japan running news

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/080830/spg0808300501000-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner The elite field for Sunday's Hokkaido Marathon met the press at a conference held Aug. 29 at a Sapporo-area hotel. 2007 Tokyo Marathon victor Hitomi Niiya (20, Team Toyota Jidoshokki) stated that in her race she intends to make a strong bid for the 2009 Berlin World Championships women's marathon team. 2008 Biwako Mainichi Marathon 4th place finisher Yuzo Onishi (30, Team Nissin Shokuhin) and others appeared ready to face the challenge of tomorrow's competition. Hot on the heels of the Beijing Olympics, the Hokkaido Marathon is the first race which Rikuren will give serious consideration when selecting the team for next year's world championships. With two days to go until her second marathon, the 20 year-old Niiya plans to make a deep impression. Overflowing with youthful energy, it is clear that Niiya is made of the right stuff. "I think the race will happen after 30 km,...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/osaka/ser2/200808/30/ser2214571.html translated by Brett Larner Beijing Olympics men's marathon competitors Tsuyoshi Ogata (35) and Atsushi Sato (30), along with table tennis Olympian Haruna Fukuoka (24), appeared at the Hiroshima headquarters of their team sponsor, Chugoku Denryoku on Aug. 29 for their official post-Olympics press conference. Asked to give one reason why they were so utterly defeated in the men's marathon, which was run at an unthinkably fast pace for a summer race, the two runners said they were simply afraid to run so fast right from the start. The race's leaders went through the first 5 km split in under 15 minutes. Ogata offered his view, saying, "I shouldn't have been so suprised and cautious when they went so fast at the beginning. I'll remember this and will be up there in the future." Sato likewise discussed the implications for his future, saying, "Next time I want to run a completely reckless speed...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2008082901128 http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20080830spn00m050007000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner At a press conference at her alma mater Matsuyama University, Beijing Olympics women's marathon competitor Reiko Tosa (32, Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), who dropped out of the Olympic marathon at 25 km with a severe injury to her right foot, announced her intention to retire, saying, "I haven't talked to my company about it yet, but I want to put an end to the marathon. I thought this before the Olympics and haven't changed my mind since then. I'm going to retire." Tosa's DNF in the Beijing Olympics women's marathon was the first in her career. Immediately afterwards she said nothing about the potential for her retirement. At the time of her return to Japan on Aug. 19, Tosa described her condition as, "I'm able to walk, but it'll be a month and a half before I can run. M...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20080828ddn035050042000c.html translated by Brett Larner Fukuoka-based Toyota Jidosha Kyushu has formally accepted the resignation from its professional running team of Beijing Olympics men's marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya. Head coach Koichi Morishita spoke to Wanjiru by telephone to confirm the gold medalist's intention to leave the company and accepted his decision on behalf of Toyota Jidosha Kyushu. His official resignation date is still to be determined. On July 27 Toyota Jidosha Kyushu received a letter from a Tokyo law office stating Wanjiru's plan to quit, but the company would not formally accept the letter until it had the opportunity to confirm the news with Wanjiru himself. In the future Wanjiru plans to be active from home bases in Japan, Kenya and Europe.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200808280063.html

by Brett Larner The 22nd running of the Hokkaido Marathon takes place on Aug. 31 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Historically a hot race, this year's event comes just a week after the Beijing Olympics and features a relatively limited field. In the men's race, last year's champion Julius Gitahi of Team Nissin Shokuhin will return to defend his title. Gitahi, a track Olympian for his native Kenya, won last year's race in his marathon debut, running 2:17:26 in conditions of extreme heat and humidity. He went on to run 2:08:57 and take 3rd in the 2008 Tokyo Marathon. Gitahi's biggest challenger will be his Nissin teammate Yuzo Onishi, who set a personal best of 2:08:54 at the 2008 Biwako Mainichi Marathon. With the nearly identical times run by both athletes this year, the potential is there for a major duel between the two teammates. Other contenders in the field include 2005 Brecia Marathon winner Richard Maiyo (Kenya), 2006 Warsaw Marathon winner Vitaliy Shafar (Ukraine), an...

The fact that Beijing Olympics men's marathon winner Samuel Wanjiru and previous Kenyan marathon medalists Erick Wainaina and Douglas Wakiihuri all trained under Japanese coaches has gotten a fair amount of press recently. Less well-known is the fact that Chinese runners Chunxiu Zhou, who won the bronze medal in the women's marathon in Beijing and the silver medal at last year's Osaka World Championships marathon, and Xiaolin Zhu, who was 4th in both the Beijing Olympics and Osaka World Championships marathons, are also trained by a Japanese coach, Shinya Takeuchi. I posted an interesting profile of Takeuchi on Aug. 14 and in light of the attention being paid to Wanjiru's Japanese development I thought it worthwhile to bring it back up. Click here to read Takeuchi's profile, including some discussion of Zhou and Zhu's training.

http://www.47news.jp/CN/200808/CN2008082601000244.html translated by Brett Larner Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru, whose scintillating performance in the Beijing Olympics men's marathon earned him the gold medal, left Beijing on Aug. 26, returning to Kenya on board the Kenyan national team's chartered plane. Having earned Kenya's first-ever Olympic gold medal in the marathon, Wanjiru returned to Kenya to attend a celebration in his honor at the home of the Kenyan president. Wanjiru attended high school and ran professionally in Japan and had planned a victory press conference in Osaka for Aug. 26, but the press conference was cancelled in light of the president's invitation. And more on the celebrations for Wanjiru in Kenya: http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1143993483&cid=39&j=&m=&d =