japan running news

by Brett Larner Men's 800 m national record holder Masato Yokota (Keio Univ.) won a bronze medal on the second day of competition at the 2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, Iran. After winning his semifinal in 1:52.74 on Feb. 24 Yokota returned the next day with a 1:54.71 to take the bronze behind Mohammed Al Azemi of Kuwait and Musaaba Bala of Qatar. Other medals earned at the Championships included a leap of 7.65 m for the gold by long jumper Rikia Saruyama and a silver for Nobuaki Fujibayashi with a 16.33 m in the men's triple jump. Click here for complete results. Special thanks to JRN reader Sayyed Abolfazl for bringing this story to our attention. (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner What a day. With 6 degree temperatures at the start, strong winds, rain turning to snow as temperatures fell, and a tsunami warning for the waterfront finish area, this year's Tokyo Marathon had the worst conditions in the event's four-year history. That is saying quite a bit after the cold rain in 2007 and the gale-force winds last year. Times were never on the table as runners fought simply to survive. Injury-plagued debut marathon national record holder Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) staged a major comeback, gutting it out over a pack of nine with a surge at 2:52/km over the last 2.195 km to win the men's race in 2:12:19, the first Japanese man to win Tokyo. 2008 Tokyo runner-up Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon), no relation, won out a great sprint finish for 2nd against half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and amateur Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't). Time aside, the day was a big one for Masakazu Fuj...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100228/spg1002281524006-n1.htm http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100228/spg1002281522005-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Former marathon national record holder Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu) ran 1:29:46 to win the Kumanichi 30 km Feb. 28 in Kumamoto, Kyushu. 2nd was Hirokatsu Kurosaki (Team Konica Minolta) in 1:30:10, with Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Komazawa Univ.) 3rd. Fujita led from the start, varying his pace to throw his competitors off and putting in a long spurt at 24 km to dispatch Kurosaki and Ugachi. In the women's race Chiharu Matsuo (Team Kyudenko) took her 2nd straight title, running 1:50:18. Fujita plans to go for a fast time at December's Fukuoka International Marathon with an aim toward making the London Olympics in 2 years. "Today's 30 km was for the marathon," Fujita told reporters, "so I ran it as if I still had to run 12 km more once I finished. Everything checked out well." 2010 Kumanichi 30 km - T...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20100228-OYT1T00591.htm translated by Brett Larner complete results will be added when available 8674 people from 34 prefectures ran the 32nd Inuyama Half Marathon on Feb. 28. In the men's race Yoshinori Sugimoto (26, Team Aichi Seiko) beat out the tough field of university runners to take his first win in 1:04:07. Hiromitsu Kakuage (19, Komazawa Univ.) was the top university runner, 2nd in 1:04:14. In 3rd was two-time defending Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University member Shogo Otsu (21). Yukina Saijo (Team Sekisui Kagaku) took her first win in the women's half marathon, running 1:13:06.

Nihon TV's broadcast of this year's Tokyo Marathon begins at 9:00 a.m. today. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online thanks to Keyhole TV, available here . This year's weather looks likely to be the worst in Tokyo's short 4-year history. Current conditions indicate 6 degrees, winds from the east, and moderate to heavy rain until 12:00 p.m. Today's theme:

by Brett Larner University runners outdid the pros in both senior races at the 2010 Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet on Feb. 27 as Ritsumeikan University fourth-year Kazue Kojima took the women's 6 km and Meiji University second-year Tetsuya Yoroizaka won a great battle against Tokai University first-year Akinobu Murasawa in the men's 10 km. All three athletes sealed their places on the Japanese team for this year's World Cross Country Championships. Kojima was patient during the early surges of the senior women's 6 km, letting others including Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku), Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) and Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) take turns in the lead. Not until Freya Murray (GBR) opened a considerable gap on the final 2 km lap did Kojima really go into action, dropping Niiya and her own teammate Risa Takenaka as she chased down the British runner. Kojima pulled into the lead on the hills before the final corner, but even though Murray rega...

by Brett Larner The Tokyo Marathon may be the biggest race happening in Japan on Feb. 28, but three other elite races also fall the same day. The most major of these is the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race in Kumamoto, Kyushu. The world's most competitive race at this distance, Kumanichi was until the last fall the site of the men's 30 km world record. In the field for this year's race are former marathon national record holder Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu), steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu), 2009 Ome 30 km winner Hirokatsu Kurosaki (Team Konica Minolta), Komazawa University ace Tsuyoshi Ugachi and New Year Ekiden winner Team Nissin Shokuhin member Bene Zama . The elite women's field is limited to three and is led by Chiharu Matsuo (Team Kyudenko). Further north in Aichi, the Inuyama Half Marathon has an interesting matchup between pro and university runners. Three members of 2009 and 2010 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University'...