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Miyazaki Women's Road Race to End Next Year

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20090806k0000m050098000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

The organizing committee of the Miyazaki Women's Road Race announced on Aug. 5 that they plan to bring the event to a close following its 30th anniversary edition in January, 2010. The committee's press release cited the proliferation of high-quality races and the resulting difficulty in attracting top talent in explaining its decision.

Since its inception in 1981 the Miyazaki Women's Road Race has been known for being the first women's distance competition of the year. Past winners in the half marathon included Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi and two-time World Championships bronze medalist Masako Chiba.
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