Hirokazu Nishimura

About

Hirokazu Nishimura is one of Japan's most respected mountain ultrarunners — a Shiga Prefecture native who came to trail running at 28 when a senior colleague invited him along for a run, placed 100th at his first 50K in 2010, and within months had won his first race, setting a pattern of quiet, relentless improvement that defined his career. He established himself as a serial winner at Japan's most competitive mountain events, claiming back-to-back victories at the Shinetsu Gogaku Trail 110K in 2018 and 2019 and winning the Izu Trail Journey in 2019. The peak of his career came in 2022 when he won the Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji — Japan's most prestigious trail race at 165km — in 18:15:32, a performance that earned him a UTMB Index of 833 and confirmed him among Japan's elite mountain ultra competitors. He continues to race internationally and brings an unusual perspective to the sport: a late bloomer who reached the pinnacle of Japanese trail running through methodical dedication rather than early athletic gifts.

Notable Wins

• — Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji (UTMF 165K) 2022 (18:15:32)
• — Shinetsu Gogaku Trail 110K 2018 and 2019
• — Izu Trail Journey 2019

Race History