japan running news

The 37th Nihonkai High School Boys Ekiden and 32nd Kurayoshi High School Girls Ekiden , the first major national-level high school races of the season, took place Oct. 8 in Kurayoshi, Tottori on courses starting and finishing at Kurayoshi Municipal Field. In the seven-stage, 42.195 km Nihonkai Ekiden, the 2016 national champion  Kurashiki H.S. boys ran 2:07:09 to return to the winner's circle after a loss last year. Running 3rd after the First Stage, Kurashiki moved up into the lead on the Fifth Stage and held that position the rest of the way. For the third year in a row Tottori Johoku H.S. was the top-fnishing school from within Tottori prefecture. Defending girls' national champions Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. won the five-stage, 21.0975 km Kurayoshi Ekiden for the first time in 1:09:44. The Osaka Kunei girls took over 1st on the Third Stage and ran on to the finish without challenge. For the first time in nineteen years Yazu H.S. was the first Tottori school to...

Japanese men lined up at three major overseas races Sunday. At the Netherlands' Eindhoven Marathon, 2:07:39 marathoner Masato Imai (Toyota Kyushu), coached by 1992 Barcelona Olympics marathon silver medalist Koichi Morishita , was ranked 3rd in the field on PB but ran only 2:17:00 for 10th after fading from the lead pack early in the second half. At Boston's B.A.A. Half the race was hurt by the late withdrawal of aggressive sub-61 half marathoner Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) with illness. In his absence Suguru Osako (NOP) and Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu), the latter a former teammate of Murayama's at Komazawa University , sat in the lead pack throughout the race without exerting pressure despite a very slow pace. Two-time defending champ Daniel Salel (Kenya) made it three in a row, easily outkicking Osako to win in 1:04:31, Osako next across the line in 1:04:42 and Nakamura 4th in 1:04:50. Two other Japanese men were non-factors, Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) 7th in 1:05:57 an...

In just its fifth season, the Kansai Gaikokugo University (Kansai Gaidai) women's ekiden team has qualified for the National University Women's Ekiden Championships for the fourth year in a row. Held in Sendai on Oct. 29, the race will be broadcast live on Nippon TV starting at 12:10 p.m. on the 29th. 26 teams from across the country, including 8 teams seeded from last year, 17 regional qualifiers and a Tohoku Region University Select Team will compete over the 6 stage, 38 km course from Koshin Gomu Athlete Park Sendai to Sendai City Hall Civic Plaza. The Kansai Gaidai women qualified for this year's Nationals by finishing 6th in 1:43:17 at the Sept. 23 Kansai Region University Women's Ekiden. With 3 of the 6 places available to Kansai Region schools taken by top-placing teams from last year who were seeded for this year's Nationals, Kansai Gaidai finished 3rd among the programs that secured the 3 remaining qualifying spots. The Kansai Gaidai women's ekid...

It's almost time for the weekend's biggest race, as university men's ekiden season kicks off at Monday's Izumo Ekiden . 21 university teams face off over 45.1 km split into six stages, the short stage lengths rewarding the teams with the best speed credentials. For the last few years that's been Aoyama Gakuin University , a program that rose from nearly zero to juggernaut status under talented head coach Susumu Hara , but this year AGU's time in the spotlight may be up. Over the six years since taking over as head coach in 2011 Hayashi Morozumi has turned Tokai University into a program that can challenge AGU's depth and quality. With Morozumi having spent track season focusing his team on 1500 m speed Tokai now has fifteen men with 5000 m bests under 14 minutes, and ten of them make up Tokai's roster for Izumo. Led by second-year Hayato Seki with bests of 13:35.81 and 28:23.37, all of Tokai's best six made the cut, giving it six-man average...

by Mika Tokairin, JRN associate editor On March 11, 2011, an unprecedented disaster impacted East Japan. What caused bigger damage than the magnitude 9.0 earthquake was the tsunami that hit the east coast of the Tohoku region. Shocking video that showed monstrous, leaden waves swallowing people, houses and cars was seen world-wide. After six and a half years, how has the affected area changed? 2011年3月11日、未曾有の大震災が東日本を襲った。マグニチュード9.0という揺れ以上に甚大な被害をもたらしたのは、東北地方の太平洋沿岸を襲った津波であった。鉛色の怪物のような波が人間を、家を、車を呑み込んでいくショッキングな映像はインターネットを通じて世界へと配信された。あれから6年半。被災地はどう変わったのか。 Just after 32 km the course rounds Hiyoriyama and the remnants of its shrine. The tsunami reached a height of 2 m up the tree on top of the hill, sweeping away the old shrine. The Tohoku Miyagi Fukko [Revival] Marathon held on October 1 was established with the concept of letting people see the region's current state and the process of its recovery from the devastation of the tsunami. Imagine the challenges in establishi...

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1056069/tokyo-2020-sign-agreement-with-japan-anti-doping-agency-for-drug-testing-at-olympic-and-paralympics Note: The article overlooks marathoner Kaori Yoshida 's suspension for EPO after finishing 4th at the 2012 Honolulu Marathon . More on the JSA report on insufficient JADA testing staff can be found here .

https://www.iaaf.org/news/report/cardiff-half-marathon-2017-chelimo Three Japanese men ran the Cardiff Half, with Masaya Taguchi taking the top spot at 8th in 1:02:58. Click here for complete results .

World Championships men's marathon team members Hiroto Inoue (MHPS) and Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) both lined up in marathons again today, just under two months since representing their country in London. At the first running of the Tohoku Miyagi Fukko Marathon , a new event along the Sendai coastline washed away by the 2011 tsunami, Inoue went out at training run pace for the first half, almost four minutes behind leader Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) before picking up the pace. 私はやっぱ、大仁さんのこーゆーところが尊敬。 東京マラソンから世界陸上で知名度上がったけど、山梨学院時代の4年間も最高だった。 知ってる人いたら語ろ(￣▽￣) ニューイヤー見に行きたいなぁ pic.twitter.com/D3ZEbj7SXl — Miichiikaaaa@駅伝垢 (@luckygirl_2001) October 1, 2017 The debuting Hosomori faded over the second half, run down by amateur  Taiyo Akiyama  with 5 km to go and Inoue right after. Inoue made contact with Akiyama near 40 km, but rather than run away with it the 2:08 marathoner ran side-by-side with Akiyama all the way to the finish line, smiling and encouraging him ...