japan running news

by Brett Larner Leaders 14:54 thru 5k, just under 63 pace. Huge pack with almost no separation. pic.twitter.com/s06yAf9wUR — Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) March 6, 2016 Lake Biwa was the weekend's biggest race , but there was no shortage of other high-level action across the country.  Last year the National University Men's Half Marathon in Tokyo's Show Kinen Park was the deepest half marathon in history , with 265 breaking 1:06:00 and the top 12 all under 1:02:30.  This year with no World University Games and the World University Cross-Country Championships, NYC Half Marathon, World Half Marathon Championships and Rio Olympics all coming up most of Japan's top university men gave it a miss, resulting in a relatively low-key race by recent standards.  The entire field went out just under 3:00/km pace and stayed there, the numbers whittling down to a final seven.   Ryunosuke Hayashi (Tokai Univ.) broke away in the last km for the win in 1:03:07, his teamm...

by Brett Larner What a wild race. With warmer than usual temps forecast and its fastest two foreign runners out the plan was for the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon , the last chance for Japanese men to make the Rio Olympics marathon team, to go out at a reasonable 3:02/km, 2:08:00 pace.  That went straight out the window as amateur runner Shota Kamioka went ahead of the pacers heading off the track onto the road, pulling Kenyan pacer Samuel Kosgei and the rest of the internationals behind him through 1 km in 2:55.  Japanese pacers Yuta Shitara and Akihiko Tsumurai ignored Kamioka, taking the main part of the field out closer to target pace.  Long after he was gone Kamioka had an impact on the race, Kosgei splitting 14:57 for the first 5 km instead of the target 15:10.  Tsumurai and Shitara hit it in 15:03, still faster than planned but more achievable for a group of mostly 2:08 to 2:11 men. Relatively unknown Ethiopian Shura Kitata , just 19 years old, ran on ...

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/sports/AJ201603040039

by Brett Larner Japan's winter road season is winding down, but two of the biggest races are still on for this Sunday.  Last year the National University Men's Half Marathon Championships in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park was like no other race ever seen : 265 men under 1:06:00, 27 under 1:03:00, the top 12 all under 1:02:30.  Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University dominated with the overall win by second-year Tadashi Isshiki and three in the top ten.  AGU will again send in a big squad, thin this year on its upper-level men but with such depth and rapid improvement in its ranks that it won't be a surprise to see AGU runners no one has heard of running under 1:03:00.  Last year's depth was fueled in part by the chance to score places on the Japanese team for the World University Games and without a Universiade this year the numbers may be down somewhat, but it's safe to say that with the possible exception of the Cardiff World Half Marathon Championships...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160303-00000083-spnannex-spo an editorial by Ryosuke Sugimoto translated by Brett Larner It's official, Kayoko Fukushi has backed out of her plans to run the Nagoya Women's Marathon.  As a result there's not much doubt that the Rio de Janeiro Olympic women's marathon team will be made up of Mai Ito for placing 7th in the Beijing World Championships, Fukushi for breaking the JAAF's 2:22:30 Olympic qualifying standard when she won the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:22:17, and the top Japanese finisher in Nagoya. The storm has pretty much passed for women's selection, but what about the men?  Among the entries for the final men's selection race, this weekend's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, is civil servant runner Yuki Kawauchi .  No men qualified for Rio in Beijing, so essentially the top three Japanese finishers in the three domestic selection races will be chosen.  At December's Fukuoka Intern...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160227-00000015-san-l11 translated by Brett Larner Following the major earthquake that struck southern Taiwan on Feb. 6, Kuki H.S. employee and civil servant runner Yuki Kawauchi , 28, will run the Mar. 20 Wanjinshi Marathon in New Taipei City, Taiwan to show his support for recovery and reconstruction efforts.  Saitama Governor Kiyoshi Ueda announced Kawauchi's participation during a session at the prefectural assembly. In an interview with the Sankei Newspaper Kawauchi had spoken strongly of the considerable assistance and support Japan received from Taiwan at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.  "I have not forgotten the kindness Japan received, and I wanted to tell the people of Taiwan that we in Japan support them too.  That's why I have decided to run," he said.  Governor Ueda proudly told the assembly, "He is an outstanding representative of our prefectural government." Governor Ueda annou...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160229-00000191-sph-spo translated by Brett Larner On Mar. 1 the major telecommunications company GMO Internet announced the launch of a new GMO Athletes corporate running team in April.  Resigning from his position at Jobu University, Katsuhiko Hanada , 44, will be the team's first head coach, with two-time Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University head coach Susumu Hara , 48, serving as adviser.  The team's initial lineup includes current Aoyama Gakuin University fourth-years Ryo Hashimoto and Toshinori Watanabe , both of whom made their marathon debuts Sunday at the Tokyo Marathon . Hanada graduated from Waseda University and ran for the S&B corporate team, running at both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.  Becoming head coach at Jobu University in 2004, he developed the brand-new Jobu team into Hakone Ekiden regulars.  The GMO team marks the launch of the Hara Project, a concept aimed at developi...

by Brett Larner Following the rebranding of the Chiba International Cross-Country Meet earlier this month as the trendier-sounding X-Run Chiba, Japan's mini XC season saw most of its action over the weekend.  The other big domestic meet alongside Chiba, the Fukuoka International Cross-Country Meet was likewise rebranded this year as the National Cross-Country Championships .  Yukari Abe (Team Shimamura) was crowned the first senior women's national champion, winning the 8 km race in 27:13 by a second over Tomoka Kimura (Team Univ. Ent.).  With Ethiopian Kassa Mekashaw (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) running up front to keep the pace hot, first-year pro Takashi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) had a surprise win over Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage star Daichi Kamino (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) and, fresh from breaking 1:01 at the Marugame Half, the ascendant Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) to pick up the inaugural senior men's 12 km title in 35:59.  Fukiko Ando (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) and Sot...