Skip to main content

Thanks for 59 Years - Yashima Track to Close at End of October

http://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/kagawa_news/locality/20120920000139

translated by Brett Larner

Having become outdated and too old for use, the Yashima Field track and field grounds in Takamatsu, Kagawa are scheduled to close at the end of October for a complete renovation and modernization.  A memorial event to commemorate the track's 59-year history is scheduled to take place at Yashima Field on Nov. 3.  The event will feature a talk on running form from 2010 Asian Games 400 mH bronze medalist Naohiro Kawakita and activities including the attending crowds forming human letters.  It is sure to be a memorable experience.  Demolition and construction work will begin in mid-November, and the new and improved facility is scheduled to open in 2016.

The Kagawa prefectural government build Yashima Field for the 1953 National Sports Festival.  In 1983 the track was upgraded to an all-weather surface, and in 2008 the prefecture transferred ownership to the city.  As the only track in eastern Takamatsu, Yashima Field has played an important role not only as the site of national and international-level competition but also for elementary and junior high school time trials, high school meets and kindergarten exercise days, a regular part of the running lives of many prefectural citizens.

The closing event on Nov. 3 will have three main parts.  At 10:00 a.m. Takamatsu Track and Field Association director Masafumi Arima will conduct a running clinic for people older than elementary school-aged, showing runners how to run with beautiful form. At 1:00 p.m. Kawakita will lead a session titled "Learn the secret of how to run fast!" where elementary school students can learn the best way to swing their arms and move their legs as they run.

Between 11:45 and 12:30, all participants will gather on the field to spell the word "Arigato" [thank you] together for a commemorative aerial photo.  Each participant will receive a small section cut from the track as a memento.  Participation in both Arima's clinic and Kawakita's session is limited to 100 people each.  There is no entry fee.  Interested people may apply between Sept. 24 and Oct. 5.  To enter or to find out more, call the city sports bureau at 087-839-2626.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half