japan running news

by Brett Larner With a month to go the organizers of the Osaka International Women's Marathon have announced the elite field for their 34th running on Jan. 25.  Two-time winner Tetiana Gamera (Ukraine) returns to try to become the second woman in event history to win three-straight races, facing challenges from 2012 winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya), 2:23 Kenyan Margaret Agai , veterans Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia) and Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) and more.  The promising Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) leads the younger talent along with the debuting Chieko Kido (Canon AC Kyushu), a member of the bronze medal-winning Japanese women's team at this year's Copenhagen World Half Marathon Championships, in search of a place on the 2015 Beijing World Championships team.  Of special interest are former national team-level corporate league runners Remi Nakazato (unattached) and Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease), both pursuing their own routes outside the system. 34th Osaka In...

by Brett Larner 2014 was a mixed year for Japanese distance running.  Most of the good came from the under-25 generation that will be at its peak at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  More than a dozen high school boys including one 16-year-old broke 14 minutes for 5000 m, and at least four high school girls ran 9:01 or better for 3000 m, one winning Youth Olympics gold while doing it.  A 19-year-old woman ran an under-20 Japanese record 2:27:12 , and a 22-year-old set a collegiate national record of 2:26:46 .  Another 22-year-old went under 9 minutes for 3000 m.  Japanese university men ran times from 3:39.56 for 1500 m to 1:00:50 for the half marathon to an incredible 1:28:52 collegiate national record for 30 km by a runner just turned 20.  A 23-year-old set a 3000 m NR of 7:40.09 , and a 24-year-old ran the fastest 10000 m ever by a Japanese man on Japanese soil , 27:38.99.  Among older runners ten Japanese men broke 2:10 for the marathon a total of ...

translated and edited by Brett Larner source articles linked below click photo for video of a FNN report on this story  Evidence has emerged of a history of sloppy race management by the organizers of the Tokyo Arakawa Marathon scheduled for Dec. 21 but cancelled without warning two days beforehand .  A single representative of race organizers Reimei appeared at the race's staging ground on Dec. 21 to talk to the roughly 70 of 1500 entrants who arrived race morning unaware that the race had been cancelled.  "I thought that the permit applications had been filed, but right beforehand the ward office contacted us and said, 'Nothing has been filed.'"  Entrants who had turned up to run were shocked.  "This is the first I've heard about it being cancelled," said one.  "This is a scam, isn't it?"  Another said, "Usually at a race there would be lots of volunteers and race staff, like 100 people.  This certainly looks like a scam to...

by Brett Larner Cloudless skies, a fresh snow cap and carefully worked out camera angles that included Mt. Fuji as a backdrop in almost every shot made for spectacular viewing at the second running of the Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden , the last elite race of the year on the Japanese calendar.  Formerly held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki and serving as the season-ending National University Women's Invitational Ekiden Championships, the Mt. Fuji race was once again dominated by the unstoppable Ritsumeikan University whose seven runners handled the downhill first half, flat middle and 164 m-climb 7.7 km anchor stage with equal skill, all seven making the top four out of twenty on their stages. Maya Iino (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) took a short-lived lead on the 78 m-downhill First Stage, but Ritsumeikan's Tomoka Iwai was quick to move to the front on the 25 m-descent Second Stage.  3000 mSC collegiate national record holder Chikako Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) provided a brief challenge, but Iwa...

translated and edited by Brett Larner source articles linked at bottom click photo for video of the purported race representative speaking to entrants who arrived on race morning The " Tokyo Arakawa Marathon " scheduled for Dec. 21 along the Arakawa River on Tokyo's northern border was cancelled without warning two days before the race after organizers failed to submit road and park use permits and other necessary preparations with either the local Edogawa Ward or national authorities responsible for the park and riverside course.  Organizers had collected 5 million yen [~$42,500 USD] in entry fees from around 1500 people who paid 2000 to 4000 yen each via the popular Runnet online entry system to run in the event's 5 km, 10 km, half marathon and full marathon divisions. 70 entrants who were unaware of the cancellation began arriving at the event's staging ground in Hirai Park ahead of the scheduled 7:30 opening of race day reception.  A 28-year old man...

by Brett Larner video highlights courtesy of race broadcaster NHK A back-and-forth race between four of the top five ranked schools in the country saw Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. emerge to take its first national title Dec. 21 at the 26th National High School Girls Ekiden Championships in Kyoto, covering the five-stage, 21.0975 km course in 1:07:26. Defending champion Toyokawa H.S. was never a factor, 26th of 47 teams at the end of the 6.0 km First Stage and working its way back up through the field to 6th thanks in large part to a 15:42 stage win for the 5.0 km anchor leg by star Azusa Sumi .  In its absence, #3-ranked Tokiwa H.S. took an early lead with its top runner Harumi Okamoto winning the First Stage in 19:12.  #2-ranked Osaka Kunei moved up on the 4.0975 km Second Stage as its 2014 Youth Olympics 3000 m gold medalist Nozomi Musembi Takamatsu quickly took the lead, but while Takamatsu looked strong a surprise came from Fukiko Ando of #5-ranked 2012 nat...

by Brett Larner video highlights courtesy of race broadcaster NHK Hiroshima's Sera H.S. delivered on the promise of its #1 ranking at the 65th National High School Boys Ekiden Championships, running away on the third of the 42.195 km race's seven stages and never looking back.  Sera got off to a slightly shaky start as its top Japanese runner Shiki Shinsako finished only 6th on the First Stage, 11 seconds behind Fuminori Shimo of #5-ranked Iga Hakuho H.S. who ran 29:39 to win the 10.0 km stage off a slow 15:10 first half.  Sera stayed at 6th on the 3.0 km Second Stage, but Kenyan ringer Paul Kamais did his duty on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, easily taking the lead and running a superb 22:58 just shy of the 22:40 course record set 10 years ago by the late great Samuel Wanjiru of Sendai Ikuei H.S. When Kamais was done Sera had gone from 18 seconds behind to a 51-second lead.  Its remaining runners could have played it safe, but both fourth runner Taiji Nakashi...

by Brett Larner With strong winds and erratic pacing in the early going a shot at the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon 's 2:08:16 course record and his goal of a 2:07 was never in the works, but in his 13th marathon of 2014 Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) scored the win in 2:09:46. Kawauchi followed Kenyan pacer Charles Wanjohi through 5 km splits that varied from 15:07 to 15:34, well off the target pace of 3:02/km, accompanied by Ugandan Philip Kiplimo , Kenyans Willy Kibor and Cyrus Njui (Arata Project) and Japan's Ryotaro Nitta (Team Konica Minolta).  Nitta lost touch just before 25 km and 5 km later Njui did the same.  Following the struggling Wanjohi's departure at 30 km Kawauchi ran with Kiplimo and Kibor before dropping things to 2:55/km at 33 km to open a lead that took him away to the win.  Running 15:16 from 35 to 40 km, he faded slightly in the final 2.195 km to finish in 2:09:46, his second sub-2:10 of the year and just missing the year-best 2:09:36 he ran...