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Nojo and Mochizuki Take Lake Saroma 100 km Titles

by Brett Larner
complete results coming shortly

Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the 29th running of the world's fastest ultra, Hokkaido's Lake Saroma50 km and 100 km Ultramarathon.  Predicted temperatures over 25C meant probable slow times on the course that hosts both the men's and women's 100 km world records, but that did not stop defending men's 100 km winner Hideo Nojo (New Balance) from going for it.  An opening split of 36:03 for the first 10 km put him right on the cusp being on track to break 6 hours, but while that was clearly not going to be sustainable Nojo pushed on ahead of Takahiro Sunada's 6:13:33 world record pace until nearly halfway before the heat got the better of him.  Slowing to close to 45 minutes per 10 km by 70 km, Nojo rallied late in the race and went back under 40 minutes for the final 10 km to take the win in 6:40:15, three minutes slower than his winning time last year but a world lead by seven and a half minutes.

Women&…

World Leads at Lake Saroma Ultra As Federation Cancels Team Selection for World Championships

by Brett Larner

The 28th edition of Japan's premier ultra, the Lake Saroma 100 km and 50 km Ultramarathon, took place June 30 along the northeastern shore of Hokkaido.  Lake Saroma was to have been the official selection race for the Japanese team for this year's IAU 100 km World Championships, but on Friday organizers posted a notice on the race website informing top-ranked participants that due to uncertainty surrounding South Africa's readiness to host the World Championships this October the team selection would be cancelled.

Despite both this disappointment and hot temperatures, both the men's and women's 100 km races saw world-leading performances.  In the men's 100 km division, 2009 winner Hideo Nojo (New Balance) improved on his 2nd-place finish last year with a world-leading 6:37:16 for this year's title, 4 1/2 minutes ahead of 2:18 marathoner Takayoshi Shigemi (Urugimura).  Two-time Olympic medalist and 2010 Lake Saroma champion Erick Wainaina (Ke…

Katayama Runs World-Leader at Lake Saroma 100 km; Women's Champ Mochizuki Wins 50 km Overall

by Brett Larner

Japan's premier ultramarathon, the Lake Saroma 100 km and 50 km, saw its 27th running on Sunday, June 24. The 100 km was largely a battle of familiar faces on both the men's and women's sides, as national team stalwart and 2011 4th-placer Yoshikazu Hara moved up to take the win over last year's runner-up Hideo Nojo in 6:33:32.  Nojo improved on last year's mark but was still over two minutes behind Hara, running 6:35:52.

In the women's race defending champion Naomi Ochiai was only 4th in 7:56:42, but 2011 runner-up  Shiho Katayama took over 20 minutes off her time from last year to win in a world-leading 7:33:38.  Last year's 50 km division winner and former corporate marathoner Yuka Ezaki made a good transition to the 100 km distance, finishing 5th in 8:04:02.

The most surprising action came in the 50 km, where 25-year-old Chiyuki Mochizuki (Canon AC Kyushu), the two-time Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon women's division winner, outran me…