japan running news

2019 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon men's winner Amos Kurgat (Chudenko) and last year's women's champ Dolphine Omare (U.S.E.) were back on top with repeat wins this time. Despite a good field with four sub-60 runners the men's race went out too slow for Kurgat's liking. Within the first 5 km he was away, leading by 6 seconds at 5 km and never looking back as he won by over a minute in 1:00:20. The pack behind him came down to a five-way sprint finish, with past Marugame Half winner Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) turning in one of his better runs in years with a 1:01:37 for 2nd. Former Soka University top man Philip Mulwa (GMO) was 3rd in 1:01:38 in his corporate league debut, with top Japanese man Kiyoshi Koga (Yasukawa Denki) 4th in 1:01:40. Omare led start to finish in the women's race, initially with company from the debuting Hellen Ekarare (Toyota Jidoshokki) and Ethiopian great Tirunesh Dibaba through 5 km in 16:06 but soon leaving both behind. Omare ca...

Jobu University  has announced that 2004 Athens Olympics men's marathon 6th-placer Toshinari Suwa , 45, has been named head coach of its track and field and ekiden team. At a press conference at the school's campus in Isesaki, Gunma, Suwa said, "The main goal is to make it back to the Hakone Ekiden. In the longer term, to develop athletes who will pursue the marathon. I want them to aim for the international level I experienced." Jobu University first qualified for the Hakone Ekiden in 2009 and made it there 11 years in a row. But for the last three years it has failed to make it out of the Yosenkai qualifying half marathon. A native of Isesaki, new coach Suwa commented, "We're going to make world-class athletes right here in Isesaki." Suwa brings experience with coaching at the Nissin and Hitachi Butsuryu corporate teams. "I want us to approach each workout with a goal and without making any compromises." source article: https://www.sanspo.c...

After representing Japan in last fall's Doha World Championships women's marathon, on June 16 it was learned that Madoka Nakano , 28, has left the Noritz corporate team and signed with the Iwatani Sangyo team. Nakano joined Noritz in 2010 after graduating from Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin High School . She placed 4th at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon to make the Doha team, where she was 11th overall in the World Championships marathon. Iwatani Sangyo was founded in 2017 and is based in Mino, Osaka. Its head coach is Hisakazu Hirose , 54, who helped coach Mizuki Noguchi to the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics marathon. Joining the team on the 16th, Nakano was optimistic, saying, "In this new environment I want to work hard to get to the national team level again. I want to make an impact in the ekiden too." source article: https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/202006/0013428450.shtml translated by Brett Larner photo © 2019 Brett...

Pre-Athens Olympics edition of the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships.

Former Japanese men's national record holder in the marathon and Kanebo corporate ekiden team head coach Toshinari Takaoka , 47, appeared at a training and conditioning symposium last week in Osaka to discuss his training during his career as an athlete. His talk revealed the secret of how to successfully tackle 42.195 km. Before Yuta Shitara (26, Honda) set a new national record at February's Tokyo Marathon, Takaoka's mark of 2:06:16 stood as the Japanese national record for 16 years. In his lecture Takaoka mainly discussed his training for the 2003 Fukuoka International Marathon, a selection race for the 2004 Athens Olympics marathon team. Takaoka focused on five points: 40 km runs mileage utilization of racing speed work maintaining a pace of 3:00/km From August through November that year Takaoka did nine 40 km runs at 3:30/km for a total time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. "At first 40 km runs were painful because I wasn't accustomed to the distance,...

by Brett Larner Today's retirement press conference marks the end of the road for one of the sport's all-time greats, Mizuki Noguchi .  Noguchi is best remembered, rightfully, for her achievements in the marathon.  Five wins and seven top three finishes in ten marathon starts.  An Olympic gold medal.  A World Championships silver medal.  A Japanese national record of 2:19:12.  That time still a Berlin Marathon course record no one has been able to touch more than ten years later, the only World Marathon Majors course record held by a Japanese runner. Her gold medal win at the 2004 Athens Olympics brilliantly executed, her loss to Catherine Ndereba at the 2003 Paris World Championships showing her exactly what she had to do to beat Ndereba a year later on the bigger stage and then doing it perfectly, almost down to the second, breaking Paula Radcliffe in the process.  Her DNS at the the 2008 Beijing Olympics a national heartbreak.  Her co...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160414-00000528-san-spo translated by Brett Larner On April 14 it was learned that Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (37, Team Sysmex) is retiring from competition.  A press conference to formally announce her retirement will take place April 15 in Kobe.  In March Noguchi ran the Nagoya Women's Marathon, saying, "This will be my last shot at the Olympics."  She finished 23rd in 2:33:54. Noguchi graduated from Uji Yamada H.S. in Mie.  She ran her first marathon in 2002, winning the silver medal at the Paris World Championships a year later.  In 2004 she won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics and in 2005 set the Japanese national record of 2:19:12 at the Berlin Marathon, a record that still has not been broken.  She remains the Berlin course record holder.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20130522-OHT1T00091.htm translated by Brett Larner 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (34, Team Sysmex) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on May 22 for altitude training in Boulder, Colorado. Interviewed prior to her departure, she said that she is aiming to make the 2016 Rio Olympics. Following her withdrawal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics Noguchi struggled with injuries for years, but after a 3rd-place finish at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon she made her first national team in ten years, qualifying for the Moscow World Championships marathon squad and signaling that she is well on her way to a complete return to form. "Last year I didn't have it in me [to make the Olympics], but since Nagoya I've felt the way I used to," she said. "My injury problems have finally gone away." Noguchi will be training in Boulder together with the...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2013/04/2013042701001673.htm translated by Brett Larner Selected earlier in the week for the Moscow World Championships marathon team, national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) made a guest appearance at a cross-country race in Asogun, Kumamoto, on April 27.  "I'm totally, totally happy," she delightedly told fans.  "Since I am running, my goal is to medal.  At absolute worst top eight." In Noguchi's last appearance at the World Championships in 2003 she won silver.  At the 2008 Beijing Olympics she was a DNS with a serious injury, meaning that her last time competing at the world level on the Japanese national team was her gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.  Now 34, the veteran Noguchi smiled as she said, "Having been all the way to the bottom it seems like a miracle to me that I'm back on my feet and headed to Worlds, but I know that it's something I was able to do myself, under my own power....

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201303/2013032900798&g=spo translated by Brett Larner The Fujitsu track and field team announced on Mar. 29 that men's 3000 m steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu , 33, will leave the team at the end of March and retire from competition. Beginning April 1 he will take a position as an assistant coach with the Shiseido women's team. Iwamizu ran in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics. Beginning in 2001 he competed in five-straight World Championships, setting the Japanese national record of 8:18.93 at the 2003 Paris World Championships.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20130319-OHT1T00065.htm translated by Brett Larner Athens Olympics 7th-place finisher Naoko Sakamoto (32, Team Tenmaya) held a retirement press conference Mar. 19 in Okayama. Smiling as she looked back on her career, she told the media, "I'm proud of having run Athens. The marathon was a part of me." With regard to her reasons for retiring she said, "My heart's not in the training any more, and it's just gotten to the point where little things accumulate and get to me. Beginning in April she will become an advisory member of Tenmaya's coaching staff, supporting the team's younger members. Sakamoto joined Tenmaya in 1999, winning the 2004 Osaka International Women's Marathon to make the Athens Olympics team. After Athens she suffered an endless series of injuries, and after January's Kita-Kyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden she announced her retirement at the end of the 2012-13 season.

http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/0120/SEB201301200008.html?tr=pc translated by Brett Larner Naoko Sakamoto  (32, Team Tenmaya), 7th at the 2004 Athens Olympics, announced her retirement from competition on Jan. 20 after running her final race, the Kita-Kyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden , where she placed 7th on the opening stage.  "I still have the urge to get back to the top, but I just can't do the training I need to get there anymore," she said.  "I decided that it's time to stop.  I'm sad that I couldn't end it with a marathon." Sakamoto graduated from Nishinomiya H.S. in Hyogo and joined the Tenmaya corporate team in 1999.  In 2003 she ran 2:21:51 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, the Japanese debut marathon record.  Later the same year she was 4th in the Paris World Championships marathon, then won the 2004 Osaka International Women's Marathon to make the Athens Olympics.  Following Athens a series of injuries ke...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20130117/ath13011720530000-n1.html translated by Brett Larner The Shiseido corporation has announced that women's long distance team head coach Tsutomu Hiroyama , 46, will retire from the team at the end of March.  The announcement comes partly as a consequence of the Shiseido team's 13th place finish at December's National Corporate Women's Ekiden, the latest in a series of increasingly shaky results in recent years.  Hiroyama's wife Harumi Hiroyama , 44, who beginning with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics made three straight Olympic teams in track distance events, has been serving as an assistant coach and according to the announcement will also retire from the team.  Following their departure current coaching staff member Toshitaka Andoji , 47, will be promoted. Tsutomu joined Shiseido in 1989, switching the focus of his own career as an athlete to coaching and helping to develop Harumi and others.  The couple's stoic characte...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2012/05/20120509t14021.htm translated by Brett Larner Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and invited athlete Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) has withdrawn from the May 13 Sendai International Half Marathon due to poor physical condition.  Noguchi set the still-standing women's marathon national record of 2:19:12 at the 2005 Berlin Marathon and went on to run both the 2007 and 2008 Sendai International Half Marathons as an invited athlete.  In March this year she ran her first full marathon in four years, four months, finishing 6th at the Nagoya Women's Marathon and missing her chance at making a third-straight Olympic team.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20110325-752610.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (32, Team Sysmex) has donated 500,000 yen [~$6,125 USD] to disaster relief efforts following the Mar. 11 disasters in northeastern Japan. As a contracted employee of Sysmex, Noguchi's annual salary is quite different from what pro athletes of comparable ability receive, meaning the donation is a considerable one for her. The Sysmex women's distance running team also contributed 1,000,000 yen [~$12,250 USD] as a group. Noguchi's coach Nobuyuki Fujita commented, "We're doing this because she herself said she wanted to do something to help the situation. It hurt her deeply to see the disasters happening on television.*" Noguchi agreed, saying, "There are a lot of people in northeastern Japan in very difficult circumstances right now. Even if it's only a tiny ...

http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20101228k0000m050093000c.html translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 27 Team Sysmex announced that 2004 Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist and marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi , 32, has sustained a stress fracture to her left ankle. The fracture is expected to take at least 5-6 weeks to heal. Noguchi withdrew from the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon shortly before the race with an injury to her left thigh. In October she made a return to competition at the West Japan Corporate Women's Ekiden, her first race in 2 years, 5 months. At the Dec. 19 National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships she ran the ace Third Stage but finished only 20th on the stage. Immediately afterwards she reported not feeling well and was found to have a fever of 39 degrees and to be suffering from intestinal inflammation. A short time later her left ankle began to hurt, and a medical examination discovered the stress fracture. A person connected w...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20101218k0000m050008000c.html translated by Brett Larner The 30th anniversary National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden takes place Dec. 19 in Gifu. In its first-ever appearance in the national championships, Team Sysmex features one prominent member on its entry list: 2004 Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist and marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (32). It has been more than 2 years since Noguchi "fell from grace," an injury causing her to withdraw just before the Beijing Olympics. Not even appearing at the press conference to announce her withdrawal, it has been a long and dark road back, but on the eve of her return to the national stage Noguchi spoke to the Mainichi Newspaper about her joy at overcoming her setbacks and her still-burning drive for the 2012 London Olympics. After the West Japan Jitsugyodan Ekiden you said, "I want to keep running until my legs break down for good." Those were the same...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/101205/oth1012052049040-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner photo by Dr. Helmut Winter Tomoaki Kunichika, last run in Fukuoka. Following the Dec. 5 Fukuoka International Marathon, Athens Olympics marathoner Tomoaki Kunichika (Team S&B) announced his retirement from elite competition. The 37 year-old Kunichika was one of this year's invited elites, but despite starting out at a conservative pace struggled and finished 18th. According to a source connected with his team, Kunichika chose Fukuoka for his last run because of the strong memories and association with the race, Fukuoka being the site of his 2:07 PB and the win which qualified him for Athens. The source said Kunichika intends to continue running at his own level and plans to expand the scope of his coaching activities. photo (c) and (p) 2010 Dr. Helmut Winter all rights reserved

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20101116082.html translated by Brett Larner Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) is on the entry list announced Nov. 16 for the National Jitsugyodan Ekiden Championships to be held Dec. 19 in Gifu. Should she start it will be the second race of her comeback. Noguchi withdrew from the Beijing Olympics marathon after sustaining an injury to her left thigh. On October 24 she ran in the West Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden, her first race in 2 years, 5 months. According to the Kansai Athletics Association, Team Sysmex registered ten people for next month's Nationals. The starting lineup of six will be announced Dec. 18.

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/150060 translated by Brett Larner Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon will be the final run for one of the country's best, 1999 Seville World Championships marathoner Tadayuki Ojima (33, Team Asahi Kasei). For 15 years he has been a force in the Japanese marathon and ekiden circuit, ranked all-time #3 in the Kyushu Isshu Ekiden with a lifetime total of 38 stage best titles, running in the World Championships and narrowly missing out on the Athens Olympics but always remaining quietly focused on challenging his own limits. Now, his strength spent, he prepares for retirement with a deep feeling of gratitude toward the people of Kyushu. His final 42.195 km will be his way of saying thank you. "I've given it everything I have for 15 years," Ojima says. "Really, I just don't have anything left to give." "He doesn't waste words on excuses," says Team Asahi Kasei head coach Takeshi Soh. "He just doe...