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Shimomura Fifth in St. George Marathon in Record Time

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/gifu/20091005/CK2009100502000014.html

translated by Brett Larner

The town of Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture sent six athletes to the United States to compete in the Oct. 3 St. George Marathon in the state of Utah. Ibigawa Marathon winner Satoru Shimomura, 35, a native of Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, was 5th overall, breaking the course record in the 30+ age division.

Shimomura won last November's Ibigawa Marathon and picked up an invitation to run in St. George, a race which has grown to 8500 runners in the full marathon division since its inaugural run in 1989. Six of the top finishers at the 2008 Ibigawa Marathon were selected to run in St. George. In the American race, Kimura was only 20 seconds behind the 3rd place finisher, reaching the goal line in 2:26:10. "I'm really happy that I met my target of going sub-2:30. I'm proud to say that I broke the record by attacking in the second half," Shimomura commented afterwards.

The other five athletes also finished the race. The group is expected to return to Japan on Oct. 7.

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