japan running news

With five 180˚ turnaround points and serious hills in its last 12 km the Osaka Marathon course isn't the fastest around, but that didn't hold back record-breaking runs in both the women's and men's races. Great conditions, 5˚~7˚C, light clouds and very light winds definitely helped. The women's race went steadily on 2:22 pace, an early group of six shaking down to just four, Japan's Momoko Watanabe (Tenmaya), favorite Vivian Kiplagat (Kenya) and Ethiopian duo Helen Bekele Tola and Beyenu Degefa , by 30 km with Australian a few seconds behind. Bekele made the winning break, pulling away to win in a course record 2:22:16. Watanabe, who came into the race with a best of only 2:30:42 PB, led Degefa in the home straight but lost out in the last kick. Degefa was 2nd in 2:23:07 and Watanabe 2:23:08 for 3rd, clearing the 2:24:00 auto-qualifying standard for MGC Race Olympic marathon trials qualification. Only getting faster with age, the 43-year-old Weightman ran K...

Coming from behind after a mid-race fall, team captain Yuki Kawauchi took the top Japanese men's spot in the London World Championships marathon, running down teammate Kentaro Nakamoto in the final kilometer to finish 9th in 2:12:19. In the early stages of the race the experienced Nakamoto and Kawauchi held back mid-pack while younger teammate Hiroto Inoue stayed near the front. Midway through the second lap Kawauchi took a drink bottle at one of the aid stations and, while drinking, hit his left thigh on a sign protruding from the next table, the signs inexplicably changing at exactly that point from overhead to waist-hieght obstacles on the course. The impact was hard enough to cut Kawauchi's leg but not enough to slow him down. When the big move came early in the third lap Nakamoto led the charge in pursuit, the three Japanese men running single file, but Inoue quickly losing touch. Near the top of the short S-curve uphill near 23 km Kawauchi abruptly stumbled and f...

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 ...

by Brett Larner Marathon season is over for the year, right? Yes, no, there is one more to go, this Sunday in Hofu , maybe the last time two greats meet head-to-head for real. Witness 2:07 Olympian Arata Fujiwara (Miki House), on a long comeback with wins in two low-key marathons this fall, taking a step toward February’s Tokyo Marathon. Witness his longtime independent rival and friend Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t), still reeling from his Olympic hopes shattering two weeks ago in Fukuoka, moving on. Fujiwara, looking to run 2:10 to 2:11 before going for the Rio Olympic team in Tokyo and the million dollar bonus to any runner who breaks the 2:06:16 Japanese national record. “If I run 2:09 in Hofu,” he deadpanned to JRN, “then maybe 2:05 in Tokyo.” Kawauchi, realistic about his chances after a hard race and a tough 2015 where 2:11 would be his fastest time of the year, saying, “I don’t know if I can beat Arata.” Right now they are tied 3-3 in the six marathons they ha...