japan running news

by Brett Larner Sunday's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon is always one of the biggest and fastest Japanese half marathons of the year, the site of the women's national record and a sub-60 men's course record. Last year's race saw a quick 1:08:37 from unexpected women's winner Nikki Chapple (Australia) and the only sub-70 half of the year by a Japanese woman along with two university men breaking 62 minutes. Start lists have not yet been published but Chapple is scheduled to defend her win again this year. It won't be easy, as the top woman of 2010, Elvan Abeleygesse (Turkey), and national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) are also on the entry list. Should all three start it would be very surprising if someone else factored into the win. Likely contenders for the second pack include Silviia Skvortsova (Russia), Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) and Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex). In the men's race, the withdrawal of 27:38 10000 m runne...

by Brett Larner Today the 2011 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon announced the elite field for this year's 65th running on Feb. 6. Organizers have set up an excellent women's race, with defending champion Nikki Chapple (Australia) facing the top half marathoner of 2010, Olympic track medalist Elvan Abeylegesse (Turkey) and national half marathon record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). Abeylegesse is the obvious favorite, but it will be very interesting to see what Fukushi, who set the national record of 1:07:26 in her half marathon debut at Marugame in 2005 and made a quiet return to the distance after over three years with a win at July's Shibetsu Half Marathon, has planned. Chapple's winning time of 1:08:37 from last year puts her in reach of either woman. The men's race is headed by course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) and features the likes of 2:06 marathoner Rachid Kisri (Morocco) and 2010 Asian Games marathon gold medalist ...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/101121/spg1011211606004-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner At the final running of the Kobe National Women's Half Marathon on Nov. 21, Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) took her first win with a time of 1:11:35. Her teammate Misato Horie was 2nd, 1 minute 10 seconds back. Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) was 3rd. The Kobe National Women's Half Marathon is to be replaced with a mass-participation marathon, the Kobe Marathon, which will have its first running next fall. A field limit of 20,000 is expected.

by Brett Larner In the absence of any serious competition, Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) won the women's race at the Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon Sept. 5. Ogi's time of 1:14:17 was unremarkable but good enough to win by a margin of nearly a minute and a half over a field which included Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Constantina Dita (Romania) and world trail running champion Fiona Docherty (New Zealand). Along with Seattle winner Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz), Ogi is the second Japanese woman to win a Rock 'n' Roll-brand half marathon this year. Japanese men also fared decently in Virginia Beach, taking five of the top ten spots led by 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) in 1:03:57 for 4th behind Kenyan Yusuf Songoka 's 1:02:46 winning performance. Click here to read the official press release on Songoka and Ogi's wins. Across the ocean, formerly Japan-based Africans took both of the t...

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201002/CN2010020701000181.html http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010020700109 translated and edited by Brett Larner Hakone Ekiden Second Stage winner Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) took his first win at the 2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Feb. 7, running a PB of 1:01:08. Defending champion and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) was 2nd in 1:01:43. Yuichiro Ogawa (Team Kanebo) was the top Japanese man, 4th overall in 1:01:53. In the women's race, Australian Nicole Chapple ran a sizeable PB of 1:08:37 to beat defending champion Mara Yamauchi (U.K.). Identical twins Yoko and Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) were 2-3 in 1:09:51 and 1:10:01. Yamauchi finished 6th. Translator's note: A big day for Australia! The Marugame Half will be broadcast from 2:38 to 3:33 a.m. on Wed., Feb. 11 on Fuji TV. Overseas viewers should be able to watch online for free using Keyhole TV . 2010 Kagawa Marugame International Hal...

by Brett Larner With three weeks to go until the 2010 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon race officials announced the complete elite men's and women's fields on Jan. 18. Last year's Japan-based winners Mara Yamauchi (U.K.) and Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya) are scheduled to return to defend their titles. Yamauchi has been out of competition since an injury kept her away from August's Berlin World Championships and is making a welcome return to the scene. The popular Mogusu is likewise making a miniature comeback after his abortive marathon debut last month in Fukuoka. The elite women's field includes 24 invited athletes along with 25 general division elites. 2004 Tokyo International Women's Marathon winner Bruna Genovese (Italy) and 2009 Great Australian Run winner Nicole Chapple (Australia) are Yamauchi's main overseas competition, while the Japanese runners are led by the Ominami twins Hiromi and Takami (Team Toyota Shatai) and 2008 Shanghai Half M...

http://svr.sanyo.oni.co.jp/feature/sports/other/2009/12/01/20091201101648.html translated by Brett Larner The 28th Sanyo Women's Road Race is scheduled to take place Dec. 23. 65 women are entered in the elite half marathon, while the 10 km division has a field of 199. A number of athletes who competed in August's World Championships in Berlin will take their next step on the roads of Okayama. At the top of the field in the half marathon is Berlin WC 10000 m 7th place finisher and Beijing Olympics marathoner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya). Her toughest challenge will come from Kenyan Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo), who defeated Nakamura in March's National Jitsugyodan Women's Half Marathon, and last year's runner-up Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex). Marathoner Yumi Hirata (Team Shiseido) and Nakamura's teammate Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya) are also expected to challenge for the lead. In the 10 km, Berlin World Championships marathoners Yuri Kano (Second Wi...

by Brett Larner Fifteen hours after running the 10000 m, most of the men's and women's fields at the 2009 National Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships were back for the 5000 m qualifying heats. In both the men's and women's cases, the top eight finishers in each of the three equally-balanced heats along with the next three fastest times overall would make tonight's final. 10000 m winners Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) loped to easy wins in their heats, with Kenyans also taking the top spots in the other two men's and two women's heats. The runners will return at 7:20 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. for the final, in most cases their third race in 24 hours. 2009 National Corporate Track and Field Championships - Top Results click event headers for complete results Men's 5000 m - Heat One 1. Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:59.14 2. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:59.31 3. Jonthan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Cable)...

by Brett Larner As in past years, Rikuren selected top male and female finishers from this year's Jitsugyodan Half Marathon corporate championships to run in the 2009 Great Scottish Run half marathon in Glasgow, Scotland on Sept. 6. Leading the way with a 3rd place finish in the women's race was 2008 Shanghai Half Marathon winner Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex). 2009 Miyazaki Women's Half Marathon winner Maki Suzawa (Team Kyocera) was 5th in 1:18:24. Caroline Cheptonui Kilel of Kenya took the women's race in a solid 1:09:03. In February Kilel took the stage best honors on the third leg of the final Yokohama International Women's Ekiden before crashing in March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon. A sizeable Japanese contingent in the men's race also took four of the top ten spots, with Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) the best Japanese man in 5th. Former Team Honda ace Hailu Mekonnen of Ethiopia was the runner-up in 1:01:29, ten seconds behind ...

by Brett Larner Running in heavy rain, Ethiopian 3000 m SC national record holder Yacob Jarso (Team Honda) overcame Kenyan rivals Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Josephat Ndambiri (Team Komori Corp.) on the last lap in a close three-way finish while university student Mary Wangari Wanjohi (Ritsumeikan AP Univ.) ran a solo race ahead of the field of professional women in the main events of the 2009 Kanaguri Memorial Track and Field Meet, the men's and women's elite 5000 m. The top Japanese competitors in each race, Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu) and Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) were regrettably absent, leaving the top Japanese positions to Athens Olympian Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei), 4th in the men's race, and #1-ranked university star Kazue Kojima (Ritsumeikan Univ.), 3rd in the women's race. As expected, the men's 5000 m was a battle between Jarso, Ngatuny and Ndamibiri, who together ran under the 8 km road world record during January's...

by Brett Larner The Japanese track season gets underway Apr. 4 in Kagoshima with the 2009 Kanaguri Memorial Track and Field Meet . Named after the ' Father of Japanese Marathoning ,' Shizo Kanaguri , the meet includes events from 4 x 100 m to 5000 m with divisions ranging from elementary school students to professionals and is the first event of the 2009-2010 academic and fiscal year, meaning many athletes will be making their debuts in new uniforms. The highlights are the elite men's and women's 5000 m. The entry list for the elite men's 5000 m promises an exciting race. It's unlikely all the major protagonists will start, but if even half of the big names appear it will be a fantastic matchup. Lining up on one side are the three African runners who ran each other under the 8 km road world record in January's New Year Ekiden, Josephat Ndambiri (Team Komori Corp.), Yacob Jarso (Team Honda) and Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin). All three are on an improv...

http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/kmanabu/article/133 translated and edited by Brett Larner Team Kyudenko's Pauline Kiragu Wanguru won a five-way sprint finish at the 2008 Sanyo Women's Road Race half marathon to win in a PB of 1:10:54. A hilly course, cold temperatures and strong winds in the second half made for an overall tactical race. Five runners remained together with 400 m to go, meaning the race would go to the strongest kicker. Wanguru pulled ahead by a step to beat Team Sysmex's Megumi Seike, who came fresh from winning the Nov. 30 Shanghai Half Marathon, and Second Wind AC newcomer Ruth Wanjiru. Team Tenmaya's Yuka Izumi was 4th in a PB of 1:10:58, with Wanjiru's teammate Akemi Ozaki a short distance behind in 5th. Second Wind AC head coach Manabu Kawagoe commented that the race was excellent preparation for Ozaki and Wanjiru's planned run in next month's Osaka International Women's Marathon, but that Ozaki was feeling in top condition and ...

by Brett Larner Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) won the half marathon competition at the Nov. 30 Shanghai International Marathon, running a PB of 1:10:15 to outclass her competitors. For Seike, a teammate of marathon great Mizuki Noguchi, it was the best result in a year which saw her make her overseas debut when she ran on the Japanese national team at March's World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland. A longer article detailing the marathon results is available here . Photo by Eugene Hoshiko. Click here for additional pictures of Seike in Shanghai.

http://www.toray.co.jp/news/event/nr081107.html translated by Brett Larner Japanese runner Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) is scheduled to compete in the half marathon event at the 2008 Shanghai Marathon , one of China's four large international marathons. A teammate of Mizuki Noguchi, Seike is a notable young runner, one of eleven female runners supported by the Sysmex company. Team Sysmex head coach Nobuyuki Fujita will accompany Seike to Shanghai to observe her performance. A number of athletes who ran in the Beijing Olympics men's and women's marathons will compete in the full marathon event. The women's field includes 7th place finisher Irina Timofeeva of Russia and 11th place finisher Zivile Balciunaite of Lithuania. The men's field includes 7th place finisher Gashaw Asfaw of Ethiopia and 60th place finisher Lee Troop of Australia. Also in the men's field is Kenyan Joshua Chelanga, who was ranked 30th in the world in 2007.

by Brett Larner Six Japanese runners competed in the elite field of the 2008 Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Aug. 31. Each year the 5th and 6th place male and female Japanese finishers in March's All-Japan Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships are invited to run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon, the higher-tier Japanese finishers being selected for other races including the World Half Marathon Championships. This year the invited men were Team Konica Minolta's Kazuyuki Maeda, 7th overall at the 2008 Jitsugyodan Half in 1:02:50, and Team Asahi Kasei's Takaaki Koda, 8th at the Jitsugyodan Half in 1:02:52. The invited women were Team Tenmaya's Kei Terada, 7th overall at the Jitsugyodan Half with a 1:12:11, and Team Sysmex's Megumi Seike, 9th at the Jitsugyodan Half in 1:12:25. Two other Japanese women, Team Shimamura's Aya Manome and Team Wacoal's Miho Notagashira, also ran the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Maeda ran 1:05:18 to take 4th in the men...

http://www.rikuren.or.jp/cgi-bin/column/view.cgi?act=stdview&id=250 translated by Brett Larner Rikuren has announced the squad of 26 Japanese runners to be sent to the 36th World Cross Country Championships scheduled for Mar. 30 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the Senior Men's 12 km event, the team of 8 is led by Makoto Tobimatsu (Team Yasukawa Denki), the top Japanese finisher in both the Chiba International and Fukuoka International Cross Country meets, along with Satoru Kitamura (Nittai University), the 2nd Japanese in Chiba and 3rd Japanese in Fukuoka. Appearing for the 4th time and 3rd consecutive year is Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Toyota Jidosha). The team of 6 for the Senior Women's 8 km race is jointly led by Chiba International Cross Country top Japanese finisher Kazuka Wakatsuki (Team Toto) and Fukuoka International Cross Country top Japanese finisher Aya Manome (Team Shimamura). Joining the team for the 3rd straight year is Aimi Horikoshi (Team Yamada Denki). The Junio...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=42763.html#kimwei+sets+course+record+sanyo+road+race A Japanese article with a photo of the finish and some different info from the IAAF article is here .

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/071113/oth0711131823002-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner The JAAF today released the team entry lists for this year`s Chiba International Ekiden, to be held November 23rd at the Chiba Prefectural Sogo Sport Center Stadium. The strong Japanese team includes Osaka World Championships marathon 5th place finisher Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku), the great young hopes of the Japanese distance running world Kensuke Takezawa (Waseda University) and Yuichiro Ueno (Chuo University), and Japanese national 5000 m and half-marathon record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). The format of this race has been revised in its 19th edition to feature mixed teams of men and women running together for the first time. The sight of leaders such as Ogata and Fukushi running together on the same team and passing the tasuki [sash] to each other will be a first in the Japanese distance running scene. Last year`s men`s and women`s winners Kenya will be returning ag...