16-Year-Old Endo Runs 13:58.93 Tenth-Grade Record at Nittai Time Trials (updated) – by Brett Larner – photo by Kazuyuki Sugimatsu – Japan Running News

In the 41st and final 5000 m heat of the day well after dark at the last full Nittai University Time Trials meet of 2014, 16-year-old Hyuga Endo (Gakko Hojin Ishikawa H.S.) took 36 seconds off his PB to finish 5th in 13:58.93, the first Japanese 10th grader to ever break 14 minutes. 

Post-race he tweeted:

The Nittai University Time Trials were today!  My time was 13:58!  I'm really happy to have run the #1 time ever by a 10th grader.  Thanks to everyone who cheered for me I kept my pace all the way to the end without slowing down!  Thank you all very, very much for cheering!

And he wasn't alone. 

12th grader Ryuya Kajitani (Hakuo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) was 3rd in 13:57.81 and 11th grader Rei Hasegawa (Toyokawa H.S.) 6th in 13:59.03, a solid showing in the buildup to the National High School Ekiden Championships in two weeks. 

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on their horizons, Japan's young distance runners keep raising the bar for each other.

Nittai University Time Trials Men's 5000 m Heat 41

Yokohama, Kanagawa, 12/7/14
click here for complete results

1. Tatsuro Okazaki (Team Osaka Gas) – 13:53.88
2. Samuel Mwangi (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) – 13:55.64
3. Ryuya Kajitani (Hakuo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) – 13:57.81
4. Ataru Otani (Nanyo City Hall) – 13:58.21
5. Hyuga Endo (Gakko Hojin Ishikawa H.S.) – 13:58.93
6. Rei Hasegawa (Toyokawa H.S.) – 13:59.03
7. Yuki Iwasaki (Team Sekino Reform) – 13:59.05
8. Shun Suzuki (Nanyo City Hall) – 13:59.65
9. Yasunari Kusu (Team Komori Corp.) – 14:00.60
10. Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) – 14:01.03

text (c) 2014 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
finish photo (c) 2014 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved

by Brett Larner – photo by Kazuyuki Sugimatsu – Japan Running News