japan running news

http://www.oita-press.co.jp/localNews/2012_132608542166.html http://www.373news.com/modules/pickup/index.php?storyid=37548 http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/kiji/20120110/05.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner Japan's southernmost main island Kyushu was the site of most of the long weekend's road action. The 49th South Japan Long Distance Meet took place Jan. 8 in Kagoshima on a road loop course inside Kagoshima Sports Park.  A track 10000 m until last year, the open men's 10 km division saw   Takashi Ichida  (Daito Bunka Univ., formerly of 2010 national champion Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S.) take the win in 29:35.  His identical twin brother Hiroshi Ichida  (also Daito Bunka Univ. / Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S.) was close behind in 2nd in 29:38 with Chihiro Suzuhigashi  (Kokubu SDF Base) also cracking 30 minutes as he took 3rd in 29:59.   Click here for top results . A record 951 people competed in the Oita City Half Marathon on Jan. 9 on a cour...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/event/sports/news/20120109-OHT1T00005.htm http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/120108/spg1201081654000-n1.htm http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2012/01/08/0004729613.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner In his first race of the year, Olympic marathon hopeful Yuki Kawauchi  (24, Saitama Pref.) finished 2nd in 1:06:19 at the 13th Mari Tanigawa Half Marathon behind winner Kazuyoshi Tokumoto  (32, Team Nissin Shokuhin) who ran 1:05:36.  Kawauchi declared the performance a good shakeout in the buildup to his bid for the London Olympic team at the Feb. 26 Tokyo Marathon. Two years ago Kawauchi won the Mari Tanigawa Half Marathon in 1:06:49, and last year he was 3rd in 1:06:40.  This time, running into a strong headwind in the second half of the race Kawauchi slowed, but he still held on to make the podium in his best time on this course.  "Now I've got all three kinds of medals from this race," he laughed.  "My dream is t...

http://www.toonippo.co.jp/news_too/nto2012/20120106135906.asp?fsn=eb33f76037153e93cde084f7e7644d6f The Tamura brothers at Noheji Pre-School on Jan. 5. Click photo to enlarge. translated by Brett Larner Having run in the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden, the Tamura brothers Yusuke  (4th yr., Josai University) and Hirotaka  (2nd yr., Nihon University), both natives of Noheji, Aomori and graduates of Aomori Yamada H.S., visited Noheji Pre-School, which they both attended, on Jan. 5 to thank the school's children and their teachers for their support and encouragement. In the Hakone Ekiden, Yusuke, the captain of Josai University's ekiden team, ran the uphill Fifth Stage for the third straight year, finishing 7th on time.  Running the First Stage for the Kanto Region Select Team, Hirotaka performed well, finishing 9th.  The brothers returned to their parents' home in Noheji on Jan. 4.  Visiting their old pre-school, they brought candy as presents for the children. ...

http://www.sanspo.com/smp/sports/news/120107/spg1201071334001-s.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner A national star during his Juntendo University days for his uphill heroics on the Hakone Ekiden's Fifth Stage, Masato Imai  (27, Toyota Kyushu) will run the Mar. 4 Biwako Mainichi Marathon, the final selection race for the London Olympics, according to an announcement on Jan. 7.  In a fierce duel against Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref.) at December's Fukuoka International Marathon Imai finished 4th overall, the second Japanese finisher in a PB of 2:10:32.  Imai made the decision to try again for an Olympic spot at Biwako on Jan. 6. Update: In an interview published Jan. 8 in the Nagasaki Newspaper , Hakone Ekiden Second Stage winner Takehiro Deki  (3rd yr., Aoyama Gakuin University) confirmed that he will also run the Biwako Mainichi Marathon.  Deki holds a PB of 58:51 for 20 km, equivalent to a 1:02:05 half marathon, and ran 1:07:26 for the 23.2 k...

by Brett Larner This week's 88th Hakone Ekiden , the Kanto region university men's ekiden championship, was a watershed event, with winner Toyo University taking over eight minutes off the record for the ten stage, 217.9 km event to become the first school to break an average 3:00/km pace for the entire race.  How do Toyo and the other top-placing schools at this year's Hakone Ekiden compare to the best in the world's other leading university men's distance program, the United States' NCAA Division I? In the NCAA students usually focus on distances up to 5000 m through the winter indoor track season, up to 10000 m in the spring outdoor track season, and then up to 10 km cross-country in the fall.  With no indoor track season in Japan, after the New Year in Kanto students usually focus on training for a March half-marathon or the 10 km and 12 km selection races for Japan's World Cross-Country teams, then anything from 1500 m up to a half-marathon through...

The starting lineups for the top five-placing teams at the university men's 2012 Hakone Ekiden and 2011 NCAA Division I Cross-Country Championships listed by 5000 m PB. American's men's data is based upon what was available through their schools' websites and elsewhere. In three cases where 5000 m PBs were not available times were calculated from other best marks using IAAF scoring tables. Please feel free to contact me with any corrections.  It's worth noting that although  redshirting , delaying competing with a university team to allow for increased growth and training time, is common in the NCAA, it is not practiced in Japan and none of the top five Hakone teams includes a single runner over age 22.  Neither do any of the top five teams in Hakone include any foreign runners in their lineups.

http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/athletics/Tanuis+training+shifts+from+Japan+to+Kericho+home++/-/1100/1299466/-/xltgkiz/-/index.html Thanks to Alberto Stretti for sending me this article on Kyudenko-sponsored World XC Championships silver medalist Paul Tanui .

by Brett Larner all photos by Ekiden Mania click here for 2012 Hakone Ekiden Day One report and results click here for 2012 Hakone Ekiden Day Two report and results click here for a comparison over 5000 m of the top five teams at the 2012 Hakone Ekiden and the 2011 NCAA Division I XC Championships Average 5000 m, 10000 m and half-marathon PBs of the ten starters from each of the 1st through 5th-place teams overall: As with last year , average half-marathon PB had the strongest correlation with success in the Hakone Ekiden , where the average stage length is 21.79 km.  The injury-ridden Waseda University team seriously underperformed, while the Aoyama Gakuin University team had an outstanding day, beating a number of better-credentialed teams to take 5th. Overall Course Record - 217.9 km, 10 stages, average length 21.79 km Toyo University - 10:51.36 - 8:15 under old CR set by Waseda Univ. in 2011 average pace: 2:59.4/km equivalent ten-man average half-marathon: 1:03:0...