japan running news

by Brett Larner 1964 Tokyo Olympic 800 and 1500 m gold medalist Peter Snell of New Zealand delivered a lecture at Tokyo Kaiyo University on Mar. 27 as part of a lecture tour of Japan to promote his research into the physiologocial basis of the training system designed by Snell's coach and mentor Arthur Lydiard. Audience members in the full auditorium included marathon great Masako Chiba, Japanese men's 1500 m national record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi, national 800 m champion Masato Yokota, and a variety of coaches and other athletes. After an introduction by the Lydiard Foundation's Nobby Hashizume, Snell gave his lecture, then fielded questions from audience members including Kobayashi and Yokota. His exchange with Yokota turned into an extended debate over the merits of jogging as part of a middle distance runner's training. Snell's tour was scheduled to continue over the weekend in Gunma Prefecture with a workshop featuring panelists such as Olympic marathoner T...

http://dailynews.yahoo.co.jp/fc/sports/takahashi_naoko/?1206421181 http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080325-00000004-sanspo-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner 2 weeks after finishing 27th in the Nagoya International Women's Marathon and missing her chance for the Beijing Olympics, Sydney Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi (35, Team Phiten) has found a new dream: she intends to run and win all three of the major elite women's marathons in Japan during next winter's season. Speaking at a press conference on Mar. 24, Takahashi announced that she plans to race the Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Nov. 16 this year, the Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 25 next year, and the Nagoya International Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, also next year. She told reporters that she will be running to win each of the races. It may seem reckless for one person to try to run three marathons within four months, but Japan Rikuren has gi...

by Brett Larner The team from Tokyo's western suburb of Hachioji showed the value of solid teamwork, winning the 61st Tokyo Tomin Ekiden on Mar. 23 in Tokyo's Komazawa Park without the benefit of an ace runner. Professional, university and talented amateur runners alike competed as 24 teams representing Tokyo's wards and suburbs faced off in the annual metropolitan championship. Each of the six runners on a team covered two laps of a rolling 2.6 km course beginning and ending in Komazawa Stadium. Several days of rain ended just in time for the race to take place under warm, sunny skies free of the cedar pollen which blankets Tokyo each spring. 1st Stage Leading the pack from the start was Shibuya's Yuhei Tomioka, a former Josai University runner who ran the 9th stage of the 2004 Hakone Ekiden. After the first lap the lead pack had whittled down to three, with Tomioka trailed by fellow Hakone alumnus Keishi Nomura of Fuchu and Hachioji's Sadakazu Saito. Tomioka ...

by Brett Larner Six months ago Yukiko Akaba was just an ace runner on a corporate team, a strong athlete with some a few good results in university but nothing truly noteworthy other than continuing to run after giving birth in August, 2006. When the 2007 fall and winter season came around, the 28 year old Akaba suddenly let loose with a string of impressive performances and major PBs culminating in last weekend's Jitsugyodan Half Marathon , where she ran a 3 minute 12 second PB of 1:08:11 to break Mizuki Noguchi's course record and become the 3rd-fastest Japanese woman of all time in the half marathon behind former national record holder Noguchi and current national record holder Kayoko Fukushi. Her time is also the 2nd-fastest in the world so far this year, and her intention to run the 10000 m in the Beijing Olympics and to debut in the marathon next winter marks her as a runner to watch on the world scene. Akaba was born in 1979 in Tochigi Prefecture. She attended Josai Uni...

http://www.rikuren.or.jp/cgi-bin/column/view.cgi?act=stdview&id=250 translated by Brett Larner Rikuren has announced the squad of 26 Japanese runners to be sent to the 36th World Cross Country Championships scheduled for Mar. 30 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the Senior Men's 12 km event, the team of 8 is led by Makoto Tobimatsu (Team Yasukawa Denki), the top Japanese finisher in both the Chiba International and Fukuoka International Cross Country meets, along with Satoru Kitamura (Nittai University), the 2nd Japanese in Chiba and 3rd Japanese in Fukuoka. Appearing for the 4th time and 3rd consecutive year is Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Toyota Jidosha). The team of 6 for the Senior Women's 8 km race is jointly led by Chiba International Cross Country top Japanese finisher Kazuka Wakatsuki (Team Toto) and Fukuoka International Cross Country top Japanese finisher Aya Manome (Team Shimamura). Joining the team for the 3rd straight year is Aimi Horikoshi (Team Yamada Denki). The Junio...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2008/03/20080315t64004.htm translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics men's marathon team member Atsushi Sato (29, Team Chugoku Denryoku, Waseda University), a native of Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, was honored in a ceremony at Aizu High School on March 14. Sato is the first marathoner from Fukushima Prefecture to make the Olympic team since Kokichi Tsuburaya 44 years ago* and received the warm support of the students and younger runners in his hometown. Principal Shinichiro Komori addressed Sato, "Seeing you make the Olympics has been a tremendous motivation for all our students. You are the pride of our school." Following a tradition, Sato wrote four kanji representing the words which best reflect his essence on a large card to present to the school. He wrote a phrase meaning, "An honest heart capable of feeling sorrow." More than 200 students gave Sato their support. 2nd year class president Takehiro Sato (17), spoke on ...

http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/0317/TKY200803170002.html translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics women's marathon team member Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) ran as a guest runner in the 10 km competition at the Matsue Ladies Half Marathon on March 16. Although Tosa was not racing the event, it was her first appearance in a race of any kind since winning the bronze medal at last summer's Osaka World Championships marathon. Tosa reached the goal in 33:30. Afterwards she smiled, "Wow, my legs are soft and lifeless. I have a long way to go to get in shape for Beijing." In May Tosa will be heading to a training camp in Boulder, Colorado for the first time in 7 years. "Coach Suzuki thought I should go back to the place where I first became fast," she explained. By returning to her roots, Tosa hopes to move on to a medal. Translator's note: As this article mentions, Tosa has not raced since the World Championships last summer. She suffered from...

http://www.shinmai.co.jp/news/20080314/KT080313IWI090028000022.htm translated by Brett Larner The organizing committee of the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Nagano Marathon announced at its general meeting on March 13 that the event will introduce random doping tests of elite athletes at this year's 10th anniversary event on April 20. The Nagano Marathon decided to add the doping controls after receiving a 'silver' rating last December in the IAAF's worldwide ranking of international marathons and other road races. 6 male and 6 female athletes will be randomly selected from among the invited and jitsugyodan competitors to receive the tests. This year's race will feature 8352 entrants from 25 countries. The event includes a marathon clinic the day before the race as well as a 'marathon town' international expo in Minami Nagano Athletic Park on race day. The Nagano Marathon will also be part of Rikuren's 'Green Project' to make races more environme...