japan running news

On July 28, Reiri Nakashima , 25, a member of a winning Hakone Ekiden team while in college, and 2018 1500 m national champion Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu , 23, announced on Twitter that they have gotten married. Nakashima was a member of Tokai University 's 2019 Hakone-winning team, while Takamatsu was a member of national champion teams at both the National High School Ekiden and National University Women's Ekiden. Together they form one of the power couples of Japanese athletics. The daughter of a Kenyan father and Japanese mother, Takamatsu came to Japan at age 1. At Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. she won the Second Stage at the National High School Ekiden, helping lead the team to the overall win. She was also a member of Meijo University 's undefeated team at the National University Women's Ekiden and Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden. She retired after graduating in 2022. Hailing from Himeji, Nakashima ran the downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, helping Tokai score...

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...

For years the Hakone Ekiden has been a Day One blowout, the uphill Fifth Stage that ends it basically deciding the winner on Day Two. Last year 2014 winner Toyo University won Day One only to fall victim to the superior depth of Aoyama Gakuin University , which ran Toyo down to score a fourth-straight win at Japan's biggest race. This year Toyo again took the  Day One title, opening an almost insurmountable 5:30 lead over AGU. Bigger problems faced it, though, in the form of #1-ranked Tokai University just 1:14 behind. Tokai head coach Hayashi Morozumi was one of Japan's most successful high school coaches while at Nagano's Saku Chosei H.S. , beneficiaries of his cross-country-based principles including current marathon national record holder Suguru Osako . Since arriving at Tokai it has taken him time to get his system up and running for college-aged athletes, the last few seasons exceeding AGU on paper but coming up short at the main event. But today was Tokai...

Like a distant echo of the thunder of yesterday's Yosenkai 20 km reverberating across the city, Tokyo's other major 20 km road race took place this morning in the northwestern suburb of Takashimadaira. Narrowly surviving the loss of its main sponsor last year, the Takashimadaira Road Race offers a unique 5 km loop course that delivers fast times. Now in its 42nd year, Takashimadaira is a favorite for upper-tier universities that don't have to run the Yosenkai to requalify for the Hakone Ekiden, for other schools' second-stringers, and for top-level independents and amateurs. This year's race was fronted by a group of runners from Izumo Ekiden winner Tokai University who didn't make Tokai's final Izumo roster, by London World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and others from yesterday's Yosenkai winner Teikyo University and the Hakone-qualified Juntendo University and Komazawa University . In the same cool and ligh...

translated and edited by Brett Larner source articles at bottom Powered by its formidable lineup of talented first-years, Tokai University is shooting for top three in Japan's biggest race.  On Dec. 16 the Tokai University men's ekiden team held a public practice session in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa ahead of the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden .  Of its sixteen-man Hakone entry roster, eight are first-years.  Four of those have run 13 minutes for 5000 m, four have run 28 minutes for 10000 m, and two have run 62 minutes for the half marathon.  Head coach Hayashi Morozumi , 50, told reporters, "I think you'll probably see a lot of the first-years on the final start list too.  It's jump or die.  If we take an interesting approach, we can make it a good race.  We have to take it to the champs Aoyama Gakuin University and not be afraid of failing.  Our goal is 3rd place.  I hope that we can go into it with every team member bringing the best of his abili...