japan running news

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/139184 translated and edited by Brett Larner Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), a two-time World Championships track runner and former training partner of Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya), will run his debut marathon at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon . Mitsuya acted as pacemaker for the first half of last Sunday's Fukuoka International Marathon as part of the serious marathon training he began in November. "I could run a half [marathon] a dozen times, but this gave me a better feeling for it," he said after Fukuoka. After eventual winner Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) started pressing the pace Mitsuya held on to precisely 3 min / km pace to bring the second pack through halfway. The experience gave him a taste of what to expect in Beppu-Oita. "Seeing this today really ups my motivation," he nodded. The expectations are high for this track star as he turns to the 42.195 km distance. Transla...

http://www.honolulumarathon.org/?s=raceweeknews#st_6

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/joshi-ekiden/2009/news/f-sp-tp0-20091209-574251.html translated by Brett Larner The 2009 National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships take place this Sunday, Dec. 13 in Gifu. The top 27 teams from across the country will face off over the 6-stage, 42.195 km course. Last year Team Toyota Jidoshoki took its first-ever national title with a surprise win. This year the team returns a step ahead of the pack as the clear favorite. Its pair of 21 year old aces Hitomi Niiya and Akane Wakita led Toyota Jidoshoki to victory with stage best titles at the East Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden and will again be a major factor in its 2009 Nationals run. East Japan runner-up Team Hokuren also looks strong, with World Championships marathoner Yukiko Akaba and national jitsugyodan 5000 and 10000 m double champion Philes Ongori leading the way. Last year's national runner-up Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo 's chances largely depend on whether the...

by Brett Larner The Honolulu Marathon is one of the biggest draws for the average Japanese runner. Prior to the Tokyo Marathon it was the race for those who wanted to say they had done a marathon in their life. It's still a major attraction, and in recent years Japanese runners have consistently been on the podium in at least the women's race thanks in large part to the Second Wind AC team. Second Wind runners are back again in force, with defending champion Kiyoko Shimahara, 2007 runner-up Akemi Ozaki, and former club member and 2008 runner-up Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) on the line. Second Wind runner Yuko Manabe, a 1:09:36 half marathoner, is also acting as pacemaker in the women's race. Shimahara and Ozaki went 1-2 in the heat of August's Hokkaido Marathon, Shimahara setting a course record in a PB of 2:25:10 and Ozaki likewise recording a new PB of 2:27:33. Ozaki went on to win the Athens Classic Marathon in November in a controlled effort, while a week l...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20091207-573431.html translated by Brett Larner At Sunday's Fukuoka International Marathon no Japanese men finished within the top eight. General Division entrant Tadashi Shitamori (31, Team Yasukawa Denki) was the best-placing Japanese finisher, 9th overall in 2:14:42, while lone Japanese invited runner Tomoyuki Sato (28, Team Asahi Kasei) suffered muscle cramps in both legs and dropped to 31st. Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede (22, Ethiopia) brought the first-ever 2:05 on Japanese soil, winning his second straight Fukuoka title in 2:05:18. The difference in strength between the overseas and Japanese runners was plain to see and has never been greater. At 7 km when the leaders dropped the pace down below 3 min / km all the Japanese runners in the pack immediately fell out. In the end it was the first time in Fukuoka's 63 year history that there was not a single Japanese finisher in the top eight. Rikuren Long Dist...

http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/Blog/EntryDisplay.aspx?EntryID=110 An excellent, personal recollection of decades' worth of the Fukuoka International Marathon by the Lydiard Foundation's Nobby Hashizume. One note: the final section on Yoshihisa Hosaka is incorrect. This was not his first time running Fukuoka as he set the 59 year-old world record of 2:34:23 (!) at last year's race. His halfway split this year of 1:15:48 also equates to 2:31 pace (!!) rather than 2:34 as stated in this article.

Ladies and gentlemen, the musical stylings of Mr. Haile Gebrselassie. Filmed in Berlin by Yusuke Inoue shortly after Gebrselassie's win in the 2009 Berlin Marathon.

by Brett Larner Lost in the shuffle following Tsegaye Kebede's record-breaking run at today's Fukuoka International Marathon, the world's most competitive 10-miler took place across Kyushu at the 2009 Kumamoto Kosa 10 Mile Road Race . A total of 90 men broke 50 minutes at the race, a tune-up for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden national corporate championships. In the "International Division," made up of Japan-based foreigners who run for Japanese corporate teams and are given an inscrutable one-minute headstart, 2007 World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Martin Mathathi (Team Suzuki) won in 44:52, just one second off his course and world junior record of 44:51. In the Japanese Division, former Juntendo University Hakone Ekiden "God of the Mountain" 5th Stage record breaker Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) scored the first big result of his pro career with a 46:40 win by one second over university-era Hakone 5th stage rival Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin S...