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Ndirangu Wins Hiroshima Cross-Country Meet

by Brett Larner

Despite weeks of heavy rains that brought fatal landslides across the Hiroshima region, the 2014 Hiroshima Cross-Country Meet went ahead as planned under relatively good conditions.  Charles Ndirangu (Team JFE Steel), a graduate of the local Sera H.S. ekiden program that previously produced the likes of sub-27 man Bedan Karoki (DeNA RC) and 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau (Team JFE Steel), had an easy time adding a win to his resume, finishing more than 30 seconds up on the rest of the men's 8 km field in 24:24.  Little-known Shogo Kanezane (Team Chugoku Denryoku) outran the rest of the Japanese field for 2nd, at 24:55 the only Japanese man to go under 25 minutes. His teammate Kaido Kita filled out the podium in 25:01.  The top man from the third corporate team at the meet, Chudenko's Naoya Hashimoto, was 6th in 25:16 in the midst of the chase pack's blanket finish.

2014 Hiroshima XC Meet Men's 8 km
Hiroshima, 8/23/14
click here for detailed results

1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 24:24
2. Shogo Kanezane (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 24:55
3. Kaido Kita (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 25:01
4. Satoshi Kubooka (Team JFE Steel) - 25:09
5. Kota Otani (Team JFE Steel) - 25:15
6. Naoya Hashimoto (Team Chudenko) - 25:16
7. Ryota Nakamura (Team Chudenko) - 25:17
8. Hiroki Tanaka (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 25:19

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
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