powerhouse after a weak decade. Tiny Chuo Gakuin University had its best performance ever, coming 3rd on the strength of an unexpected stage record performance by captain Jun Shinoto, and the East Japan Select Team, made up of top runners from schools which failed to qualify for Hakone, surprised all by coming 4th. Japan`s top university runner Yuki Sato of pre-race favorite Tokai University set a new stage record, but Tokai was eliminated from competition when its anchor collapsed with 2.5 km to go. Daito Bunka University was also eliminated on the 9th stage. Day Two was filled with even more unexpected upsets than Day One. To...

by Brett Larner Day Two of the 2008 Hakone Ekiden dawned with weather as perfect as on Day One, cool, sunny and windless. The big news of the morning was that defending champion Juntendo University, who had been eliminated 460 m from the finish the previous day when their runner Hiroyuki Ono collapsed, would be allowed to run in a ceremonial capacity, out of competition. 6th Stage: 20.8 km On Day Two, runners start one by one with a time handicap and order determined by their team’s finish on Day One. For example, Komazawa finished 1:14 behind leader Waseda on Day One, so its 6th stage runner Hikaru Fujii started Day Two 1:14 after Waseda’s runner Sota Kato began. Any teams which finished more than 10 minutes behind Waseda on Day One started together with an appropriate modification added to their later stage times. Fireworks announced each runner`s departure from the starting line to the tens of thousands of fans lining the course. Waseda`s Kato went out hard, 1 second behind stage re...

by Brett Larner As usual, the most exciting distance running of the year in Japan took place today with Day One of the 84th annual Hakone Ekiden delivering a wide range of inspiring performances and surprise upsets. Twenty teams made up of the best university runners in Japan raced over the five stage, 108 km championship course. Waseda University won Day One for the first time in twelve years thanks to a stage best time on the 3rd leg by the seriously injured Kensuke Takezawa and a titanic run on the uphill 5th stage by Ryuta Komano, who shocked commentators and spectators alike by coming within seconds of the great Masato Imai`s ‘untouchable’ stage record. Mekubo Mogusu of Yamanashi Gakuin University finally scored the stage record on the ace 2nd leg in his 3rd attempt, while Masato Kihara of Chuo Gakuin University finished as top Japanese on the 2nd stage to confirm that he is the brightest star in the next generation of Japanese distance runners. The biggest shock in many years of ...

by Brett Larner 1st Stage: 21.4 km The 1st stage began with a slow pace of 3:06 per km. 5 km passed in 15:21, 10 km in 31:06 and 15 km in 46:16 with all twenty runners still together. As the 16th km escalated to 2:53, rookie *** of defending champions Juntendo University was the first to drop off with leg pains which almost caused him to stop around 17.5 km. Toyo University`s Tomoya Onishi launched the first attack at 16.5 km, dropping four teams besides Juntendo. Over the next 4 km attacks by East Japan Select Team member *** of *** University, Naoki Sato of Josai University and *** of Komazawa University whittled the pack down to 10. Onishi made his final move with 700 m to go, but Sato was able to respond, taking 1st with 200 m left. (Koma) and *** of Waseda University took the exhausted Onishi just before the handoff zone. 1. Josai: 1:04:37 (Naoki Sato, 2nd yr.) 2. Komazawa: 1:04:40 (***) 3. Waseda: 1:04:41 (***) 4. Toyo: 1:04:41 (Tomoya Onishi, 3rd yr.) 5. Chuo: 1:04:42 (***) 2nd ...

by Brett Larner What are the world`s great races? Great in the sense of history, atmosphere and something intangible which can`t be bought by PR-savvy race directors with bottomless checkbooks. Races like Comrades and Boston come to mind first. Comparatively unknown outside Japan but standing alongside these races is the Hakone Ekiden . The Hakone Ekiden is the East Japan university men`s championship, a 10-stage, 217.9 km relay race from central Tokyo to the mountain resort town of Hakone and back, held every year on Jan. 2 and 3. The ekiden began in 1920 and has continued uninterrupted apart from a hiatus during World War II. In post-war years Hakone was quickly reinitiated despite the shortage of young men to run; during those years university athletes from other sports were enlisted to run in order to help the tradition continue. The Hakone Ekiden has grown over the decades into a central position within the Japanese distance running world. In the last 20 years it has expanded beyo...

I am generally staying away from writing about my own running in Japan. That said, this morning I did my annual run up the Hakone Ekiden 5th stage, a 23.4 km course starting at sea level, peaking at 874 m after 19 km, then dropping 100 m or so to finish next to a lake in the mountains. It was an inspirational run and doubly exciting as preparations were underaway all along the course for the 84th Hakone Ekiden Jan. 2-3. For those unfamiliar with the Hakone Ekiden, it is nominally the East Japan University Men`s championship race, featuring 19 schools and one all-star team running a 10-stage, 217.9 km course from Tokyo into the mountains and back over the course of 2 days. I say nominally in that Hakone has become the center of much of the Japanese running world, with the top Hakone schools attracting the best runners from throughout Japan, many of whom make this ekiden the focus of their lives and thus do not continue on as professionals after graduation. The level of public enthusias...