Ominami, Kurosaki Return to Ome 30 km

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110126-OHT1T00300.htm
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/event/sports/news/20110126-OHT1T00302.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

2009 Ome 30 km winner Hirokatsu Kurosaki (Team Konica Minolta) and 2007 Rotterdam Marathon winner Hiromi Ominami (Utic AC) will return to this year's 45th anniversary Ome 30 km, with a field of 15000 the world's largest 30 km race, scheduled for Feb. 20 in Tokyo's mountainous western suburbs.

Kurosaki seeks to become the fourth man in Ome history to win twice. He will face the top Japanese man from last year's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) and the 2000 winner of Ome's H.S. 10 km division, Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo). With such strong competition his win is anything but assured.

Ominami will run Ome for the second straight year, having finished as runner-up last year. She will run Ome as a tune-up for March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon where she hopes to earn a spot on the Japanese national team for August's World Championships.

Sumo yokozuna Hakuho will serve as the official starter for the race, following in the footsteps of marathon greats Naoko Takahashi and Toshihiko Seko and Beijing Olympics bronze medalist sprinter Nobuharu Asahara.

2011 Ome 30 km Elite Field
click here for complete elite field details
Men
Jason Lehmkuhle (U.S.A.) - 1:02:32 (half)
Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:03:03 (half)
Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 1:03:39 (half)
Hirokatsu Kurosaki (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:03:41 (half)

Women
Hiromi Ominami (Utic AC) - 1:08:45 (half)

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