I ran the Ageo City Half Marathon on Sunday morning. The winner only ran 1:02:50, same as Sell, but this year 408 guys went under 70 minutes. I was 509th with a 1:13:17. Last year there were 397 under 70, but I was 501st with a 1:14:58. One of these years I hope to be in good enough shape to break the top 500.
Wow, how many people were faster than 70 minutes in San Antonio?
That is amazing. I ran nearly the same time and was 15th in SA. Are there any half marathons in the States that are as competitve as Ageo City? I know there are usually 20-25 finishers under 70 in the Austin, TX 3M Half Marathon, but that is nothing compared to Ageo City.
38 were under at Houston last year. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others in the States that might have more.
That is sick, do we even have 408 people who can run sub 1:10? Let alone in the same race!
That is SO AWESOME.
I am going to race in Japan one day... sounds like the best competition anywhere for a sub-elite runner.
Wouldn't it be annoying to have to deal with such a huge crowd? I always get anxious dealing with large crowds at road races, but breathe a sigh of relief when the gun goes off and I realize there's only like 10-20 people I have to share the road with (I'm about a 70-min. half guy as well).
It's still an awesome thing to think about, but I'm just saying I'll take my low-quality American races where a 70 keeps you clear of trouble.
Idiots.....The race was in Japan and they were timing it in JPM (Japan Metric Minutes) 70 minutes actually converts to about 1 hour 26 minutes!
Fred Jenkins, CPA wrote:
Idiots.....The race was in Japan and they were timing it in JPM (Japan Metric Minutes) 70 minutes actually converts to about 1 hour 26 minutes!
Ha.... ha.... ha.... YOU SO FUNNY!!!
runduderun faster faster wrote:
Wouldn't it be annoying to have to deal with such a huge crowd?
I know what you mean, but no, not really. You either get pulled along in the flow or get more confidence from constantly passing guys who started out too fast. The start is on a track so it's a little tight for the first stretch, but after that it opens up.
Meh...I heard the course was short.
Does anyone know the topographical layout of this course? Does it drop 1000 feet or something?
It starts and finishes at the same point, the local stadium's track. Almost entirely flat. Flat for the first 3 km. There's a railway underpass you go through just past 3 km and then again just before 18 km with 5m elevation loss and then gain, then an uphill from 4 km to 6 km with 5m elevation gain. Back down 5m between 6 and 7 km, then 5m elevation loss between 8 and 13 km. 10m elevation gain uphill from 13 to 14 km, 5m elevation loss between 16 and 17 km, back through the railway underpass, then flat to the finish. Course is accurate to the mm.
Here's a good picture of the start:
http://www.tecnoplan.co.jp/tecnet/img.php?id=229&type=3&num=8
You can tell where the university guys end and the regular people start pretty easily.
It appears that Japan has the type of competitive road racing structure that we should all envy here in the states. We could have something similar to this, maybe on a smaller scale, if we would work toward Toni Reavis's vision. All those 1:05-1:10 guys can't be on corporate teams, though they all appear to be on teams that offer some sort of support, even if it's just a group to train with. Why can't, when awarding national championship bids, USATF (or RRCA if USATF can't or won't get on the ball) stipulate that the entire field for a 10K, 15K, half-marathon has to meet some sort of relatively stringent qualifying criteria and deep team prize money? How about a big-time club Ekiden race in Tampa or Miami in January?
You're bringing up prize money, but I think the point of this is that in Japan there are 1:05-1:10 guys doing this sh** for fun. Most 1:05 guys in the US think about prize money when they pick their races, at least a little bit.
Brett in Tokyo wrote:
Here's a good picture of the start:
http://www.tecnoplan.co.jp/tecnet/img.php?id=229&type=3&num=8You can tell where the university guys end and the regular people start pretty easily.
They all look the same to me!
Ha! And everyone says that American distance running is dow... Oh never mind.
Brett in Tokyo wrote:
Here's a good picture of the start:
http://www.tecnoplan.co.jp/tecnet/img.php?id=229&type=3&num=8You can tell where the university guys end and the regular people start pretty easily.
Looks like the start of Ninja Warrior.
MeHereYouWhere? wrote:
They all look the same to me!
Everyone not wearing a hat goes under 70 min. They're almost all b-string university runners trying to make their schools' a-teams for the Hakone Ekiden in January.
The point I'm making is that there is some genuine enticement (societal glory, team sponsor bonuses, etc.) that encourage them more than to just do it "for fun." We don't glorify distance running and don't have financial backers lining up to support club teams in the US, so we need other types of enticement to encourage even somewhat similar results. Look at the difference between running <2:20 marathons "for fun" in the US in 1983 or 1984 and today.