japan running news

by Brett Larner 2010 Matsue Ladies Half Marathon winner Doricah Obare  (Kenya/Team Hitachi) returned to the top Mar. 17, winning the 2013 edition of the race in 1:11:11.  Doubling as the National University Women's Half Marathon Championships and the selection race for the Japanese women's half marathon squad for this summer's World University Games, Obare was up against an almost entire collegiate field and saw tough competition from Yasuka Ueno  (Tsukuba Univ.), who challenged for the win before falling back and taking 2nd in 1:11:30.   Ayako Mitsui  of 2012 national champion Ritsumeikan University and Meijo University ace Aki Odagiri  rounded out the collegiate top three to secure themselves places on the World University Games team, while last year's winner Ayame Takaki  (Meijo Univ.) was only 26th.   Ayumi Hagiwara  (Team Uniqlo) took the 10 km division in 33:19. 2013 Matsue Ladies Half Marathon National University Women's Half Mar...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20120930-OHT1T00285.htm http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0005414888.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner The university women's ekiden season kicked off Sept. 29 with the Kansai Region (Kobe/Kyoto/Osaka area)  qualifier for the Oct. 28 National University Women's Ekiden Championships in Sendai.  22 schools ran in the six-stage, 30 km Kansai qualifier in Kobe's Shiawase no Mura, with defending champion Bukkyo University  taking its second-straight and fourth-overall win in 1:37:54.  Last year's national champion Ritsumeikan University  finished 4th in Kansai.  Along with Bukkyo and Ritsumeikan, five other schools from the Kansai Region made the cut for Nationals. Having run on the Shiawase no Mura course since her days at Tomogaoka H.S., Bukkyo's Shiho Takechi  had the fastest time on the anchor stage for the second year in a row.  Takechi ran 47 seconds faster than the next-fastest ...

by Brett Larner The 2011 Japanese National University Track & Field Championships kicked off Sept. 9 in Kumamoto.  2011 World University Games 10000 m gold medalist and Asian junior half marathon area record holder Suguru Osako  (Waseda Univ.) bypassed the 10000 m for the 1500 m, winning his heat to advance to the final.  His teammate Tatsuro Okazaki  (Waseda Univ.) likewise won the faster second heat where the top four all beat Osako's time of 3:51.39, making for an interesting final on tap later this weekend.  After running 13:31.27 earlier this season, the best time in several years by a Japanese university runner, sophomore Osako is also the favorite in tomorrow's 5000 m where he is on the start list. The women's 1500 m heats saw a mix of familiar faces and newcomers advancing to the finals, top-ranked women Chikako Mori  (Daito Bunka Univ.), Akane Yabushita  (Ritsumeikan Univ.) and Risa Shibuya  (Bukkyo Univ.) all advancing through th...