Skip to main content

Time Trials Japanese Style: The 199th Nittai University Kirokukai

by Brett Larner



Several universities around Tokyo hold monthly open time trials. Anyone from beginner joggers to Olympians is free to run distances from 1500 m to 10000 m in heats seeded by personal best time. The Nihon Taiku University* Kirokukai series of time trials is perhaps the most popular. The November 22nd edition, the 199th in Nittai's series, focused on the 5000 m, with 26 heats of 5000 m and 4 heats of women's 3000 m stretched out over 12 hours from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 30 to 45 runners ran in each heat, some of which included designated pacemakers. Heats early in the day were slower and featured mostly amateurs, while the later heats were filled with high school, university and jitsugyodan professionals tuning up for their championship ekidens.



Among the noteworthy runners on hand was Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon), a 2:08:40 marathoner who was the alternate for the Beijing Olympics men's marathon team. Fujiwara is competing in the Fukuoka International Marathon on Dec. 7 in an attempt to make the Japanese men's marathon team for the 2009 Berlin World Championships. He ran the Nittai Kirokukai as a tuneup for Fukuoka, running 14:34.73 in Heat 27 at 7:30 p.m., then returning 5 minutes later to run 14:28.75 in Heat 28 at 7:50 p.m. Fujiwara looked loose and relaxed, practicing a long push finish in both heats. His lack of a last kick suggested he has been running high mileage in the leadup to Fukuoka.



Other interesting heats included number 24, a women's 5000 m heat which saw Team Uniqlo's Kenyan Danielle Filomena Cheyech battle Team Hitachi's new 18 year old Kenyan Doricah Obare. Obare won in a PB of 15:21.08 despite fading in the final kilometers. Cheyech, who has been in poor form during the fall after a superb spring season, dropped to 5th, clipped at the line by Ritsumeikan University's outstanding first year Michi Numata.



Sendai Ikuei, Japan's top running high school and alma mater of Kenyan greats Samuel Wanjiru and Daniel Njenga, dominated Heat 29, with Wataru Ueno and Kenyan Steven Karuno frontrunning a field made up almost entirely of professionals. Surprisingly Karuno faded, while Ueno held off several challenges in the last lap to with with an impressive sprint finish in 14:13.34.



Sendai Ikuei rival Aomori Yamada High School fielded its Kenyan Michael Getange against the fastest field of the day in Heat 30. Getange ran 14:04.36 to easily win over the likes Tomohiko Sumi (Team Toyota Boshoku), a recent jitsugyodan recruit after a career as a top member of Nittai University's Hakone Ekiden team.

The 200th Nittai Kirokukai takes place in December.

*Abbreviated to 'Nittai.'

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Fujitsu and Toyoda Issue Statement on Circumstances of His Two-Year Suspension for Trenbolone

  Following 400 m hurdler Masaki Toyoda 's suspension for a violation of anti-doping regulations , the Fujitsu corporate team published a statement on its website, including comments from Toyoda's legal team , explaining the ruling and the circumstances surrounding the case. Toyoda was a member of the 2019 Doha World Championships team and holds a best of 48.87. Early in the morning of May 19, 2022, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) conducted a doping test of Toyoda. The prohibited substance trenbolone was detected in urine taken during the test, resulting in a two-year suspension that began May 21, 2022. He did not compete at the National Track and Field Championships the next month. The amount of trenbolone detected in Toyoda's urine sample was 1.4 ng/ml, well below the minimum analytical precision of 2.5 ng/ml required by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for analytical equipment. As a general rule, if a non-specified prohibited substance such as trenbolone is dete
Post a Comment
Read more

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that  Sis
Post a Comment
Read more

“The Miracle in Fukuoka” - Real Talk From Yuki Kawauchi on “Taking on the World” (part 1)

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201701120002-spnavi translated by Brett Larner Ahead of his nomination to the London World Championships Marathon team, Sportsnavi published a three-part series of writings by Yuki Kawauchi on what it took for him to make the team, his hopes for London, and his views on the future of Japanese marathoning.  With his place on the London team announced on Mar. 17 , JRN will publish an English translation of the complete series over the next three days. See Sportsnavi's original version linked above for more photos. Click here for part two, " Bringing All My Experience Into Play in London ," or here for part three, " The Lessons of the Past Are Not 'Outdated.' " The Fukuoka International Marathon was held on Dec. 4 last year. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) took part despite nursing injuries he had sustained in training. Falling rain contributed to less than ideal conditions during the race, but from th
6 comments
Read more