japan running news

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...

Sena Minawatari , a 3rd-year at Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University  who revealed in January that he had been diagnosed with malignant lymphoma in November, passed away on Feb. 19. He had just turned 21 two weeks earlier. Following the wishes of his family, Aoyama Gakuin announced the news on its team website on Feb. 21. Titled "In honor of the departure of our dear friend," the announcement read: "We are saddened to announce that Sena Minawatari, part of our team for last year's Hakone Ekiden and this season's National University Ekiden, has passed away. He was an indispensable part of our team, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude and respect for his passion and the achievements it produced. We feel grief and loss at this sudden departure, and we will carry the memories we have with him in our hearts as we continue to move forward. He fought this illness until the very end, and we ask that his memory be looked upon with warmth of heart...

  Maybe the next big thing coming down the Tenmaya corporate pipeline, Mizuki Nishimura made good on her pre-race plan for the Kumanichi 30 km to get as close as she could to her Tenmaya teammate Honami Maeda 's 1:38:35 NR. Out solo almost on track to break 1:40 in excellent conditions, Nishimura started to slow in the middle third of the race but had enough time and energy to work with to still take almost 2 minutes off the old pre-super shoe era CR, winning easily in 1:41:42. 2nd and 3rd-placers Mio Kuroda and Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh were together through 20 km before Galbadrakh faded, Kuroda taking 2nd in 1:44:49 and Galbadrakh 3rd in 1:45:44 in a tuneup for next month's Tokyo Marathon. 天満屋の西村美月選手、熊日30キロで1:41:42大会新記録。 Mizuki Nishimura wins Kumanichi 30k in 1:41:42 CR. pic.twitter.com/rAru1WywEm — Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) February 16, 2025 The men's race started conservatively, keeping a large group of 11 together until 20 km. sub-61 half marathoner Dai...

It's the only weekend from late January through mid-March without a major Japanese marathon, but there's still a lot going on. Overseas, Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) and Yuma Yamamoto (Sekisui Kagaku) lead a National Team of 14 at the Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran, Iran. Another team of 8 is in Muscat, Oman for Sunday's World University Cross Country Championships , with H.S. 5000 m NR holder Hiroto Yoshioka (Juntendo Univ.) and Asahi Kuroda , a key player in Aoyama Gakuin University 's 2024 Hakone Ekiden win, at the front end of the men's team and 2023 National University Individual Championships 5000 m runner-up Tomo Muramatsu (Ritsumeikan Univ.) leading the women's team. Back home, the 4th edition of the National University Mixed-Gender Ekiden happens at noon Sunday in Osaka, with 20 collegiate teams of 3 women and 3 men each racing short stages of from 2 km to 5 km. Top-tier teams like Ritsumeikan University , Josai University and Toyo Universi...

On July 3 the organizing committee of the Kumamoto Castle Marathon , tentatively scheduled for the third Sunday of February, 2021, announced that the race has been canceled. Organizers cited the difficulty of preventing the spread of coronavirus infections at the marathon, which had 10,444 finishers at this year's edition. Since its first running in 2012 it is the first time the Kumamoto Castle Marathon has been canceled. Also canceled are the accompanying shorter distance races including Kumanichi 30 km, an elite-only event with 79 finishers this year. It is likewise the first cancelation in the Kumanichi 30 km's 65-year-history.  Between the mass-participation marathon, elite 30 km and 3 km fun run, over 14,000 people took part this year. Next year was to have been the event's 10th anniversary running. Translator's note: As far as I know this is the first major Japanese race and first 10,000+ marathon worldwide in 2021 to cancel due to the coronavirus situation....

The course where the fastest-ever 30 km race was run.

2020 Olympic marathon trials winner Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) took down two massive marks at Sunday's Ome 30 km Road Race  in Tokyo's mountainous western suburbs, breaking Mizuki Noguchi 's 30 km national record and pre-Athens Olympic gold medal Ome course record in 1:38:35 in wet conditions. Beating her closest female competition by almost eight minutes, Maeda was strong and about as steady as possible over the tough Ome course, clocking 5 km splits of 16:18 - 16:18 - 16:48 - 16:22 - 16:37 - 16:12. Maeda's stated goal pre-race was Noguchi's 1:39:06 course record, set in February, 2004 as a key tune-up for Noguchi's gold medal-winning run in the Athens Olympics marathon. That fell by a wide margin, but few expected Maeda to also beat Noguchi's national record of 1:38:49 set en route during her 2:19:12 marathon national record run at the 2005 Berlin Marathon. It took Maeda's fastest split of the race, a 16:12 from 25 km to the finish, for that to happen...

On Feb. 10 the organizers of this Sunday's Kumanichi 30 km Road Race announced that invited athlete Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post), a member of Japan's marathon team for the 2020 Olympics, has withdrawn. According to an official, Suzuki sustained a pulled muscle in the back of her right thigh. She had experienced pain in her right thigh in late January while training in the United States. After returning to Japan the pain was diagnosed as a pulled muscle, and in the interest of being cautious she decided to withdraw from Kumanichi. As she recovers she intends to resume training. Suzuki finished 2nd at last September's MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials to secure her place on the Olympic team. Translator's note: Along with Suzuki , male invited athletes Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) and 2020 Hakone Ekiden First Stage winner Ren Yonemitsu (Soka Univ.) have also withdrawn.   Last year both Suzuki and men's Olympic marathon team member Yuma Hattori (Toyota)...

On Jan. 17 the organizers of the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race announced the elite field of 15 men and 5 women for this year's 64th running on Feb. 16. 2020 Olympic women's marathon team member Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) and half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda) are scheduled to lead the women's and men's fields. Suzuki won the 10000 m at the 2013 World University Games and ran the 5000 m at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In just her second marathon she finished 2nd at last September's MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials to secure her place on the Olympic team. Kumanichi will be a key part of her pre-Olympic preparations. Other women in the race include last year's 3rd-placer Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) and 6th-place Minori Goto (Canon AC Kyushu). Both are aiming for the win. Shitara ran the 10000 m in Rio, set the half marathon national record in 2017, and broke the marathon national record for the first time in 16 years with a mar...

One of Japan's longest-standing course records at its elite races fell Sunday as Kenyan Ezekiel Cheboitibin (Sunbelx) beat the great Toshihiko Seko 's 38-year-old Ome 30 km Road Race record by almost 30 seconds. Tough and hilly with a net climb in the first half and descent on the return trip, Ome is a standard spring marathon prep run and a natural partner for April's Boston Marathon, with which it has a longstanding athlete exchange program. The 2017 Ome winner, this time out Cheboitibin was gunning for Seko's record from the start, hitting the mostly uphill 10 km completely solo in 29:47, 20 km midway through the return trip in 59:30, and saving his fastest 10 km split for the end as he crossed the finish line in 1:29:06. Seko's 1:29:32 just two months before his first Boston win had made him the only man in Ome history to break 90 minutes. With the best performance of his career Cheboitibin turned the page on that history. With the withdrawal of Fukuok...

63rd Kumanichi 30 km Road Race Elite Field Highlights Kumamoto, 2/17/19 complete field listing times listed are best half marathon times in last 3 years except where noted Women Anna Matsuda (Kyocera) - 1:10:52 (Gold Coast 2018) Yuko Kikuchi (Hokuren) - 1:12:25 (Sanyo 2017) Nanayo Okamoto (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:12:31 (Osaka 2019) Chika Ihara (Higo Ginko) - 1:12:35 (Sanyo 2018) Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Noritz) - 1:12:42 (Sanyo 2017) Sakie Arai (Higo Ginko) - 1:12:45 (Matsue Ladies 2016) Hiroko Miyauchi (Hokuren) - 1:13:39 (Sanyo 2017) Megumi Hirai (Canon AC Kyushu) - 1:14:29 (Sanyo 2017) Minori Goto (Canon AC Kyushu) - 1:14:41 (Osaka 2017) Men Ken Nakayama (Chuo Univ.) - 1:01:32 (Ageo 2018) Keita Yoshida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:46 (Marugame 2019) Kei Katanishi (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:50 (Yosenkai 2018) Kazuto Kawabata (Konica Minolta) - 1:02:23 (Marugame 2017) Reiri Nakashima (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:28 (Ageo 2018) Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:02:49 (Ag...

After a seven-week break from the marathon, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) scored his third-straight marathon win, second-straight course record and came just shy of a third-straight negative split as he ran a completely solo 2:11:46 to take almost six minutes off the Kitakyushu Marathon course record. Following up on negative split wins at December's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon and January's Marshfield New Year's Day Marathon , the latter a course record by half an hour, Kawauchi was on his own in the first 100 m in Kitakyushu and never looked back. In the hilly first 10 km his pace fluctuated from high-2:12 to high-2:10, but once Kawauchi got into the flatter section of the course he settled out on track for a high-2:11 to low-2:12 time. After a 1:05:51 split at halfway he slowed slightly on the outbound trip to the turnaround near 31 km, but picking it up again after 35 km he marked a 6:34 from 40 km to the finish to stop the clock at 2:11:46,  a 1:05:55 second...

On Jan. 16 the organizers of the Feb. 18 Kumamoto-jo Marathon announced the elite field of 21 women and men for the 62nd running of the accompanying Kanaguri Kinen Kumanichi 30 km Road Race. Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathoner Mai Ito (Otsuka Seiyaku), 2012 Kumanichi men's champion Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta) 2018 Hakone Ekiden MVP Keisuke Hayashi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) top the entry lists. Seven corporate league men are on the entry list, which features Ugachi's teammate Gen Hachisuka (Konica Minolta), 28:15 10000 m runner Masato Terauchi (Aichi Seiko) and 2012 runner-up Y uki Oshikawa (Toyota Kyushu). Along with eight university men will also be in the race including two of the runners responsible for Toyo Univesity 's 2018 Hakone Ekiden Day One win, Shuji Yamamoto and Akira Aizawa , and local Kyushu Gakuin H.S. graduate Shota Nakagawa (Nittai Univ.). The women's field consists of six athletes including Ito. 2016 runner-up Mami Onuki (Sysm...

by Brett Larner 熊日３０k　男子　優勝　上野裕一郎選手（DeNA） pic.twitter.com/Oa0TgDRcMp — M.Kawaguchi (@rikujolove) February 19, 2017 Both of the world's two main 30 km races took place in Japan today.  In the morning, to the south in Kumamoto the Kumanichi Road Race held its 61st edition, the first since last year's powerful earthquakes caused heavy damage in the area.  2009 double 1500 m and 5000 m champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) went out fast, close to 30 km national record pace at 10 km in 29:27 and still on track for a 1:28 time at 20 km in 59:11.  Over the last 10 km Ueno slowed dramatically, taking 31:06 to reach the finish line in 1:30:17, but even so his margin of victory over runner-up Ryu Takaku (Team Yakult) was more than a minute. The women's race was closer, with last year's 4th-placer Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) outrunning corporate leaguers  Rie Uchida (Otsuka Seiyaku) and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Hokuren) by just 8 seconds to win in a PB of 1:46:29 just ...

by Brett Larner This weekend is a lull in the middle of Japan's seven-week elite marathon season, but there's still plenty going on.  Both of its main 30 km road races, Kumamoto's Kumanichi 30 km and Tokyo's Ome 30 km, t he world's two greatest races at the distance , happen Sunday. Run in conjunction with the mass participation Kumamoto-jo Marathon, the Kumanichi 30 km is an elite-only event with small men's and women's fields and the home of Takayuki Matsumiya 's 1:28:00 national record.  Toyo University graduate Ryu Takaku (Team Yakult) leads the field with a 1:30:32 in Kumanichi three years ago.  Current Toyo runner Shun Sakuraoka and past 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) are his main competition.   Mami Onuki (Team Sysmex) has the best 30 km time in the women's field, 1:46:37 for 2nd in last year's race, but the favorite may be the debuting Ayumi Kubo (Team Kagoshima Ginko), a 1:11:29 half marathoner. Th...

https://twitter.com/miyatoshi5/status/820025369075949568 translated and edited by Brett Larner On Jan. 13 the organizers of the Feb. 19 Kumamoto-jo Marathon announced the 19-strong elite field for the 61st running of the  Kumanichi 30 km Road Race , the world's premier 30 km held alongside the marathon.  Heading the men's field are last year's 5th-placer Shun Sakuraoka (Toyo Univ.) who finished 4th on the Hakone Ekiden's Fourth Stage on Jan. 2, and New Year Ekiden Third Stage runner-up Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA). Representing the corporate leagues alongside Ueno are his DeNA teammate Toshio Takaki who ran the competitive Fourth Stage at the New Year Ekiden, Ryu Takaku (Yakult), Shoya Okuno (Toyota Kyushu), Shuhei Yamaguchi (Asahi Kasei) and more.  Kumamoto natives include Kyushu Gakuin H.S. and Aoyama Gakuin University graduate Shun Yamamura and Keisuke Tanaka (Fujitsu).  Along with Sakuraoka, university runners include Tomofumi Uda (Takushoku Univ.) who fi...

by Brett Larner 熊日30キロ優勝は設楽啓太くんでした！ pic.twitter.com/u4ZG27xFjf — つきこ (@t_tsuki) February 21, 2016 Former national university record holder Keita Shitara (Team Konica Minolta) returned to Japan's biggest 30 km, the Kumanichi Road Race , for the first time in three years to pick up the win in Kumanichi's 60th edition.  A graduate of 2014 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University , Shitara took the race in hand from the start, leading through 5 km in 14:38 just 2 seconds off the pace for the 1:28:52 course record set in 2014 by Toyo's Yuma Hattori .  Early company included Shitara's Konica Minolta teammate Masato Kikuchi , Toyo grad Kento Otsu (Team Toyota Kyushu) and current Toyo students Ryo Kuchimachi and Shun Sakuraoka .  Over the next 10 km the pack whittled down to just Shitara and Sakuraoka, 20 seconds off CR pace at 15 km in 44:15 with Otsu another 20 seconds back. Around 21 km Shitara got a few strides on Sakuraoka, who began to fade rapidly and was overtaken...

http://kumanichi.com/fsports/marathon/2016/kiji/20160116001.xhtml http://kumanichi.com/fsports/marathon/2016/kiji/20160127001.xhtml translated and edited by Brett Larner The organizers of the 5th Kumamoto-jo Marathon have announced the elite field for the Feb. 21 Kanaguri Memorial Kumanichi 30 km Road Race , held alongside the Kumamoto-jo Marathon as its elite race. Celebrating Kumanichi's 60th anniversary running, this year’s elite men’s field features strong young athletes who made an impact on the competitive Third and Fourth Stages at the New Year Ekiden corporate men’s national championships on Jan. 1. With university runners having won Kumanichi the last two years the corporate runners’ battle to get back on top will be one of the main draws this year. The fresh young corporate league contingent is led by two members of the New Year Ekiden runner-up team Konica Minolta , Masato Kikuchi and Keita Shitara , along with local Chiharadai H.S. graduate Kento Otsu of New...

by Brett Larner On a busy weekend the Japanese racing calendar featured not one but two elite 30 km road races.  In western Japan, the Kumanichi 30 km staged its 59th running, its fourth edition since adding a mass-participation marathon to help keep the small elite-level 30 km afloat. The men's 30 km featured a pack of five up front featuring corporate teammates Sota Hoshi and Shota Yamaguchi (Team Fujitsu) and collegiates Shin Kimura (Meiji Univ.),  Shohei Otsuka (Komazawa Univ.) and Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.), the younger brother of last year's winner Yuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.).  Kimura did most of the early leading before making a two-man break with Minato Oishi (Team Toyota) at 10 km, opening a 15-second lead by 15 km but swallowed back up by 20 km.  The pace slowed and the race turned tactical, and in a five-way sprint finish Kimura again pulled to the front for the win in 1:31:27, just ahead of 2013 national 5000 m champion Hoshi who clocked the sam...

by Brett Larner It's another busy weekend on the roads in Japan.  One runner who won't be part of it is one of its best, Oregon-based Suguru Osako (Team Nissin Shokuhin).  Osako has set national records for 3000 m and indoor 2 miles since affiliating with the Nike Oregon Project and is set to run Saturday's Millrose Games Paavo Nurmi 5000 m .  There is no official Japanese NR for indoor 5000 m, but the JAAF has a blank waiting for whatever time he runs.  Considering that his indoor 2 mile NR of 8:16.47 two weeks ago broke the outdoor NR by 8 seconds that could end up being a very decent one. The biggest race back home is Sunday's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships .  The men's race has a fantastic field, featuring all-time Japanese #4 Chihiro Miyawaki (1:00:53, Team Toyota), all-time Japanese #5 Masato Kikuchi (1:00:57, Team Konica Minolta), sub-61 Japan-based Kenyans Jacob Wanjuki (1:00:55, Team Aichi Seiko) and Daniel Gitau (1:00:59, Te...