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2-Time Olympic Medalist Wainaina Wins Lake Saroma 100 km Ultra in Kenyan National Record Time

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010062700268
http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/sports/238878.html
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/100627/oth1006272249014-n1.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

In his first attempt at the distance, two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina (Kenya) won the 25th anniversary Lake Saroma 100 km ultramarathon in Hokkaido on June 27. Wainaina, the 1996 Olympic marathon bronze medalist and 2000 silver medalist, covered the certified course in a time of 6:39:52, with runner-up Noriyuki Araki (Wings AC) a short distance behind in 6:41:07. Tokyo-based Emi Matsushita, formerly Emi Iwasaki, took her second-straight and third-ever women's Saroma title with a time of 7:49:31.

Between the 50 km and 100 km divisions 3656 runners started the race. With temperatures reaching 30 degrees, only 1949 were able to complete their distance.

Translator's note: This is genuinely surprising news. Based on what I've been able to track down Wainaina's time is a world leader for 2010 and seems to be a new Kenyan national record. The former national record appears to have been 8:37:15 by Andrew Tumo in 1990. The second newspaper article linked above has a photo of Wainaina at the finish line.
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TokyoRacer said…
Ummm...that's 10 40-minute 10Ks. In 30C/86F heat.
Or 2:48 marathon pace x 2.36.

Looking at the list of men's and women's records confirms for me again that Tomoe Abe's 6:33 is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, running performances of all time.
June 28, 2010 at 9:44 PM
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