japan running news

by Brett Larner 19-year-old Nittai University second-year Hideto Yamanaka  lived up to his superb 2014 Hakone Ekiden First Stage win today in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park, taking nearly five minutes off his half marathon best to win the National University Half Marathon Championships in a course record 1:02:09.  Despite cold temperatures and on-and-off rain, Yamanaka led aggressively from the start before getting away in the final kilometers to win by more than twenty seconds over Waseda University's Daiki Taguchi  and Koki Ido  and Komazawa University's Yoshihiro Nishizawa  and Shota Baba . The momentum of Yamanaka and the others in the front pack pulled the entire field along, all of the top ten going sub-63, nine of them in PB times.  For the first time in history more than 200 men cleared 66 minutes in a single half marathon, a new world record  which confirmed the upward trend in Japanese university men's performances that has only increased s...

by Brett Larner #2-ranked Bazu Worku  (Ethiopia) came through with the win at the 69th running of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon , holding off  Satoru Sasaki  (Team Asahi Kasei) and defending champion Vincent Kipruto  (Kenya) to cross the line in 2:09:10 with Sasaki running down Kipruto in the final 200 m to go sub-2:10 for the first time in 2:09:47. Conditions were very reasonable, with 12 degree temperatures and light wind, but despite this the casualty rate was high and came early.  2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau  (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) was off the back of the pack before the lead group of thirteen hit halfway in 1:03:24.   Yuki Kawauchi  (Saitama Pref. Gov't), in search of a 2:07 and a place in the history books as Japan's first man to run sub-2:10 seven times, was the next big name to falter.  By 25 km it was down to seven, and when the pacers departed at 30 km only Worku, Kipruto and Essa Ismail Rashed ...

by Brett Larner It’s still early in the year, but the Japanese men’s major domestic spring marathon season is already reaching its peak with Sunday’s Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon . Lake Biwa was Japan’s first IAAF gold label marathon and is one of its oldest continuous races, but with last weekend’s Tokyo Marathon having joined the Fukuoka International Marathon in 2:05 course record territory it is due for an improvement on Wilson Kipsang ’s 2:06:13 course record. To get there it has enlisted defending champion and Daegu World Championships silver medalist Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) and former junior world record holder Bazu Worku (Ethiopia), both with 2:05 bests. The pair’s duel, or teamwork, up front should be one of this year’s main story lines. Another is Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) and his quest for a 2:07. Kawauchi is the lone A-list Japanese man in the field this year, at Lake Biwa for the sole purpose of joining Japan’s sub-2:08 club. Since his world record-set...

by Brett Larner Along with the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the National University Half Marathon Championships and other domestic action, this weekend, one overseas features noteworthy elite Japanese athletes. In pursuit of an IAAF bronze label and the goal of becoming one of Asia’s premier spring marathons the New Taipei City Wanjinshi International Marathon has expanded its international field this year to include runners from nine countries, among them independents Sho Matsumoto and Yuri Yoshizumi , both running with support from JRN, and corporate league runner Shoko Shimizu (Team Aichi Denki).  A surprise addition to the field is Hokkaido Marathon course record holder  Kiyoko Shimahara  (Second Wind AC), appearing via race sponsor Mizuno. Three men in the field have bests under 2:09, Gudisa Shentema (Ethiopia), Hassane Ahouchar (Morocco) and Paul Kosgei (Kenya), but with none of them having approached that level in the last three years the favorite is ...

by Brett Larner The Inter-University Athletic Union of Japan has released the entry lists for Sunday's National University Half Marathon Championships in western Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park. With the rapidly increasing level of Japanese university men's distance running the once-minor half marathon championships have taken on increasing importance, three of the last four years seeing winning times under 63 minutes and 2012's race setting world records for depth with 193 men under 66 minutes.  1389 men are entered for this year's race, and with a consistent pattern of large numbers running aggressive paces throughout the season since Tokyo secured the 2020 Olympics this year's race could be the fastest and deepest yet. On Feb. 2 Hiroto Inoue  (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) ran the fastest half marathon ever by a Japanese 21-year-old, 1:01:39, and with that time he heads the entry list.  Inoue is on the Japanese national team for the Mar. 29 World Half Marathon Cha...

http://www.iuau.jp/news/2014/19wuxc_delegate.pdf Following the selection race at last weekend's Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet, the IUAU has announced the Japanese men's and women's team lineups for the Mar. 22 World University Cross Country Championships in Entebbe, Uganda.   Hiroshi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.) is the only returning member of Japan's 2012 World University XC team, where Yuta Shitara  (Toyo Univ.) and Daichi Motomura  (Tokai Univ.) won silver and bronze medals respectively.  Ichida was 24th.  A week before this year's Worlds his identical twin brother Takashi Ichida  (Daito Bunka Univ.) will run the New York City Half Marathon with support from JRN. 19th World University Cross Country Championships Entebbe, Uganda, 3/22/14 Men's 10 km Masaya Kakihara (3rd yr., Kanagawa University) - 28:33.50 Hiroshi Ichida (3rd yr., Daito Bunka University) - 28:53.98 Mitsunori Asaoka (3rd yr., Tokyo Nogyo University) - 29:16.89 Shota ...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/worlds-best-10k-bedan-karoki-mary-wacera Bedan Karoki is based in Tokyo where he runs for the DeNA Running Club corporate team coached by marathon legend Toshihiko Seko .  7th-placer Paul Tanui runs for the Kyushu-based Kyudenko Team alongside 2:08:00 marathoner Kazuhiro Maeda .

http://www.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga_sports.0.2638394.article.html http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/aomori/news/20140223-OYT8T00881.htm http://www.komaspo.com/4630 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/kyoto/news/20140223-OYT8T00902.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner A total of 1700 men and women of all ages ran in the half marathon, 10 km, 3 km and 2 km divisions at the 63rd running of the Kashima Yutoku Half Marathon on Feb. 23.  In the men's open half marathon division, Masaya Taguchi  (Toyo University) took 47 seconds off the course record to win in 1:03:05.  Taguchi was responsible for getting Toyo off to a good start on the First Stage at last month's Hakone Ekiden, playing a big part in the team's win.  Bringing the same intensity to his course record run, he thoroughly dominated the men's half marathon. Olympian and university 5000 m national record holder Kensuke Takezawa  (Team Sumitomo Kaijo) was also in the race.  "He has been an inspir...