japan running news

It's a relatively quiet weekend ahead in the middle of Japan's busiest road racing season, but there are still four important races going on in the southern part of the country. The biggest is the National Corporate Half Marathon and 10 km Championships in Yamaguchi.  Men's national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) is entered in what would be his first race since catching the flu post-Fukuoka and leads the domestic component of a field that includes nine men with recent sub-1:02 times and a million more right on the cusp. If he runs his main competition is sub-60 man Paul Kuira (Konica Minolta). 61:30ish runners Keisuke Nakatani (Nissin Shokuhin) and Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu) will be looking to make comebacks after long periods of injury. The women's field is split between the half marathon and 10 km . Only three women in the half have broken 70 minutes before, Miho Shimizu (Hokuren) doing it the most recently with a 1:09:27 at Nationals in 2016. Shiori Yano...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1787609.html translated by Brett Larner The organizers of the Mar. 12 Nagoya Women's Marathon , a selection race for this summer's London World Championships women's marathon team, announced on Mar. 4 that last year's 3rd-placer Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya), 2013 World Championships marathon silver medalist Valeria Straneo (Italy) and 2016 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) have all withdrawn from the race.  Ohara has suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal of her left foot, with Straneo and Shimizu out with unspecified injuries.

by Brett Larner The Nagoya Women's Marathon is the largest women-only marathon in the world, with 19,112 finishers last year.  It was also the deepest elite women's marathon in the world next to the Rio Olympics, with more women sub-2:27 than in Rio and only three fewer under 2:30.  Many of the main people who made it what it was last year are set to return, led by course record holder and two-time defending champion Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) who comes back to Nagoya as an Olympic silver medalist.  Japan's Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya), Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), Reia Iwade (Team Noritz), Sayaka Kuwahara (Team Sekisui Kagaku) and Shiho Takechi (Team Yamada Denki) all ran sub-2:26 PBs in Nagoya last year, Ohara's 2:23:30 just missing her a place on the Rio Olympic team.  Ohara is Kirwa's closest competition, but with a nearly two-minute difference in their recent half marathon wins Ohara will have a very tough battle facing her to stay in contact.  At sta...

by Brett Larner 神野くん粘り強い。すごいわ。 #丸亀ハーフ pic.twitter.com/XZu299LBWY — roomie (@3runn9) February 5, 2017 Having lost his 1:00:24 Scottish national record after the Great Scottish Run was announced earlier this week to have been almost 150 m short, Callum Hawkins was out to prove he had done it for real when he lined up at today's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon .  Against a field including sub-60 man Kenneth Kipkemoi of Kenya and a group of Japanese athletes aiming for the 1:00:25 Japanese national record led by 5000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) and 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei), Hawkins went to the front from the gun and never relented. After a relatively slow 14:20 opening 5 km, the next 5 km went by in 14:07 and shook the lead group down to ten including Hawkins, Kipkemoi, Kenyan Joel Mwaura of 2016 National High School Ekiden champion Kurashiki H.S. , Osako and three other Japanese men. ...

by Brett Larner Japan's short post-ekiden road season gets up to full speed this weekend.  The second of four selection races for the three spots on the London World Championships men's marathon team happens at the Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon .   Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) is the leading contender for the team after a 2:09:11 for 3rd at December's Fukuoka International Marathon, a time that puts a bullseye on his back for the best men in Beppu-Oita and the other races to come. It's rare to see someone make a national team from Beppu-Oita, but a win there in a time better than Kawauchi's would probably put someone ahead of him in priority for the team.  With a 2:09:39 debut last year at Lake Biwa the talented but injury-prone Fumihiro Maruyama (Team Asahi Kasei) is the favorite to do just that, but Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki), Ryo Kiname (Team MHPS), Kento Otsu (Team Toyota Kyushu) and debuting Toyota teammates Minato O...

by Brett Larner click here for men's field listing The Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon has lined up a great women's field for its 71st running on Feb. 5.  Rio Olympics marathon silver medalist and defending champion Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) will go up against Rio 6th and 9th-placers Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg of the U.S.A., 2015 Marugame winner Eloise Wellings of Australia and 2016 Japanese National Corporate Half Marathon champion Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren). Flanagan's 1:07:51 on the aided San Diego course last year is the only time that tops Kirwa's then-Bahraini national record 1:08:06 in Marugame 2016, promising a close race if Flanagan doesn't repeat her 2015 DNS .  Shimizu, the only Japanese woman to break 1:10 in 2016 , should likewise have a good race for 3rd against Wellings if the Australian shows a return to form following her DNF last month at the Sanyo Ladies Half .  One promising debut comes in the form of sub-31:45 track runn...

by Brett Larner After outperforming their men for over a decade, Japanese women have been on a downward trend for much of the last 8 years even as depth and quality improved dramatically among the men.  In 2016 the trend reversed again, with the men's depth and quality dropping somewhat and the women's fortunes improving.  The good: Half marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi breaking through with an all-time Japanese #7 mark of 2:22:17 in Osaka . Team bronze  at the World Half Marathon Championships. A 12 km national record  by  Risa Takenaka . An 8 km national record by Tomomi Tanaka . A course record win over solid competition at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon by Misato Horie . Confident frontrunning  from  Miyuki Uehara  to make the 5000 m final at the Rio Olympics. First-time national titles by relatively young, innovative teams Matsuyama University and Japan Post at the National University Women's Ekiden and Nation...

by Brett Larner Led by a 10th-place overall finish by Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) with support from top-20 placings by Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) and Mizuki Matsuda (Team Daihatsu), the Japanese women narrowly held off Australia to score the team bronze medal at the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff.  All three scoring members turned in solid runs, Ando and Matsuda seconds off their bests and Shimizu, the fastest on the team with a PB of 1:09:41 at last month's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, just over a minute off hers. Likewise bronze medal quality on paper with one runner with a 1:00:54 best, two under 1:01:30 and a fourth at 1:01:53, the Japanese men left their races at home as they struggled to make the top five.  Komazawa University second-year Naoki Kudo , 5th in last year's World University Games Half Marathon, was the top Japanese man and the only one to break 64 minutes as he finished 22nd in 1:03:41.  The other two ...

by Brett Larner Japan is sending one of its better teams in recent World Half Marathon Championships history to Saturday's race in Cardiff.  20-year-old Keijiro Mogi , a training partner of 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, leads the men's roster with a 1:00:54 best.  Hakone Ekiden powerhouse Komazawa University features heavily, with current Komazawa runners Keisuke Nakatani and Naoki Kudo and 2015 graduate Shogo Nakamura (Team Fujitsu) making up the core of the men's team.  The women's team includes three sub-70 runners led by Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) with support from Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Mirai Waku (Team Univ. Ent.).  With the exception of Mizuki Matsuda (Team Daihatsu), all will be making their international road debuts. World Half Marathon Championships Cardiff, U.K., 3/26/16  click here for timetable and complete rosters Men Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:54 (Marugame ...

http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLSSXK40674_Y6A210C1000000/ translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 18 the JAAF named the five men and five women on the Japanese team for the Mar. 26 World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, U.K.  Additionally, they also announced the lineup for the Feb. 29 Asian Cross-Country Championships in Manama, Bahrain, with Shuho Dairokuno (Team Asahi Kasei) leading the senior men's team. The World Half Marathon Championships team: Men Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 1:00:54 (Marugame Half 2016) Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:21 (Marugame Half 2016) Naoki Kudo (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:25 (Marugame Half 2016) Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 1:01:53 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2016) Minato Oishi (Toyota) - 1:02:06 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2013) Women Miho Shimizu (Hokuren) - 1:09:41 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2016) Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:09:51 (Sanyo Ladies Half 2015) Mirai Waku (Universal Entertainment) - 1:09:56 (Sanyo Ladies Ha...

Updated 12/26/16 JRN's 2016 Japanese track and road distance running rankings. Overall rankings are calculated using runners' times and placings in races over 5000 m, 10000 m, half-marathon and marathon and the strength of these performances relative to others in the top ten in each category. Unlisted distances will be added as the season progresses. Click any image to enlarge. Past years: 　 2015 　・　 2014 　・　 2013 　・　 2012 　・　 2011 © 2016 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner Although Japanese men largely stayed away from Stanford University's Payton Jordan Invitational this year, three more women picked up qualifying marks for this year's Beijing World Championships.  In the 10000 m, Yuka Takashima (Team Denso) improved on her qualifying mark with a 31:37.32 best for 4th, while behind her teammates Mao Kiyota and Eri Makikawa (both Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) ran 31:44.79 and 31:48.22 to expand the list of candidates for the Beijing team to six.  5000 m national champion Misaki Onishi (Team Sekisui Kagaku) likewise ran a best of 15:16.82 to get under the 15:20.00 Beijing standard, bringing that list of candidates up to three.   Men's 10000 m national champion Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) duly turned in the top men's performance of the day, a 27:57.13 that made him the first Japanese man this year to break 28 but still left him far off the sub-27:45.00 Beijing standard. Payton Jordan Invitational Stanford, Californ...

by Brett Larner Japan came up empty-handed at the 2015 World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China as its perennial best hope for a medal, its junior women's squad, could do no better than 5th.  Junior women's team leader Azusa Sumi took 16th overall, 1:07 behind winner Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia but still the top-placing non-African born athlete in any of the day's races along with China's Changqin Ding in the senior women's race.  Although shy of a medal the junior women still topped the Japanese team results, the junior men and senior women finishing 9th.  With only three runners in the senior men's race Japan did not field a complete team of four scorers in that event. World Cross Country Championships Guiyang, China, 3/28/15 click here for complete results Junior Women's 6 km 1. Letesenbet Gidey (Ethiopia) - 19:48 2. Dera Dida (Ethiopia) - 19:49 3. Etagegn Woldu (Ethiopia) - 19:53 4. Daisy Jepkemei (Kenya) - 19:59 5. Mihret Tef...

by Brett Larner Japan's team for this weekend's World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China features 21 athletes.  As always, its strongest contingent is its junior women, in this case led by 9:00.89 high schooler Azusa Sumi , undefeated since 2013, and teammate Yuka Sarumida of Toyokawa H.S.   The junior men's team features three athletes with 5000 m bests under 14 minutes including 2014 World Junior Championships team member Shota Onizuka (Omuta H.S.). 2015 Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet winner Mai Shoji (Chukyo Univ.) leads the senior women's squad which also includes her collegiate rival Maki Izumida (Ritsumeikan Univ.).  Once again this year, Japan's senior men are largely giving World Cross a miss, with only three entered versus six on the each of the other three squads.  Corporate runners are completely absent, with 2015 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University 's Kazuma Kubota the biggest name of the three and Juntendo U...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20150225-OHT1T50141.html translated by Brett Larner This week the Federation announced the Japanese national team for the Mar. 28 World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China.  Making the senior women's 8 km squad for the first time is the Star of the North, Hokkaido's native daughter Miho Shimizu (24, Team Hokuren).  Her first time making a Japanese national team, Shimizu was hopeful as she said, "It's a great honor.  I want to run an aggressive race, experience the level and strength of the world's top athlete and apply what I learn there to track season." At the first of the two selection races, the Feb. 8 Chiba International Cross Country Meet she ran 29:30 for 8 km to place 5th overall as the 4th Japanese woman.  At the second selection race, the Feb. 21 Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet, she took 3rd overall in the 6th in 20:02, scoring her place on the team by finishing as the 2nd Japanese woman. ...

by Brett Larner Japan will send a team of 21 athletes to next month's World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China.  As always, its strongest contingent is its junior women, in this case led by 9:00.89 high schooler Azusa Sumi , undefeated since 2013, and teammate Yuka Sarumida of Toyokawa H.S.   The junior men's team features three athletes with 5000 m bests under 14 minutes including 2014 World Junior Championships team member Shota Onizuka (Omuta H.S.). 2015 Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet winner Mai Shoji (Chukyo Univ.) leads the senior women's squad which also includes her collegiate rival Maki Izumida (Ritsumeikan Univ.).  Once again this year, Japan's senior men are largely giving World Cross a miss, with only three entered versus six on the each of the other three squads.  Corporate runners are completely absent, with 2015 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University 's Kazuma Kubota the biggest name of the three and Juntendo Univ...

by Brett Larner photo by a_yamako videos by Ekiden News Perfect conditions brought fast times at one of the best distance meets on the Japanese spring calendar, Saturday's Golden Games in Nobeoka.  With a focus on 5000 m, almost every heat saw four out of the top five run PBs.  Kenya Pauline Kamulu  (Team Toto) soloed her way to a one-second best of 15:29.55 in the women's 5000 m A-heat, with runner-up  Miho Shimizu  (Team Hokuren) in 15:36.03 leading three Japanese women to PBs under 15:40. Newcomers Bernard Kimani  (Team Yakult) and James Mwangi  (Team NTN) continued their climb up the ranks of the Japan-based Africans, beating World XC junior silver medalist Leonard Barsoton  (Team Nissin Shokuhin) in PBs of 13:14.64 and 13:16.06 with Barsoton 3rd in 13:21.44 in the men's 5000 m C-heat.  The lone Japanese man in the heat, 2014 World Half Marathon team member Masato Kikuchi  (Team Konica Minolta), ran 13:35.18 for 6th, yet anot...

by Brett Larner videos by Ekiden News and tuyoshi55244 Japan's outdoor track season got underway on Saturday with the rainy 23rd edition of Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet.  Teammates  James Mwangi  and Edward Waweru  of the NTN corporate team got the season off to a good start with a 1-2 finish in Heat 4 of the men's 5000 m, Mwangi leading the way with a 13:25.56 a full ten seconds ahead of Waweru.  Japan-based Kenyans and Ethiopians took 11 of the top 13 places, with the only Japanese runners to get into the middle of things both running PBs to get there.  Second-year Keisuke Nakatani  of three-time defending National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University  ran a sizable best of 13:48.99 for 8th, a time that ranks him 2nd on the Komazawa squad behind only World Half Marathon Championships team member Kenta Murayama .  Sub-28 and sub-1:02 as a collegiate, Yuta Shitara  made a good debut in the Honda uniform by knocking...

by Brett Larner Two days after winning the National University Track & Field Championships 10000 m title, Kenyan first-year Enock Omwamba  (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) returned to outrun Nihon University's Kenyan pair Benjamin Gandu  and Daniel Kitonyi  and all Japanese comers for the 5000 m title.  Running off a slow first 2000 m in 5:40, Omwamba accelerated throughout the second half of the race to take the win in 13:53.53, Gandu 2nd in 13:55.81.   Shuho Dairokuno  (Meiji Univ.) was the top Japanese finisher, 4th overall in 14:02.01 a step ahead of Aoyama Gakuin University's star first-year recruit Kazuma Kubota  with Aoyama Gakuin captain Takehiro Deki  just behind in his first quality performance since his 2:10:02 marathon debut at March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.  Defending collegiate 5000 m champion Kenta Murayama  (Komazawa Univ.) was only 14th in 14:22.38 just ahead of his twin brother Kota Murayama  (Josai Univ.) Th...