by Brett Larner
On the second of three consecutive weekends of regional corporate track championships, 2011 World XC Championships runner-up Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) had the biggest run in the country. He and Ethiopian Alemu Desta (Team Yasukawa Denki) set out in the Kyushu Jitsugyodan Championships 10000 m at a blazing 2:36 for the first km, well under world record pace. The pair held to sub-27 minute pace through 6000 m, Desta burning up but Tanui pushing on to a 27:18.58 meet record, just a second off his PB and the 2nd-fastest time in the world so far this year. With Tanui's mark the top four men worldwide for 10000 m are currently all Japan-based Kenyans. His teammate Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) had the fastest 5000 m of the weekend in Japan, taking the Kyushu Jitsugyodan women's 5000 m in 15:46.69.
The Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Championships, traditionally the weakest of the major corporate league regions, had the next-strongest performances, with meet records in the men's 10000 m and women's 5000 m thanks to a 28:09.99 by Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) and a 16:25.71 by Manami Murayama (Niigata Albirex RC).
Among the members of the Japanese marathon teams for this summer's Daegu World Championships, Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) were both off their recent 10000 m PBs, Horibata just breaking 29 minutes. Women's team member Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) was only 5th in the 5000 m but finished 2nd in the 10000 m behind the leading Japanese women's half-marathoner of 2010, Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera). Miyauchi's 32:40.14 was the fastest women's 10000 m of the weekend.
Also noteworthy was the return to competition of half-marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku), who clocked 29:34.76 for 10000 m at the Chugoku regional meet in his first race since finishing 3rd at the 2010 Tokyo Marathon. The regional corporate meets wrap up next weekend with the Kanto Jitsugyodan Championships.
Kitakyushu, 5/14-15/11
Men's 10000 m - Heat 3
1. Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 27:18.58 - MR
2. Alemu Desta (Ethiopia/Team Yasukawa Denki) - 27:57.17 (MR)
3. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 28:28.65
4. Kazuya Deguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:31.43
5. Ryo Kiname (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 28:32.36
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8. Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:50.58
10. Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:56.00
Women's 10000 m
1. Mayumi Fujita (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 33:27.98
2. Yoko Nishimi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 33:28.33
3. Saori Kabeshima (Canon AC Kyushu) - 35:10.28
Men's 10000 m - Heat 2
1. Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) - 29:07.48
2. Kenichi Kita (Team Kyudenko) - 29:10.78
3. Daiki Kubota (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 29:12.22
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7. Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 29:15.36
Women's 5000 m
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 15:46.69
2. Yuka Yano (Canon AC Kyushu) - 16:22.54
3. Chieko Kido (Canon AC Kyushu) - 16:26.33
Men's 5000 m
1. Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:12.63
2. Fumihiro Maruyama (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:16.00
3. Masayuki Obata (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 14:17.06
55th Kansai Jitsugyodan T&F Championships
Tokushima, 5/13-15/11
Women's 10000 m
1. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 32:40.14
2. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 32:59.25
3. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 33:23.53
4. Tomoka Inadomi (Team Wacoal) - 33:31.98
5. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 33:37.10
Men's 10000 m
1. Yusuke Kawaminami (Team Osaka Gas) - 29:34.53
2. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 29:36.31
3. Takaya Iwasaki (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 29:37.75
4. Hiroki Mitsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 29:39.61
5. Tatsunori Sento (Team Sagawa Express) - 29:40.31
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8. Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 29:45.60
Women's 5000 m
1. Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex) - 15:55.18
2. Seika Nishikawa (Team Sysmex) - 16:02.46
3. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 16:02.76
4. Miho Ihara (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 16:07.26
5. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 16:10.29
Men's 5000 m
1. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 14:09.37
2. Shogo Matsugaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 14:09.85
3. Yohei Yamamoto (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 14:11.19
50th Chugoku Jitsugyodan T&F Championships
Miyoshi, 5/14-15/11
Men's 10000 m
1. Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 28:36.23
2. Hironori Arai (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 28:43.19
3. Peter Kariuki (Kenya/Team Mazda) - 28:54.56
4. Hiroki Tanaka (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 29:06.16
5. Daisuke Koyama (Team Chudenko) - 29:11.71
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18. Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 29:34.76
Women's 10000 m
1. Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) - 33:16.78
2. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 33:24.76
3. Yoshie Kurisu (Team Tenmaya) - 33:35.90
Women's 3000 m
1. Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) - 9:34.27
2. Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) - 9:57.24
41st Hokuriku Jitsugyodan T&F Championships
Niigata, 5/14-15/11
Women's 10000 m
1. Maiko Kushima (Niigata Albirex RC) - 34:27.21
2. Manami Murayama (Niigata Albirex RC) - 35:20.76
3. Akiko Masuda (Tanai City Hall) - 37:40.09
Men's 10000 m
1. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 28:09.99 - MR
2. Tsubasa Maeda (Team YKK) - 29:37.40
3. Tetsuo Nishimura (Team YKK) - 29:41.96
Women's 5000 m
1. Manami Murayama (Niigata Albirex RC) - 16:25.71 - MR
2. Azusa Saito (Niigata Albirex RC) - 16:31.00 (MR)
3. Maiko Kushima (Niigata Albirex RC) - 16:44.52
Men's 5000 m
1. Kosuke Murasashi (Team YKK) - 14:20.31
2. Yoshihiro Hinomoto (Team YKK) - 14:21.76
3. Tsubasa Maeda (Team YKK) - 14:25.93
(c) 2011 Brett Larner
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