japan running news

by Brett Larner Always a staple on the Japanese spring track calendar, this year's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational saw several strong performances from Japanese men. With early pacing by former Nihon University ace Simon Ndirangu (Kenya), the historic men's Kim McDonald 10000 m saw the first-ever sub-27 minute clocking by a white runner. American Chris Solinsky (Nike) unexpectedly beat star Galen Rupp (Nike) to set a new American national record of 26:59.60. Unknown Daniel Salel (Kenya) finished runner-up in a sizzling 27:07.85 PB and 3rd place finisher Samuel Chelanga (Kenya/Liberty Univ.) set a new American university record of 27:08.39. Rupp was 4th overall but also broke the former national record, while 5th place finisher Simon Bairu (Canada/Nike) set a new Canadian national record of 27:23.63. The top eight men all clocked PBs, leaving 9th place finisher Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) to be the top-placing man not to run a PB. As expected in his first 10000 m...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20100501-624624.html translated by Brett Larner 2100 runners took part in the 46th Rotorua Marathon on May 1 in New Zealand. The sister race to Japan's Kawaguchiko Marathon, Rotorua invited top-ranking Kawaguchiko finisher Tsutomu Saeki (34, Hiratsuka City Hall) to this year's race. Saeki was in the lead at 38 km, but in the last km he fell behind and ended up 2nd in 2:27:09, 15 seconds behind winner Dale Warrander (36, New Zealand). "I'm not getting any younger and lately I've been feeling that it might be over, but this race showed me I can still do it," a pleased Saeki commented after the race. "It was a rejeuvenating race." Johanna Ottosson (32, New Zealand) won the women's race in 2:50:19. Exchange student Kentaro Yamada (23, Tokyo Univ.) was 12th in the men's race in 2:51:56. Translator's note: Thanks to JRN reader Jason Lawrence for assistance with the Kiwi athletes' names.

by Brett Larner The Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at California's Stanford University has always been a big meet for top Japanese runners. It was the site of both the current men's and women's national records, and although in the last two years Japan's focus has shifted more to Berkeley's Brutus Hamilton Invitational a solid group of athletes will again line up at this year's Cardinal Invitational on May 1. Leading the way is #1-ranked Japanese man Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B). He's the one who ran 13:19.00 and 27:45.59 as a 20 year old. Injured for a year after that, he spent most of last year working his way back up and hopes to knock down both his 5000 m and 10000 m PBs this season. A 13:33.61 opener at the Kanaguri Memorial Meet two weeks ago was promising, but at last week's Brutus Hamilton Invitational 5000 m Takezawa ran only 13:47.30. That's exactly the pace he would need to run to have a shot at Toshinari Takaoka 's national ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20100430-624039.html translated by Brett Larner At the 44th Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet at Hiroshima's Big Arch Stadium on Apr. 29, sprinter Chisato Fukushima (21, Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC) broke her own national record by 0.03 seconds, running 11.21 for her third-straight record. With a strong spring ahead of her, Fukushima's sights are set on breaking the record again and becoming the first Japanese woman to break 11. "Today was only about 70 or 80%," she said after the race. "I'm getting closer to a 10 one step at a time." It was a convincing victory. After finishing 1st in her heat Fukushima immediately opened a 5 m lead on rival Momoko Takahashi (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) in the final and held that margin all the way to the end. When the electric display showed her time the 12000 people in attendance erupted into cheers and applause. "I was surprised too," Fukushima laughed. "That wa...

by Brett Larner In high winds, Kenyan Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) took his first win in his new team colors as he ran 13:48.17 in the men's 5000 m at the 44th Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet on Apr. 29. Last month Karoki graduated from Sera High School to take a place with the elite Team S&B. Interestingly, the runner-up in the Oda Memorial 5000 m was his succesor at Sera, Kenyan Charles Durango , who clocked 13:58.15. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) finished 3rd in 14:04.70 over Kenyan Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda). The women's 5000 m was a closer-pitched battle, turning into a three-way sprint finish. Ethiopian Betelhem Moges (Team Denso) came out on top in 15:38.70, with Kenyans Felista Wanjugu (Team Universal Entertainment) and Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) just a step behind. Just behind, Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) outleaned Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) for 4th. 2010 Oda Memorial Track & Field Meet - Top Finishers click event ...

Part two of JRN's exclusive interview with Hokkaido Marathon course record holder, 2008 Honolulu Marathon winner and 2010 Asian Games Japanese national team member Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) is now available in our JRNPremium subscription series. Shimahara talked to JRN shortly before her recent run at the Nagano Marathon about her training, life in Albuquerque, the flaws in the Japanese corporate team system and the Japanese national team selection process. It's a great read and one available only to subscribers. To subscribe, click here . Subscribers click here to log in. Upcoming issues: May: Japan's first Kenyan high school runner Stephen Mayaka , now a Japanese citizen and head coach of Sozo Gakuen University's ekiden team, in a solid gold one-on-one. June: One half of the partnership responsible for discovering and bringing Kenyans including Samuel Wanjiru to Japan, Tsutomu Akiyama looks back on what his work has accomplished. July: At the peak of the...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=56570.html

http://osaka.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/other-games/20100426-OYO8T00354.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Two-time Olympian and double World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa (33, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) gave birth to her first child, a girl, Apr. 25 in her hometown of Matsuyama. Tosa issued a statement which said, "The delivery was way worse than a marathon, but in the end my daughter was born healthy so I'm very happy." Tosa retired from professional following last year's Tokyo Marathon. Her husband, Matsuyama Univ. track and field team coach Keiichi Marui (36) commented, "Even as a 'mama-san runner' it was our dream as a couple for Reiko to run the marathon. Now that it has come to that, we'll look at the possibilities for her to keep running."