japan running news

by Brett Larner The Sendai International Half Marathon has announced the lineup for this year's 20th anniversary edition on May 9. The top end of the men's field promises a great duel as sub-27 10000 m man and 10 mile junior world record holder Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) makes his half marathon debut against three-time sub-hour half marathoner Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem). Their goal will no doubt be not just the win but Samuel Wanjiru 's course and Japanese all-comers record of 59:43, a target that has so far eluded Mogusu by as little as 5 seconds. With a mixed field of Japanese elites, Japan-resident Africans and Japanese university men there are too many noteworthy runners to mention, but other names on the entry list include 2010 Asian Games marathon team member Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN), multiple World Half Marathon national team member Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko), Tokyo Marathon 4th placer Yuki Kawauchi (unatt.), Kenyans James...

by Brett Larner click here for complete elite field details On Jan. 25 the Tokyo Marathon announced its elite field for the race's fourth edition on Feb. 28. Last year's winners Salim Kipsang (Kenya) and Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Universal Entertainment) return to defend their titles. Tokyo's organizers have done a good job of putting together a solid men's field at the start of the crowded spring marathon season. Kipsang may be back, but the 2:06:48 by Rachid Kisri (Morocco) at last year's Paris Marathon makes him a potential favorite despite a lack of other comparable performances. Six other men in the field have run under 2:08 within the last two or three years, meaning the course record of 2:07:23 should be in danger. Domestic hopes lie with half-marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku). Sato's 2:07:13 PB against Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya) and Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) in Fukuoka '07 makes him the third-fastest man in the field, an...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/091123/spg0911231501002-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner Defending champion Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) won his second-straight Nagoya Half Marathon on Nov. 23, breaking his own course record with a new PB of 59:50 at the 25th anniversary edition of the Rikuren-certified event. Yoshiki Otsuka (Team Aichi Seiko) was the top Japanese finisher, 6th overall in 1:03:29. Julia Mombi (Team Universal Entertainment) had an easy victory in the women's race, running 1:10:35 to take the win over Maho Matsuno (Chukyo Women's Univ.) who was 2nd in 1:19:12. 2009 Nagoya Half Marathon - Top Finishers Men - click here for complete results 1. Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 59:50 - CR, PB 2. Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:30 3. Samuel Ndungu (Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:32 4. Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem) - 1:02:01 5. James Mwangi (Team NTN) - 1:02:35 6. Yoshiki Otsuka (Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:03:29 7. Kiyokatsu Hasegawa (Team JR Higashi Nih...

by Brett Larner Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) scored the silver medal in the women's marathon at the 2009 World Championships in a thrilling three-way battle against eventual winner Xue Bai (China) and bronze medalist Aselefech Mergia (Ethiopia), Japan's first silver medal at the World Championships since Mizuki Noguchi finished second to Catherine Ndereba in the 2003 Paris World Championships. Holding the fastest qualifying time on the Japanese team, 2:23:30 at last year's Tokyo International Women's Marathon, Ozaki was a question mark coming into Worlds after a spring of injury and an absence from media coverage, but her powerful, efficient form was clearly operating at 100% right from the start. When Russian Nailiya Yulamanova attacked after a moderately-paced first 30 km Ozaki was one of only three athletes to follow. Men's steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu came to the rescue when Ozaki missed her special drink shortly afterwards. In th...

http://www.eastandard.net/sports/InsidePage.php?id=1144020990&cid=39

by Brett Larner click here for race photos Just a week after qualifying for the World Championships on the track in their respective countries, Kenyan Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Japanese Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) took their first wins at a humid Sapporo International Half Marathon . Japan's World Championships marathon favorites had mixed results but mostly finished far down the field in their last major race before August's big target day. Ngatuny, who was 2nd in the 10000 m at the Kenyan National Championships last weekend to seize a place on the Kenyan national team, staged a man-to-man battle against three-time champion and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem), who was running his first significant race since a car accident in February left his coach comatose. Initially accompanied by university ace Daniel Gitau (Nihon Univ.), Ngatuny and Mogusu pushed each other through the first 2 km in 5:17. It was too much for Gitau who swiftly folded and...

by Brett Larner The 2009 Sapporo International Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, July 5th. Most of the Japanese runners on this year's World Championships marathon squads will be using it as a tuneup for August's main event. In the men's race three-time champion and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu will take on Japanese national record holder and '09 World Championships marathoner Atsushi Sato, along with Sato's World Champs marathon teammates Arata Fujiwara and Kensuke Takahashi, young star Yu Mitsuya, and Mogusu's perennial rival Daniel Gitau. Gitau has yet to approach Mogusu in ability but after spending the spring focusing on 800 m and 1500 m track races he has honed his speed and may be the champion's toughest challenger. Defending women's champion and '09 World Championships marathon team member Yuri Kano will face her own World Championships marathon teammates Yoko Shibui, Yoshiko Fujinaga and Tomo Morimoto as well as Kenyan marathon s...

by Brett Larner The Sapporo International Half Marathon has released the complete field for this year's race on July 5. And it's going to be a great one. In one corner, half marathon world record holder and Beijing Olympics gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru (Team Sam). In the other, three-time winner and the only man to break one hour on the Sapporo course, Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem). The two Kenyans came to Japan at the same time in high school, with Mogusu always a step behind in their high school careers but always gunning for Wanjiru and his records and unafraid to say so. After high school Mogusu chose university for the chance to run the Hakone Ekiden, while Wanjiru went pro and became....Samuel Wanjiru. This will be the pair's first meeting of their adult lives and despite a serious divot in Mogusu's training following a car accident early in the spring it's all but certain to go out very hard. Last year Masato Kihara (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) pushed Mogusu well under ...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/05/20090510t14030.htm http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090510-492731.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On a Rikuren-certified 21.0975 km course starting at the Sendai Civic Track and Field Grounds in Sendai's Miyagino Ward and ending in front of City Hall in Aoba Ward, Berlin World Championships marathon team member Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) ran 1:08:50 to win the 19th Sendai International Half Marathon on May 10. The mother of a nearly three year old daughter, Akaba's first win in Sendai fittingly came on Mother's Day. Running in cloudy but warm and humid conditions which saw few athletes clock their best times, Akaba dropped the three others in the lead pack after only 8 km. 2nd place finisher Julia Mombi (Team Aruze) was over 2 1/2 minutes behind, while Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) came up from 45 seconds behind at 10 km to take 3rd, just missing catching Mombi but earning one of the only PBs in the top...

by Brett Larner The 19th edition of the Sendai International Half Marathon takes place May 10. The second of Japan's three selection races for its World Half Marathon national team, Sendai features some of the country's top pro and university runners on both the women's and men's side along with a good number of Japan-resident Kenyan aces. Setting Sendai apart from the other Japanese half marathons with the 'international' title is its policy of inviting groups of three amateur runners from Sendai's sister cities around the world rather than professionals. Unquestionably the main attraction at this year's race is the season debut of Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren). Akaba's spectacular 2008 began with her running 1:08:11 to win the Jitsugyodan Half Marathon and break the course record set by Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex). Her time made Akaba the third-fastest Japanese woman ever, and she went on to duplicate the feat over 5000 m and 10000 m. She ran in bo...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/05/20090508t14029.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner 2008 World Half Marathon national team member and local native Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) will be among the runners lining up for the May 10 Sendai International Half Marathon . Machida finished 3rd in Sendai the last two years. This time she is aiming to break 1 hour 11 minutes for the first time and to finish "even one place higher." At last October's World Half Marathon in Brazil Machida placed 22nd, an improvement of four places over her showing two years ago in Udine, Italy. "Even though it was hot," Machida recalls, "I was able to pick it up in the second half and start chasing down people ahead of me." She was also 3rd in this year's Nagoya International Women's Marathon, an excellent result which gives her great confidence as she says, "I'm not afraid of breaking down partway through the race or of losing my concentration....

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2009/04/20090415t14022.htm http://www.sendaihalf.com/jp/document/2009news0414a3.pdf translated and edited by Brett Larner The 19th edition of the Sendai International Half Marathon takes place May 10. Headlining the women's and men's fields are Beijing 5000 m and 10000 m Olympian Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and 2004 Athens Olympics men's marathon 6th place finisher Toshinari Suwa (Team Nissin Shokuhin). Akaba made her marathon debut this year at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, finishing 2nd overall. This will be her fourth time running Sendai. Suwa was 7th in the 2007 Osaka World Championships marathon and continues to be one of the strongest of Japan's marathon men. In the women's race, last year's runner-up Julia Mombi (Team Aruze) and 3rd place finisher and Sendai native Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) will return. Joining them are 2009 Osaka Half Marathon winner Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) and former world...

http://iaaf.org/LRR09/news/newsid=50068.html Yoshio Koide-coached Julia Mombi (Team Aruze) was 5th in Sunday's Paris Marathon. Although her time of 2:29:10 fell fall short of her PB of 2:26:00, it was her 2nd-best mark ever. The 4th-best time of the year thus far by a Kenyan woman, it also gives her an outside chance of making the Kenyan team for August's World Championships.

by Brett Larner Team Hokuren's Philes Ongori, who ran the fastest women's half marathon in the world last year, set a new PB of 1:07:50 at the Feb. 20 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the UAE. Ongori ran among the leaders until the final kilometers when Ethiopia's Dire Tune broke away to a new national record of 1:07:18. Ongori was outkicked by Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia, settling for 3rd. Team Aruze's Julia Mumbi Muraga was a distant 10th in 1:09:40. Men's winner Patrick Makau of Kenya ran 58:52, the second-fastest half marathon time ever recorded, breaking world record holder Samuel Wanjiru's course record by 1 second. Yamanashi Gakuin University's Mekubo Mogusu did not start the race after a recent car accident in Kenya, and his friend Daniel Gitau of Nihon University likewise failed to start. A detailed recap of both the women's and men's races and a link to complete results are available here . (c) 2009 Brett Larner all rights reserved

http://iaaf.org/LRR09/news/newsid=49362.html

by Brett Larner Five Japan-based Kenyans are scheduled to compete in the Feb. 20 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates, a race which in only its third running is well on its way to become one of the world's premier events. University ekiden circuit rivals Mekubo Mogusu (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) and Daniel Gitau (Nihon Univ.) will face each other in the men's race alongside nearly a dozen men with half marathon times under the hour mark. Mogusu, who clocked three sub-hour times within Japan in 2007, made his international debut at last year's 2nd Ras Al Khaimah but finished disappointingly down the field in 5th place with a time of 1:00:35. This year's race will be Gitau's international debut. In the women's race, Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) leads the way after running the fastest time in the world last year with her 1:07:57 win at the 2008 Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon. Julia Mumbi (Team Aruze) and Lucy Wangui Kabuu will join her. Mumbi won th...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2008/11/2008112401000237.htm http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2008/11/2008112401000231.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Running in cool, rainy conditions on Nov. 24, Julia Mumbi of Team Aruze won the Kobe All-Japan Women's Half Marathon for the 2nd straight year, covering the course stretching from the HAT Kobe Center to Kobe Harborland in a time of 1:09:45. Team Toyota Jidoshoki's Akane Wakita was 12 seconds behind in 2nd place, with Team Kyocera's Maki Suzawa a distant 3rd in her half marathon debut. Right from the start it was a match race between Mumbi and Wakita, but when Mumbi attacked at 15 km she was easily able to pull away for the win. Somewhat overshadowing Mumbi's victory was the surprise appearance of Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) as a guest runner in the 10 km race, her first public run since withdrawing from the Beijing Olympics marathon with an injury. Noguchi was scheduled to appear...

by Brett Larner The organizing committee of the 2008 Kobe National Women’s Half Marathon has announced this year’s field of elite and invited athletes. The list includes a mix of current top runners, veterans, and a crew of debut half marathoners from Team Kyocera. Kenyan Julia Mombi will be at the top of the class as none of the Japanese runners approach her recent times. Mombi’s only foreign competition, Brit Mara Yamauchi, is running the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon eight days before Kobe and is doubtlessly appearing only in a special guest capacity. Japanese runners Yumiko Hara, Mari Ozaki and Akemi Ozaki, all primarily running as marathoners these days, have the potential for a good day performance in which they stay with Mombi. Akane Wakita is on an improvement curve in recent years and may well be the best hope for a domestic breakthrough performance. The 2008 Kobe National Women’s Half Marathon takes place on Nov. 24 at 9:30 a.m. 2008 Kobe National Women’s Half Marathon...

by Brett Larner Less than a week after a brilliant run in the Izumo Ekiden, Toyo University senior Tomoya Onishi barely missed becoming the second university student to break the hour mark on the Takashimadaira Road Race's 20 km course, winning his second straight Takashimadaira title in 1:00:05. Takashimadaira serves as an early-season tuneup for Tokyo-area universities, with three or four schools sending a mix of ace runners wanting a controlled time trial effort on the roads and B-squad members who did not run in either the previous week's Izumo Ekiden or the previous day's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai [Qualifying] 20 km but still have a chance of making the final team for Hakone. Toyo fielded a full squad including half its team from the Oct. 13 Izumo Ekiden, but gave star first-year Ryuji Kashiwabara and Izumo team members Hiroyuki Uno and Masaya Mori a rest. Izumo Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University sent a smaller group, none of whom had run Izumo. Kanagawa University and ...

by Brett Larner Team Toyota Boshoku's rookie Yusei Nakao had the strongest Japanese performance at the Rio World Half Marathon Championships on Oct. 12, finishing 5th in the men's race in 1:02:05, while the Japanese women came up with another bronze medal-winning team performance led by the 10th place finish of Team Hokuren's Yukiko Akaba. In the men's race, Masato Kihara (Chuo Gakuin University) led the way as the sole non-African in the lead pack of thirteen at the 5 km point, crossing the mark in 14:07. Although he has run faster than this before in a half marathon, Kihara soon ran into trouble and began to move backward, eventually finishing 83rd of 86 finishers in a shocking 1:20:05. Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN), Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) and Tetsuo Nishimura (Team YKK) set out at a more conservative pace and finished accordingly. Nakao, who ran a massive PB of 1:02:00 in May's Sendai International Half Marathon, ran the early stages of the race in...