Asia Pacific Runner

2006-12-02T01:17:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Athletic Event

What is the greatest race...no, the greatest athletic event in the world?

I may be biased but I know that people who love the drama of true distance running will fall in love with this special event.

The Hakone Ekiden

In Japan there's a traditional road race --- a 2-day 134-mile 10-person relay called the Hakone Ekiden. It's been described as "... something akin to the Boston Marathon, the Final Four and the Super Bowl rolled into one. More than a run for the tape, the race encapsulates the perseverance, pathos and unswerving loyalty the Japanese value so highly." Ken Belson of the New York Times (4 Jan 2004)

The runners go all-out in their long relay legs, running with unimaginable pressure and responsibility, then passing on the cloth sashes called tasuki to their teammates. On race day, the runners are endowed with the power of each college's legacy and are even blessed by teams at shrines. In effect, they embody the spirit of the race the Japanese find so appealing.

The Hakone Ekiden has been around for over 80 years and it is not uncommon to see grandparents, who were taken to the race by their grandparents, watching the race and cheering with their grandchildren on the roadside.

The Hakone Ekiden features teams of students from various Japanese universities in the Kanto region. This race from Tokyo to Hakone and back is held over two days at the New Year, and is a popular spectator sport that receives full network television coverage nationwide. Runners in the race compete to set individual records as well as to support their teams, and the race is considered to display many aspects of Japanese culture and spirit, including individual perseverance, identity within a group, and the importance within the Japanese hierarchy of allegiance to a major university.

You can say that one of the reasons Japan has produced so many great marathoners is because of the Hakone race. It is not uncommon for the runners to put in 1000 kilometers a month in training for the long relay legs that are between 20 and 23 kilometers long. Many of the teams that qualify train specifically for Hakone throughout the year. It seems that each year, there is some kind of drama during the event--for example, last year the lead runner for Juntendo University became severely dehydrated and zigzagged his way in a semi-conscious state, determined to pass on the tasuki to his teammate.

If you find yourself in Japan on January 2 and 3, tune in and watch Hakone. I guarantee you won't regret it!

2006-11-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Races & Results Winter 2006/2007

The winter marathon season will be starting soon with some major international races kicking off in early December. The biggest grand-daddy of them all, the Fukuoka Marathon, will be held on Sunday, December 3. At one time, this event was considered the unofficial world championship marathon.

Fukuoka Marathon

Haile Gebrselassie is one of the invited runners to Fukuoka this year. The 33-year old, who ran a world lead and a national record of 2:05.56 to win the Berlin Marathon in September. Fukuoka will be the fifth marathon of his career. It will be interesting to see how things turn out this year at Fukuoka. Jaouad Gharib will be there as another one of the invited athletes. Gharib won gold medals in two consecutive World Championships, Paris in 2003 and Helsinki in 2005.

This year will be the 60th running of Fukuoka.

2nd Annual Saipan Marathon & 26th Annual Saipan Half Marathon & 21st Annual 10 Kilometer Fun Run

For runners interested in a marathon in an island setting, head out to the Saipan Marathon. With the start time of 3:30 a.m., there won't be much scenery to admire in the darkness. However, the event should be a blast with the great awards festivities afterwards, as Saipan events are famous for.

Event details are as follows:

A 10k (6.2 Miles) and half marathon (13.1 miles/21.1K). Entry fee is $25 and $35. Start time 3:30 a.m. pre-race check-in 4:30 am to 5:15 am., at the American Memorial Park Intersection (Micro Beach), Next to DPS Sub-Station. Age division: 19 and under, 20-29; 30-39; 40-49; and 50 and Up. Running course will be along the scenic Beach Road in Saipan. The 10K run turn around is in front of the Saipan Bowling Center in Oleai and the Half Marathon run turn around south of the San Antonio Beach (P.I.C.). Entry fee deadline is January 13, 2007 (all events). For more information on the events, please contact Mr. Elias at (670) 664-2500 or e-mail: eli_rang@yahoo.com or Mr. Kurt Barnes at (670) 235-5853 or e-mail: kurtproa@yahoo.com

Bangkok Marathon - Results

The Bangkok Marathon was held on Monday, November 27 in the Thai capital. There was another coup on the early hours of Sunday (26 Nov) as elite marathoners from Ethiopia and Kenya emerged as victors of the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon.

This race started at 2:00 a.m. (!!!), with the elite runners having a separate starting time of 3:30 a.m. Ethiopia’s Berhanu Tesfaye won the 19th edition of the competition with a 2:28:02.

In the women's competition, Wioletta Uryga of Poland, who set a course record in 1999, once again won the women's event in a time of 2:56:47, ahead of locals Sunisa Pechpongproi Sailomyen (2:58:48) and Patcharee Chaithongsri (3:01:17).

For full results, click here.

2006-07-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Asia Pacific Runner!

It's fairly easy to find running information covering the U.S., Australia, and Europe, but more of a challenge to read about the sport in Asia and the Pacific islands. Where can runners in the region turn to for information about the great sport of distance running? What about runners outside of the region who want to know more about the running scene in the Asia Pacific?

At one time, there was a publication called Asian Runner, but this went bust sometime in the early '80s. Maybe it was ahead of its time. Now with the huge population of runners in this part of the world, it is high time that we have at least an updated blog dedicated to sharing information about our sport to those having ties to the Asia Pacific region.

If you are a reader wishing to keep abreast of running views and information concerning the region...Welcome!

Please bookmark this site and keep coming back. Feel free to comment on what you would like to see more of in this blog.