japan running news

by Brett Larner video highlights courtesy of race broadcaster NHK Championship ekiden season wrapped up with Sunday's 20th running of the National Men's Ekiden starting and finishing at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum.  Strong start to finish, the Saitama team outran Japan's 46 other prefectures to take its first national title in 2:19:14, the third-fastest time in race history. Saitama was right there from the start, opening runner Ryoji Tatezawa up against five sub-14 athletes but taking 6th on the 7.0 km H.S.-only First Stage in 20:14 just 10 seconds behind leader Shota Onitsuka (Fukuoka).  Many of the pre-race favorites had trouble on the opening stage, defending champion Nagano 17th, 2012-13 winner Hyogo 18th, hosts Hiroshima just 32nd and powerhouse Aichi disqualified after its first runner Atsushi Yamato threw the tasuki across the line to second runner Shota Ezomori after falling repeatedly in the final 50 m while struggling to finish, a rar...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/201312/0006573246.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner At the 21st National Junior High School Ekiden Championships , Dec. 15 at Seminar Park in Yamaguchi, the Kakogawa Yamate J.H.S.  boys' team of Kakogawa, Hyogo, ran 56:55 for the six-stage, 18.0 km boys' course to take its second-straight national title.   Fujimi J.H.S. of Gunma came out on top of the girls' race for the second year in a row, running 40:10 for the five-stage, 12.0 km girls' course. Kakogawa Yamate's Yuki Sakamoto  led off in 6th for the opening stage.  The boys' team dropped to 18th on the Second Stage, but on the Third Stage Kazuki Yamaguchi  passed fifteen people to move up to 3rd.  Fourth Stage runner Yuki Harazuka  moved up to 2nd, putting Tessei Yamahata  into position to steal the lead on the Fifth Stage.  From there Kakogawa Yamate never looked back as it became just the third school in National Championships histor...