japan running news

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/local_other/article/144411 translated by Brett Larner The 55th Karatsu Road Race took place Feb. 8, starting and finishing at Karatsu Municipal Field in Saga.  Marathon national team member Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) took his first Karatsu win in the men's 10 miles division in 47:12, outkicking Masatoshi Kikuchi (Team Fujitsu) and Naoki Kudo (1st yr., Komazawa Univ.).  Yuka Takashima (Team Denso) won the women's 10 km divison in 32:33, likewise her first Karatsu title.  Kiyoshi Koga (3rd yr., Tosu Kogyo H.S.) won the high school boys' 10 km in 29:48, while Yuki Yokoishi (3rd yr., Shiraishi H.S.) set a course record 16:48 in the high school girls' 5 km. The win gave Sasaki momentum in his bid for the Beijing World Championships men's marathon team.  Sasaki ran mid-pack in the lead group until late in the race, unconcerned when other runners started throwing in surges with 2 km to go.  His own move to the front ca...

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/article.php?mid=P2009022500210&genre=L1&area=K00 translated and edited by Brett Larner The final edition of the Kyoto City Half Marathon takes place Mar. 8, with an invited field of six athletes leading the way. Having become a national sensation with his stunning run in January's Hakone Ekiden, Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) tops the list of four invited men, while National University Women's Ekiden anchor stage winner Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) will run the women's race. Kashiwabara set a new record on the Hakone Ekiden's legendary 5th stage while only a 1st-year, leading Toyo on to its first-ever Hakone win. All eyes will be focused upon him as he makes his half marathon debut. 2008 World Half Marathon national team member Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) is also in the field, as are Ietani's teammate Jun Shinoto, who set a new stage record on Hakone's 9th leg in 2008 before graduating from Chuo Gakuin University...